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CEGL004783 (Pinus palustris) / Bigelowia nuttallii - Phemeranthus teretifolius - Allium cuthbertii - Penstemon dissectus Altamaha Grit Grassland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: (Longleaf Pine) / Nuttall''s Rayless-goldenrod - Quill Fameflower - Striped Garlic - Dissected Beardtongue Altamaha Grit Grassland

Colloquial Name: Altamaha Grit Glade

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community occurs on outcrops of indurated sandstone in the Tifton Upland of the Georgia Coastal Plain. Scattered trees and shrubs can be rooted in deeper soils or crevices, including Pinus palustris, Quercus marilandica, and Vaccinium arboreum. Typical herbaceous species are Bigelowia nuttallii, Phemeranthus teretifolius, Allium cuthbertii, Penstemon dissectus, Schizachyrium tenerum, Aristida beyrichiana, Manfreda virginica, Liatris squarrosa, Coreopsis major, Croton michauxii, and Tephrosia virginiana. A typical dwarf-shrub is Hypericum lloydii. Rare or highly restricted species typical of this community are Cuscuta harperi, Evolvulus sericeus, and Penstemon dissectus. Occurrences of this herbaceous community can be as large as 5 acres. This community typically occurs in a matrix of longleaf pine woodlands.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: The Altamaha Grit, now classified by geologists as the Altamaha Formation, outcrops only in South Georgia; it presumably extends into South Carolina (Huddlestun 1988) but has either been eroded away or remains buried under soil or under other types of rock.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: This is primarily an herbaceous association, composed of perennials and annuals. Scattered trees and shrubs can be rooted in deeper soils or crevices. These include Pinus palustris, Quercus marilandica, and Vaccinium arboreum. Typical herbaceous species are Bigelowia nuttallii, Phemeranthus teretifolius (= Talinum teretifolium), Allium cuthbertii, Penstemon dissectus, Schizachyrium tenerum, Aristida beyrichiana, Manfreda virginica, Liatris squarrosa, Coreopsis major, Croton michauxii (= Crotonopsis linearis), and Tephrosia virginiana. A typical dwarf-shrub is Hypericum lloydii. Rare or highly restricted species typical of this community are Cuscuta harperi, Evolvulus sericeus, and Penstemon dissectus.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This community occurs on outcrops of indurated sandstone in the Tifton Upland of the Georgia Coastal Plain. These are the more ecologically extreme outcrops of the "Altamaha Grit". Occurrences of this herbaceous community can be as large as 5 acres; it typically occurs in a matrix of longleaf pine woodlands.
Geographic Range: This community occurs on outcrops of sandy clay ("sandstone") in the Tifton Upland of the Georgia Coastal Plain. Altamaha Grit outcrops are a high-priority habitat type endemic to Georgia. These outcrops are associated with longleaf pine-scrub oak woodlands or longleaf pine-wiregrass savannas. They occur in scattered locations in the Tifton Upland and Vidalia Upland regions of the southeastern plains, in Coffee, Turner, Laurens, Treutlen and Washington counties. Several additional examples of this habitat type should be protected and managed in a landscape context of fire-maintained upland and wetland communities. The figure of 15,000 square miles (ca. 83,000 square km) is frequently cited as the extent of the Altamaha Grit. The amount of above-ground exposure (actual community habitat) is much less than this.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  GA


Confidence Level: Low

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1G2

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass S18 2.B
Formation 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation F012 2.B.2
Division 2.B.2.Nh Southeastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division D102 2.B.2.Nh
Macrogroup 2.B.2.Nh.3 Poverty Dropseed - Little Bluestem - Calamint species Southern Barrens & Glade Macrogroup M308 2.B.2.Nh.3
Group 2.B.2.Nh.3.a Little Bluestem - Limestone Calamint - Nuttall''s Rayless-goldenrod Southeastern Coastal Plain Barrens & Glade Group G584 2.B.2.Nh.3.a
Alliance A4091 Southern Coastal Plain Acidic Bedrock Scrub & Grassland Alliance A4091 2.B.2.Nh.3.a
Association CEGL004783 (Longleaf Pine) / Nuttall''s Rayless-goldenrod - Quill Fameflower - Striped Garlic - Dissected Beardtongue Altamaha Grit Grassland CEGL004783 2.B.2.Nh.3.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Sandstone Outcrops, Coastal Plain (Wharton 1978)
Concept Author(s): J. Ambrose and K. Tassin

Author of Description: J. Ambrose and K. Tassin

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 10-01-97
  • GNHP [Georgia Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. Georgia Natural Heritage Program, Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Social Circle.
  • Huddlestun, P. F. 1988. A revision of the lithostratigraphic units of the Coastal Plain of Georgia. The Miocene through Holocene. Bulletin 104. Georgia Geologic Survey, Environmental Protection Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta. 162 pp. plus attachments.
  • Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
  • Wharton, C. H. 1978. The natural environments of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta. 227 pp.