Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Hazel Alder / Canadian Burnet - Largeleaf Grass-of-Parnassus - Shortleaf Sneezeweed Seepage Shrubland

Colloquial Name: Southern Appalachian Fen (Low Herb Type)

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This association is apparently restricted to western Virginia in Grayson and Carroll counties, and in adjacent Allegheny County, North Carolina (degraded example of uncertain placement). A similar type of vegetation occurs on Bluff Mountain in North Carolina. All known occurrences are in seepage areas underlain by hornblende, gabbro, or gneiss at elevations ranging from about 700-1100 m (2400-3500 feet). This community has a mixed physiognomy ranging from shrub thicket to herbaceous. In general it occurs as a shrubland of Alnus serrulata, Spiraea alba var. latifolia, Spiraea tomentosa, and Lyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina. Typically there are a few scattered individuals of Pinus strobus and Acer rubrum but tree cover rarely reaches 10%. The herbaceous layer is relatively continuous and may be quite diverse. Herbaceous species include Glyceria striata, Juncus subcaudatus, Osmunda regalis, Oxypolis rigidior, Viola cucullata, Eleocharis tenuis, Cirsium muticum, Dichanthelium dichotomum, Houstonia caerulea, Oenothera perennis, Sanguisorba canadensis, Parnassia grandifolia, Symphyotrichum novi-belgii, Carex atlantica, Helenium brevifolium, Solidago uliginosa, Calopogon tuberosus, Muhlenbergia glomerata, Schizachyrium scoparium, Xyris torta, Panicum virgatum, Rhynchospora capitellata, Rhynchospora alba, and Selaginella apoda.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This community is floristically related to some of Virginia''s mafic woodlands. Generally this community is less "seepy" and lacks the tree canopy of the woodland types. The species Calopogon tuberosus, Muhlenbergia glomerata, Schizachyrium scoparium, Xyris torta, Panicum virgatum, Rhynchospora capitellata, Rhynchospora alba, and Selaginella apoda are probably differential to this type. An association with "similar type of vegetation" that occurs on Bluff Mountain in North Carolina is ~Cladium mariscoides - Sanguisorba canadensis / Sphagnum subsecundum Herbaceous Seep (CEGL004167)$$. These (CEGL004252 and CEGL003917) are two shrublands that occur in a flat area of the Southern Blue Ridge that is underlain by ultramafic and mafic rocks and has many headwater streams and seepage areas. The two are distinctly different environmentally and floristically. Plots of both in the regional dataset have been examined, and they are quite distinct in quantitative analysis. CEGL003917 is a very low, sparse shrubland that grows in peaty, sphagnous fens and has many "bog" species such as Kalmia carolina, Drosera rotundifolia, Carex sterilis, Calopogon tuberosus, Vaccinium macrocarpon, etc. CEGL004252 is a tall, denser shrubland with coarse herbs that grows in mucky fens. Originally (in the early 1990s), Tom Rawinski recognized both only in the general category of a "Mafic Fen" and so they were sort of combined in the LAPS book (Grossman et al. 1994) as a rare "type."

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available