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CEGL006039 Andropogon gerardii - Sorghastrum nutans - Pycnanthemum virginianum Grassland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Big Bluestem - Indiangrass - Virginia Mountainmint Grassland

Colloquial Name: Central Appalachian Mesic / Wet-Mesic Prairie

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community type is a mesic to wet-mesic prairie of the Ridge and Valley province in western Virginia, with an outlying occurrence on the Southern Blue Ridge in Virginia. Vegetation is characterized by Andropogon gerardii, Sorghastrum nutans, Pycnanthemum virginianum, Cirsium muticum, and a host of low-cover associates.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Because of its rarity, data from stands of this type are limited. More detailed information is needed to fully circumscribe this type.

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

Floristics: This vegetation type is a tall warm-season grassland dominated by Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans, with Pycnanthemum virginianum as a constant, low-cover forb associate. Other typical or locally abundant associates include Spartina pectinata, Cirsium muticum, Symphyotrichum praealtum var. angustior (= Aster praealtus var. angustior), Solidago canadensis var. hargeri, Solidago altissima, Liatris spicata, Carex buxbaumii, Schoenoplectus pungens (= Scirpus pungens), Carex tetanica, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Eutrochium maculatum var. maculatum (= Eupatorium maculatum var. maculatum), Symphyotrichum novae-angliae (= Aster novae-angliae), Eleocharis compressa, and Agalinis purpurea. In the Southern Blue Ridge outlier, Veronicastrum virginicum, Veratrum virginicum (= Melanthium virginicum), Carex buxbaumii, Saxifraga pensylvanica, and Castilleja coccinea are associated.

Dynamics:  It is believed that the grazing of megaherbivores and occasional fires were natural, presettlement disturbance regimes that maintained the grassland composition of this type. More recently, artificial clearing and cattle grazing may have contributed to its persistence. Still, this is a rare vegetation type in Virginia that cannot withstand heavy, sustained agricultural disturbance.
Environmental Description:  This type occurs on dark, seasonally wet clay and silt loams. Its environment is interpreted as mesic to wet-mesic, and is placed in upland not wetland. Habitats for this community occur on broad, elevated floodplain terraces of large streams and small rivers in mountain valleys. Alluvium is derived mostly from carbonate materials (limestone or dolomite) and calcareous shales. Soil samples collected from two plots had a mean pH of 7.7, with very high calcium levels and total base saturation. Soils are generally well-drained, but some sites may be occasionally flooded, have seasonally perched water tables, or have small, distinct inclusions of saturated soil and seepage. The type typically occurs on drier levees and terraces bordering saturated flats supporting calcareous fen vegetation. The vegetation has responded positively to prescribed burning at two natural area preserves.
Geographic Range: This community is only known from Virginia. The type may have been more widely distributed in the Shenandoah Valley and other parts of the Virginia Ridge and Valley prior to European settlement, but most suitable sites have been destroyed or heavily disturbed by agriculture and livestock grazing.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  VA


Confidence Level: Low

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.3 Little Bluestem - Dropseed species Central Interior Calcareous Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup M508 2.B.2.Nc.3
Group 2.B.2.Nc.3.a Big Bluestem - Little Bluestem - Ashy Sunflower Patch Prairie Group G174 2.B.2.Nc.3.a
Alliance A3889 Big Bluestem - Switchgrass - Rough Dropseed Southeastern Patch Prairie Alliance A3889 2.B.2.Nc.3.a
Association CEGL006039 Big Bluestem - Indiangrass - Virginia Mountainmint Grassland CEGL006039 2.B.2.Nc.3.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Appalachian Mesic Tall-Grass Prairie (Fleming et al. 2004)
Concept Author(s): G. Fleming

Author of Description: G. Fleming

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 10-22-20
  • Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
  • Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
  • Fleming, G. P., P. P. Coulling, K. D. Patterson, and K. M. McCoy. 2004. The natural communities of Virginia: Classification of ecological community groups. Second approximation. Natural Heritage Technical Report 04-01. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/dnh/ncintro.htm]
  • Fleming, G. P., and P. P. Coulling. 2001. Ecological communities of the George Washington and Jefferson national forests, Virginia. Preliminary classification and description of vegetation types. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. 317 pp.
  • Fleming, Gary P. Personal communication. Ecologist, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA.