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CEGL004298 Packera tomentosa - Croton michauxii var. ellipticus - Schizachyrium scoparium - (Selaginella rupestris) Flatrock Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Woolly Ragwort - Willdenow''s Croton - Little Bluestem - (Rock Spikemoss) Flatrock Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Granite Flatrock, Perennial Zone
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This perennial-dominated herbaceous community is a zonal component of granitic flatrock communities of the Piedmont of Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama. The characteristic and typically dominant species are Packera tomentosa and Croton michauxii var. ellipticus. In some examples, Schizachyrium scoparium and Selaginella rupestris may have high cover. Other characteristic species include Diodia teres.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association was formerly placed in a perennial forb formation in its own unique alliance. Coffey (1964) cites Packera tomentosa (as Senecio tomentosus) as occurring "in dense stands on damp grassy places." She does not name or identify either particular zones or specific associations in her work on flat granitic outcrops. There are extensive stands of this association at Arabia Mountain, DeKalb County, Georgia. The few occurrences of granitic flatrocks in Virginia are treated as ~Phemeranthus teretifolius - Minuartia glabra - Diodia teres - Croton michauxii var. ellipticus Flatrock Vegetation (CEGL003857)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The characteristic and typically dominant species in stands of this type are Packera tomentosa (= Senecio tomentosus) and Croton michauxii var. ellipticus (= Crotonopsis elliptica). In some examples, Schizachyrium scoparium and Selaginella rupestris may have high cover. Other characteristic species include Diodia teres and Dichanthelium sp. (Dichanthelium acuminatum complex?). In a stand on the Chattahoochee National Forest (Stephens County, Georgia), the following species were present in the herbaceous stratum: Dichanthelium dichotomum var. dichotomum, Schizachyrium scoparium, Liatris microcephala, Danthonia sericea, Hypericum gentianoides, Opuntia humifusa, Polygala curtissii, Commelina erecta, Nuttallanthus canadensis, Parthenium integrifolium var. integrifolium, and Rhexia sp.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This perennial-dominated herbaceous community is a zonal component of granitic flatrock communities of the Piedmont.
Geographic Range: This community is restricted to granitic outcrops in the southern Piedmont from North Carolina to Alabama.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL, GA, NC, SC
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686150
Confidence Level: Low
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3
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.1 Catawba Rosebay / Michaux''s Saxifrage - Flattened Oatgrass Felsic & Mafic Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M506 | 2.B.2.Nc.1 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.1.f Willdenow''s Croton - Appalachian Stitchwort - Woolly Ragwort Piedmont Flatrock Group | G671 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.f |
| Alliance | A3962 Willdenow''s Croton - Appalachian Stitchwort - Fameflower species Piedmont Open Flatrock Alliance | A3962 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.f |
| Association | CEGL004298 Woolly Ragwort - Willdenow''s Croton - Little Bluestem - (Rock Spikemoss) Flatrock Vegetation | CEGL004298 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.f |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Annual-perennial herb community (Burbanck and Platt 1964)
? Annual-perennial herb community (Quarterman et al. 1993)
? Annual-perennial herb community (Quarterman et al. 1993)
- Burbanck, M. P., and R. B. Platt. 1964. Granite outcrop communities of the Piedmont Plateau in Georgia. Ecology 45:292-306.
- Coffey, J. C. 1964. A floristic study of the flat granitic outcrops of the lower Piedmont, South Carolina. M.S. thesis, University of South Carolina, Columbia.
- McManamay, R. H. 2015. Vegetation mapping at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Natural Resource Report NPS/SECN/NRR--2015/1088. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 278 pp.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Nelson, J. B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina: Initial classification and description. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Columbia, SC. 55 pp.
- Quarterman, E., M. P. Burbanck, and D. J. Shure. 1993. Rock outcrop communities: Limestone, sandstone, and granite. Pages 35-86 in: W. H. Martin, S. G. Boyce, and A. C. Echternacht, editors. Biodiversity of the southeastern United States: Upland terrestrial communities. John Wiley and Sons, New York.
- Schafale, M. P. 2012. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina, 4th Approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.
- Schafale, M. P., and A. S. Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. Third approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 325 pp.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Wharton, C. H. 1978. The natural environments of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta. 227 pp.