Print Report
CEGL004980 Asplenium montanum - Heuchera villosa Felsic Cliff Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Mountain Spleenwort - Hairy Alumroot Felsic Cliff Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Appalachian Felsic Cliff
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community occurs in the Blue Ridge and upper Piedmont of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. It includes vertical rock faces associated with felsic, metamorphic and igneous geologies. This community generally has little vegetative cover, often with 90% of the rock surface unvegetated. Mosses (e.g., Thuidium spp., Fissidens spp., Campylium sp., Bryoandersonia sp., Plagiomnium sp.) and lichens can have moderate coverage, and vascular plants occur on ledges and rooted in cracks. Asplenium montanum and Heuchera villosa are characteristic components. Other typical species include Agrostis perennans, Arisaema triphyllum, Aristolochia macrophylla, Asplenium trichomanes, Eurybia divaricata, Cystopteris protrusa, Dryopteris marginalis, Hydrangea arborescens, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Polypodium appalachianum, and Rubus canadensis. These cliffs are typically dry, although small seepages may occur. They are usually shaded by trees rooted on ledges and by the surrounding forest.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: No Data Available
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: This community has little vegetative cover, often with 90% of the rock surface unvegetated. Mosses (e.g., Thuidium spp., Fissidens spp., Campylium sp., Bryoandersonia sp., Plagiomnium sp.) and lichens can have moderate coverage, and vascular plants occur on ledges and rooted in cracks. Asplenium montanum and Heuchera villosa are characteristic components. Other typical species include Agrostis perennans, Arisaema triphyllum, Aristolochia macrophylla, Asplenium trichomanes, Eurybia divaricata (= Aster divaricatus), Cystopteris protrusa, Dryopteris marginalis, Hydrangea arborescens, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Polypodium appalachianum, and Rubus canadensis. An example of a shaded rock outcrop from the Chattahoochee National Forest (Georgia) which is assigned here contains low coverages of the woody plants Hydrangea arborescens, Kalmia latifolia, Vaccinium arboreum, and Vaccinium simulatum, along with the herbs Campanula divaricata, Dryopteris marginalis, Galax urceolata, Iris cristata, Muhlenbergia tenuiflora, Polygonatum biflorum, Silene stellata, and Solidago sphacelata. An example in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee) consisted of Heuchera villosa, Pilea pumila, Impatiens pallida, Sedum ternatum, and various moss species but did not contain Asplenium montanum.
Dynamics: These cliffs are typically dry, although small seepages may occur. They are usually shaded by trees rooted on ledges and by the surrounding forest.
Environmental Description: This community includes vertical rock faces associated with felsic, metamorphic and igneous geologies. Some occurrences attributed to this type appear to be on subcalcareous substrates. These cliffs are typically dry, although small seepages may occur. They are usually shaded by trees rooted on ledges and by the surrounding forest.
Geographic Range: This community occurs in the Blue Ridge and upper Piedmont of Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: GA, NC, SC, TN, VA?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.683486
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 6 Open Rock Vegetation Class | C06 | 6 |
| Subclass | 6.B Temperate & Boreal Open Rock Vegetation Subclass | S04 | 6.B |
| Formation | 6.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Cliff, Scree & Other Rock Vegetation Formation | F034 | 6.B.1 |
| Division | 6.B.1.Na Eastern North American Temperate Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Division | D051 | 6.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 6.B.1.Na.1 Shrubby Fivefingers - Rock Polypody / Cup Lichen species Eastern North American Cliff & Rock Vegetation Macrogroup | M111 | 6.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 6.B.1.Na.1.c Appalachian Cliff & Rock Vegetation Group | G840 | 6.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Alliance | A2071 Appalachian Acidic Cliff Alliance | A2071 | 6.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Association | CEGL004980 Mountain Spleenwort - Hairy Alumroot Felsic Cliff Vegetation | CEGL004980 | 6.B.1.Na.1.c |
Concept Lineage: This concept (CEGL004993) was superseded by CEGL004980 (M.P. Schafale).
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: No Data Available
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Nelson, J. B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina: Initial classification and description. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Columbia, SC. 55 pp.
- Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. No date. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
- Schafale, M. P. 2012. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina, 4th Approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.
- Schafale, M. P., and A. S. Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. Third approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 325 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.