Print Report

CEGL006187 Schizachyrium scoparium - Sorghastrum nutans - Hypoxis hirsuta - Baptisia tinctoria Grassland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Little Bluestem - Indiangrass - Common Goldstar - Horseflyweed Grassland

Colloquial Name: Hempstead Plain Grassland

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This association comprises tall grassland vegetation of inland west-central Long Island, New York (Hempstead Plains). It is a unique association, the easternmost representative of midwestern prairies. It occurs on rolling outwash plains, sheltered from salt spray and offshore winds. Soils are loamy, well-drained, and shallow, lying over coarse outwash gravel of quartz and granite. Less than 30 acres, of what was formerly 38,000 acres, remain, and these are degraded. Historical dominants were midwestern tallgrass species such as Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, and Panicum virgatum, although these may now be sparse. Associates include Andropogon virginicus, Carex pensylvanica, Lespedeza capitata, Lespedeza hirta, Lespedeza angustifolia, Ionactis linariifolius, Solidago nemoralis, Solidago juncea, Hypoxis hirsuta, Baptisia tinctoria, Juncus greenei, Potentilla canadensis, Viola pedata, Viola sagittata var. ovata, Eupatorium hyssopifolium, Asclepias tuberosa, and others. This association is similar in composition to ~Schizachyrium scoparium - Sorghastrum nutans - Andropogon gerardii - Lespedeza capitata Sand Grassland (CEGL002210)$$ but varies in the presence of coastal species Baptisia tinctoria, Juncus greenei, Ionactis linariifolius, and the absence of midwestern prairie associates Hesperostipa spartea and Lithospermum caroliniense.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: No Data Available

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

Floristics: This is a tall grassland community historically dominated by Andropogon gerardii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Sorghastrum nutans, and Panicum virgatum. These species are still present but may not always be dominant in today''s remnants. Associates include Andropogon virginicus, Carex pensylvanica, Lespedeza capitata, Lespedeza hirta, Lespedeza angustifolia, Ionactis linariifolius (= Aster linariifolius), Solidago nemoralis, Solidago juncea, Hypoxis hirsuta, Baptisia tinctoria, Juncus greenei, Potentilla canadensis, Viola pedata, Viola sagittata var. ovata (= Viola fimbriatula), Eupatorium hyssopifolium, Asclepias tuberosa, and others.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  It occurs on rolling outwash plains, sheltered from salt spray and offshore winds. Soils are loamy, well-drained, and shallow, lying over coarse outwash gravel of quartz and granite.
Geographic Range: This community is reported only from western Long Island, New York. It is related to midwestern grasslands, and it may represent the easternmost occurrence of a community known as a "sand prairie" in the midwestern United States.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  NY


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1Q

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.4 Temperate to Polar Scrub & Herb Coastal Vegetation Formation F005 2.B.4
Division 2.B.4.Na Eastern North American Coastal Scrub & Herb Vegetation Division D026 2.B.4.Na
Macrogroup 2.B.4.Na.2 American Beachgrass - Sea-oats - Seaside Goldenrod Dune & Grassland Macrogroup M057 2.B.4.Na.2
Group 2.B.4.Na.2.e Bear Oak - Sheep Laurel - Kinnikinnick Sand Barrens Group G063 2.B.4.Na.2.e
Alliance A4471 <i>Schizachyrium scoparium - Sorghastrum nutans - Baptisia tinctoria</i> Hempstead Grassland A4471 2.B.4.Na.2.e
Association CEGL006187 Little Bluestem - Indiangrass - Common Goldstar - Horseflyweed Grassland CEGL006187 2.B.4.Na.2.e
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Andropognetum Hempstedi (Cain et al. 1937)
? Sandplain Grassland (Rawinski 1984a)
Concept Author(s): Eastern Ecology Group

Author of Description: Eastern Ecology Group

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 05-10-02
  • Cain, S. A., M. Nelson, and W. McLean. 1937. Andropogonetum Hempsteadi: A Long Island grassland vegetation type. The American Midland Naturalist 18(3):334-350.
  • Conard, H. S. 1935. The plant associations of central Long Island. The American Midland Naturalist 16:433-516.
  • Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
  • Edinger, G. J., D. J. Evans, S. Gebauer, T. G. Howard, D. M. Hunt, and A. M. Olivero, editors. 2014a. Ecological communities of New York state. Second edition. A revised and expanded edition of Carol Reschke''s ecological communities of New York state. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Albany, NY.
  • Grossman, D. H., K. Lemon Goodin, and C. L. Reuss, editors. 1994. Rare plant communities of the conterminous United States: An initial survey. The Nature Conservancy. Arlington, VA. 620 pp.
  • Harper, R. M. 1912. The Hempstead Plains of Long Island. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 12:277-287.
  • Rawinski, T. 1984a. Natural community description abstract - southern New England calcareous seepage swamp. Unpublished report. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA. 6 pp.
  • Reschke, C. 1990. Ecological communities of New York State. New York Natural Heritage Program, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Latham, NY. 96 pp.
  • Seyfert, W. G. 1973. A study of the Hempstead Plains, Long Island, New York, and its vascular flora. M.S. thesis, C. W. Post College, Long Island University, Greenvale, NY.
  • Stalter, R., and E. E. Lamont. 1987. Vegetation of Hempstead Plains, Mitchell Field, Long Island, New York. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 114:330-335.