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CEGL004277 Saxifraga michauxii - Carex misera - Oclemena acuminata - Solidago glomerata Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Michaux''s Saxifrage - Wretched Sedge - Whorled Wood Aster - Clustered Goldenrod Grassland
Colloquial Name: Southern Appalachian High-Elevation Rocky Summit (High Peak Type)
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association covers high-elevation (greater than 1980 m) vegetated rock outcrops of highly fractured felsic to mafic bedrock of the southern Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. The vegetative cover is sparse with grasses, forbs and shrubs rooted in rock fissures. Typical species in stands of this type are Carex misera, Abies fraseri, Menziesia pilosa, Heuchera villosa, Rhododendron catawbiense, Saxifraga michauxii, Sorbus americana, Oclemena acuminata, and Solidago glomerata. This community occurs in a matrix of Picea rubens - Abies fraseri forest. Other characteristic species are Minuartia glabra and Polypodium appalachianum.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This community occurs on the highest summits of Grandfather Mountain, Mount Craig, Roan High Bluff, Mount Buckley (Great Smoky Mountains National Park), and Craggy Pinnacle. In an 1134-plot regional analysis Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia) for the Southern Appalachian portion of the Appalachian Trail, only two plots were classified as this association (Fleming and Patterson 2009a). Both plots are from Mount Buckley (TN) and are located along the Appalachian Trail at a mean elevation of 1986 m (6514 feet). The most constant species (100%) in this group are Carex misera, Abies fraseri, Clintonia borealis, Carex brunnescens ssp. sphaerostachya, Menziesia pilosa, Sorbus americana, Oxalis montana, Oclemena acuminata, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, and Saxifraga michauxii.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Typical species in stands of this type are Carex misera, Abies fraseri, Menziesia pilosa, Heuchera villosa, Rhododendron catawbiense, Saxifraga michauxii, Sorbus americana, Oclemena acuminata (= Aster acuminatus), and Solidago glomerata. Other characteristic species are Minuartia glabra and Polypodium appalachianum.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association covers high-elevation (greater than 1980 m) on rock outcrops of highly fractured felsic to mafic bedrock. This community occurs in a matrix of Picea rubens - Abies fraseri forest.
Geographic Range: Occurs on high summits of the southern Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NC, TN
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.684112
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
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.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D024 | 2.B.2.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nc.1 Catawba Rosebay / Michaux''s Saxifrage - Flattened Oatgrass Felsic & Mafic Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M506 | 2.B.2.Nc.1 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.1.d Wretched Sedge - Michaux''s Saxifrage - Highbush Blueberry Appalachian Rocky Outcrop Group | G670 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.d |
| Alliance | A1621 Michaux''s Saxifrage - Wretched Sedge - Little Bluestem Rocky Grassland Alliance | A1621 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.d |
| Association | CEGL004277 Michaux''s Saxifrage - Wretched Sedge - Whorled Wood Aster - Clustered Goldenrod Grassland | CEGL004277 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.d |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Aster acuminatus / Menziesia pilosa outcrop community (Wiser et al. 1996)
= Aster acuminatus / Menziesia pilosa outcrop community (Wiser 1993)
< IE4a. Southern Appalachian High Elevation Acidic Rocky Summit (Allard 1990)
= Aster acuminatus / Menziesia pilosa outcrop community (Wiser 1993)
< IE4a. Southern Appalachian High Elevation Acidic Rocky Summit (Allard 1990)
- Allard, D. J. 1990. Southeastern United States ecological community classification. Interim report, Version 1.2. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Chapel Hill, NC. 96 pp.
- Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2009a. A vegetation classification for the Appalachian Trail: Virginia south to Georgia. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage. In-house analysis, March 2009.
- 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.
- Wiser, S. K. 1993. Vegetation of high-elevation rock outcrops of the Southern Appalachians: Composition, environmental relationships, and biogeography of communities and rare species. Ph.D. dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 271 pp.
- Wiser, S. K., R. K. Peet, and P. S. White. 1996. High-elevation rock outcrop vegetation of the southern Appalachian Mountains. Journal of Vegetation Science 7:703-722.