Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Picea rubens is the characteristic, dominant canopy tree, with lower cover of Betula alleghaniensis var. alleghaniensis and Acer rubrum. Other trees that occasionally occur with low cover in the canopy include Tsuga canadensis, Betula lenta, Pinus strobus, and Prunus serotina. The subcanopy is very similar in dominance and composition to the canopy, with the occasional addition of Sorbus americana, Acer pensylvanicum, Amelanchier spp., or Magnolia fraseri. In well-developed stands, young Picea rubens and Betula alleghaniensis var. alleghaniensis are plentiful in understory layers, especially in canopy gaps. Shrub layers are normally somewhat sparse, with low cover by Ilex montana, Kalmia latifolia, Rhododendron maximum, or Vaccinium erythrocarpum. Herb layer composition varies with soil moisture and light regimes but is generally sparse. Dryopteris intermedia, Oxalis montana, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Maianthemum canadense, and Carex debilis var. rudgei are frequent herbs. In Virginia, Lycopodium dendroideum, Lycopodium clavatum, and Oxalis montana are prominent in more mesic situations, and Vaccinium angustifolium and Carex brunnescens ssp. sphaerostachya may be common on exposed, rocky, submesic sites. The nonvascular stratum is strongly dominated by Bazzania trilobata, with lower cover by Hypnum imponens, Dicranum scoparium, Polytrichum pallidisetum, Brotherella recurvans, and Leucobryum glaucum. In West Virginia, two common floristic variants of this community occur. In one variant, shrubs and herbs are almost entirely absent, and the dense spruce canopy shades a carpet of Bazzania liverwort. Another variant is characterized by post-burning increases in Kalmia latifolia, which locally dominates the shrub layer. Species richness of plot-sampled stands ranges from 8 to 31 taxa per 400 m2 (mean = 19). Three Virginia state-rare plants have been documented in this association: Carex arctata, Pyrola elliptica, and Schizachne purpurascens.

Dynamics:  The local invasion of young Picea rubens into northern hardwood understories on middle-slope positions of Allegheny Mountain in Highland County suggests that this association once occupied, or will in the future occupy, a wider variety of habitats in the region (Fleming and Moorhead 1996).