Name:
Kalmia latifolia - Gaylussacia (baccata, brachycera) Cumberland Shrubland
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This sandstone glade-related heath shrub-dominated community occurs on sandstone bedrock exposures in the Cumberlands of Kentucky and Virginia (and possibly adjacent Tennessee) at moderate elevations. The vegetation at these sites is low in stature. The tallest shrub is <i>Vaccinium arboreum</i> and it seldom is over 2 m in height. Scrubby trees, usually <i>Quercus coccinea</i> and <i>Quercus falcata</i> (and/or sometimes <i>Quercus velutina, Quercus marilandica</i>, or <i>Quercus stellata</i>), as well as <i>Pinus rigida, Pinus virginiana</i> are seldom are over 3 m. The tree species are dispersed on the landscape with small crowns and little cover. The dominant shrubs are <i>Kalmia latifolia</i> (low to the ground, around 0.6 m or less high), <i>Gaylussacia baccata</i> and/or <i>Vaccinium pallidum</i>. On many, but not all sites, <i>Gaylussacia brachycera</i> is the most dominant low-shrub species. Sometimes <i>Vaccinium stamineum</i> occurs as well. In the most open areas, <i>Epigaea repens, Gaultheria procumbens, Danthonia spicata, Cladonia</i> spp., and in moist pockets, <i>Dicranum scoparium</i> are often dominant. Occasionally <i>Croton michauxii var. ellipticus</i> and <i>Phemeranthus teretifolius</i> occur in the open (nearly rock, thin soil, no shrub) areas. These areas grade into oak-pine or pine-oak woodland with an ericaceous shrub layer (<i>Kalmia latifolia, Vaccinium arboreum, Vaccinium stamineum, Vaccinium pallidum, Gaylussacia baccata, Gaylussacia brachycera</i>). Here the <i>Kalmia</i> is 1-2 m high and the sites are somewhat difficult to traverse. These woodlands in turn grade into oak-pine or pine/oak forest, either with a <i>Kalmia / Vaccinium / Gaylussacia</i> layer or more or less leaf litter. This community lacks many of the characteristic southern Appalachian species found in Appalachian heath balds such as <i>Rhododendron carolinianum, Rhododendron catawbiense, Rhododendron calendulaceum, Eubotrys recurva, Pieris floribunda</i>, and <i>Leiophyllum buxifolium</i>. This association also lacks species of northern affinity (e.g., <i>Ilex mucronata, Vaccinium angustifolium, Lycopodium annotinum, Carex polymorpha</i>, and <i>Oryzopsis asperifolia</i>), which are found in related vegetation of the Central Appalachians which is dominated by <i>Kalmia latifolia</i> and <i>Gaylussacia baccata</i>.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:36531-{503D341D-DD0B-48D1-9753-68D74EAC5C56}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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