Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Skunkbush Sumac / Little Bluestem Shrub Grassland

Colloquial Name: Skunkbush Sumac / Little Bluestem Shrub Prairie

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This shrubland is a minor type described only for eastern Montana. It occurs as small patches on gently to steeply sloping breaklands, mostly on slope shoulders but capable of extending to footslopes. Exposures are generally the warmest is a local mosaic. Substrates include calcareous sandstones and shales; all soils are shallow and coarse-textured. Surface coverage varies between high cover of soil/gravel and swards of Selaginella densa (on overgrazed land). Adjacent community types are often of Artemisia tridentata or Hesperostipa comata - Bouteloua gracilis on uplands. Well-represented Rhus trilobata is diagnostic for the type. Other shrubs include Artemisia tridentata, Gutierrezia sarothrae, and Yucca glauca. Schizachyrium scoparium and usually Pseudoroegneria spicata are well-represented, but due to site severity (and grazing), they do no exhibit high cover values. Hesperostipa comata and Muhlenbergia cuspidata have 100% constancy and Hesperostipa comata tends to have relatively high cover on accessible sites with grazing pressure; rhizomes of Pascopyrum smithii ramify throughout the stands but with few tillers. Phlox hoodii and Liatris punctata are also present.

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