Name:
Schizachyrium scoparium - Liatris elegans var. carizzana Sandy Grassland Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This alliance occurs on deep sandy soils in the Gulf Coastal Plain of Texas. It is characterized by <i>Schizachyrium scoparium</i>, and a variety of grasses and forbs that occur in sandy environments, many of which are narrowly distributed. Characteristic but less common grasses may include <i>Trachypogon spicatus, Elionurus tripsacoides, Triplasis purpurea, Paspalum setaceum, Eragrostis secundiflora, Eragrostis spectabilis, Cenchrus spinifex</i>, and <i>Sporobolus junceus</i>. In addition, this community supports a diverse array of characteristic forbs including <i>Liatris elegans var. carizzana, Polygonella americana, Polanisia erosa, Croton argyranthemus, Croton capitatus, Croton glandulosus, Croton texensis, Berlandiera betonicifolia, Bigelowia nuttallii, Lechea san-sabeana, Lechea tenuifolia, Stylisma villosa, Cnidoscolus texanus, Stillingia sylvatica</i>, and <i>Asclepias tuberosa</i>. The sandy soils are derived from underlying sandy Eocene strata such as Carrizo, Queen City, and Sparta sands, and from terraces formed along rivers fed by watersheds that include these formations. The deep sandy soils of this alliance may be less likely to support rank growth of grasses common in other coastal prairie communities on finer-textured soils and hence fires, while important in this vegetation, may occur less frequently than in other prairie vegetation.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:39272-{BA78066F-E77F-4925-B10A-5996A05C2C5E}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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