Print Report

CEGL004286 Justicia americana Riverbed Vegetation

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: American Water-willow Riverbed Vegetation

Colloquial Name: Water-willow Rocky Bar & Shore

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This widespread association is found primarily in the Piedmont, Central Appalachians, Cumberland Plateau, Interior Low Plateau, Ozarks, Ouachita Mountains, and adjacent provinces. Stands occur on the shoals or bars of rocky streams and riverbeds, where they are subject to frequent high-energy floods. Slopes range from level to moderate but are typically gentle. The substrate is a variable mixture of sand, gravel and cobbles, often with deposits of silt and muck. Rooting occurs in the interstices between cobbles and boulders. Justicia americana is the characteristic dominant. Saururus cernuus is often present and may be codominant. Other herbaceous species that may be present include Bidens spp., Cyperus spp., Diodia teres, Elodea sp., Eleocharis spp., Equisetum arvense, Gratiola brevifolia, Leersia oryzoides, Leersia virginica, Lemna minor, Orontium aquaticum, Physostegia virginiana, Podostemum ceratophyllum, Scirpus spp., Schoenoplectus pungens, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, and Xyris difformis var. difformis. Exotics include Lythrum salicaria, Lysimachia vulgaris and Polygonum cespitosum var. longisetum; where present, these are sparse. Some stands have low cover by scattered flood-suppressed trees or an overhanging canopy. Trees in plots include Acer saccharinum, Betula nigra, Carpinus caroliniana, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Platanus occidentalis. Scattered shrub seedlings of Salix nigra, Salix caroliniana, Betula nigra, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Acer saccharinum, or Platanus occidentalis may also be present. This association provides habitat in some portions of its range for globally rare dragonflies and herbs.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: In Ohio this type often forms pure patches, but consistent identification may require a simple cutoff rule, such as at least 50% cover of Justicia (Anderson 1982). However, Anderson (1996) no longer recognizes this type.

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

Floristics: Justicia americana is the dominant (and sometimes the only) species, forming lawnlike stands in shallow reaches of rivers. Cover by Justicia americana ranges from 40 to 85%. Saururus cernuus is often present and may be codominant. Other herbaceous species may be present but rarely achieve more than 2% cover; they include Bidens spp., Cyperus spp., Diodia teres, Elodea sp., Eleocharis spp., Equisetum arvense, Gratiola brevifolia, Leersia oryzoides, Leersia virginica, Lemna minor, Orontium aquaticum, Physostegia virginiana, Podostemum ceratophyllum, Scirpus spp., Schoenoplectus pungens, Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani, and Xyris difformis var. difformis. Exotics include Lythrum salicaria, Lysimachia vulgaris, and Polygonum cespitosum var. longisetum; they have not been observed in abundance in this community, possibly due to intolerance of high-energy flooding. In some areas, Justicia usually grows in nearly pure patches, so that few other species are associated with it. Cuscuta gronovii, Mimulus ringens, Polygonum spp., Rumex spp., and Salix interior can also occur (Anderson 1982). Some stands have low cover by scattered flood-suppressed trees or an overhanging canopy. Trees in plots include Acer saccharinum, Betula nigra, Carpinus caroliniana, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, and Platanus occidentalis. Scattered shrub seedlings of Salix nigra, Salix caroliniana, Betula nigra, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Acer saccharinum, or Platanus occidentalis may also be present. In the Cumberland Plateau of Alabama, Justicia americana is present in dense patches with some interspersion of other species, including Pilea pumila, Boehmeria cylindrica, Eclipta prostrata (= Eclipta alba), Juncus coriaceus, Mikania scandens, Ludwigia palustris, Leersia sp., and Bidens sp. Schmalzer and DeSelm (1982) discuss Orontium aquaticum growing along streambanks or in shallow riffles "along or with" Justicia americana in the Obed River in the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee. In 29 plots sampled in the Potomac River watershed (Piedmont, Blue Ridge and Ridge and Valley provinces), Justicia was overwhelmingly dominant (50-75% mean cover), and no associated species occurred in more than 48% of the plots. Vascular plant species richness in sampled plots is low (typically 6-14 taxa).

Dynamics:  Stands in some situations may be obliterated by ongoing river channeling. Anderson (1982) describes some of the life-history characteristics of Justicia americana that allow it to persist in river channels.
Environmental Description:  This association occurs on the shoals or bars of rocky streams and riverbeds, on bedrock, boulders, cobble, gravel, and sands. They are subject to frequent high-energy floods, and are entirely submerged by most flood events. During extreme low water periods, the substrate can be exposed, showing a varied mixture of sand, gravel and cobbles, often with deposits of silt and muck. Rooting occurs in the interstices between cobbles and boulders. Stands commonly occur on the edge of the river and at the heads and tails of islands and may sometimes occur on deposition bars in the middle of the river. Substrate pH is circumneutral (mean = 6.0) in four samples. Slopes range from level to moderate but are typically gentle. Elevations of West Virginia stands range from 73 to at least 654 m; the type occurs at lower elevations in the Piedmont and Coastal Plain.
Geographic Range: This type is found primarily in the Piedmont, Interior Low Plateau, Cumberland Plateau, Ozarks, Ouachita Mountains, Central Appalachians, and adjacent provinces. It ranges from Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas west to Arkansas and Oklahoma and north to Ohio, New York, and New Jersey, with possible outliers north to southern Quebec.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  AL, AR, GA, KY, MD, NC, NJ, NY, OH, OK, PA, SC?, TN, VA, WV


Confidence Level: High

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4G5

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation F013 2.C.4
Division 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D323 2.C.4.Nd
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nd.3 Eastern North American Wet Shoreline Vegetation Macrogroup M880 2.C.4.Nd.3
Group 2.C.4.Nd.3.a Eastern North American Riverine Wetland Vegetation Group G755 2.C.4.Nd.3.a
Alliance A1657 American Water-willow Riverbed Alliance A1657 2.C.4.Nd.3.a
Association CEGL004286 American Water-willow Riverbed Vegetation CEGL004286 2.C.4.Nd.3.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Justicia americana - Andropogon gerardii herbaceous channel bed (Walton and Anderson 1997)
= Justicia americana Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Justicia americana riparian herbaceous vegetation (Vanderhorst 2001b)
< Aquatic Types (Schmalzer and DeSelm 1982)
< IIE3a. Riverside Shoal and Stream Bar Complex (Allard 1990)
? Lizard''s tail emergent bed (Perles et al. 2004)
? Water willow emergent bed (Perles et al. 2004)
Concept Author(s): A.S. Weakley

Author of Description: A.S. Weakley, D. Faber-Langendoen and S.C. Gawler

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 04-02-10
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