Common (Translated Scientific) Name: (Mountain Laurel, Common Ninebark) / Little Bluestem - Waxyleaf Meadowrue - Shrubby Fivefingers Shrub Grassland

Colloquial Name: Southern Appalachian High-Elevation Mafic Glade (Flatrock Type)

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: These are sloping, grass-dominated, herbaceous openings which range from a grassland to shrubland physiognomy. This community occurs at high elevations (around 1200 m [3970 feet]) in the Blue Ridge uplands where the soils are thin and poorly developed over amphibole or hornblende bedrock. Examples occur on upper south-facing slopes. The soils (Lithic Haplorthents) are droughty and thin and do not buffer the flora from the mafic character of the bedrock. They may, however, be seasonally wet, and the diagnostic flora may reflect the unique soil and moisture conditions. The occurrence of continuous, generally flat mafic rock as opposed to the irregular fragmented rock of most rocky summits is characteristic of this community. This feature may restrict the flora to those species which can survive in shallow crevices or on thin veneers over smooth rock. There are typically some extremely stunted trees and scattered shrubs, the most common being Quercus rubra, Kalmia latifolia, Salix humilis, Physocarpus opulifolius, Vaccinium stamineum, and Vaccinium pallidum. Woody plants are generally restricted to microsites with slightly deeper soils. The most characteristic herbaceous species include Schizachyrium scoparium (generally most abundant), Danthonia spicata, Coreopsis major, Thalictrum revolutum, Sibbaldiopsis tridentata, Heuchera villosa, Helianthemum bicknellii, Ionactis linariifolius, and Liatris spp. Many of the characteristic herbaceous species occur in crevices among exposed rock, but some larger, continuous patches of the dominant grasses may occur where thin veneers of soil have accumulated over the rock surfaces. Annuals such as Hypericum gentianoides and Polygala curtissii may be seasonally abundant. Many additional herbaceous species occur at low cover and constancy. Much of the remaining area is dominated by Cladonia lichens which grow directly on the exposed bedrock.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: In an 1134-plot regional analysis (Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia) for the Southern Appalachian portion of the Appalachian Trail, seven plots were classified as this association (Fleming and Patterson 2009a). Plots are from Bluff Mountain (NC), Buffalo Mountain (VA), and Mount Jefferson (NC). This group was intensively compared to the group representing ~Schizachyrium scoparium - Saxifraga michauxii - Coreopsis major Grassland (CEGL004074)$$, a related, high-elevation outcrop type. Both types feature constant Schizachyrium scoparium and Coreopsis major, but the two are otherwise found to be distinct in both physiognomy and floristic composition. While some examples of CEGL004074 might well be considered sparse vegetation, both mean total vegetative cover and mean species richness are almost twice as high in the CEGL004238 group. In this comparative analysis, the most diagnostic species of CEGL004238 are Carya ovata, Clematis viorna, Festuca rubra, Fraxinus americana, Liatris pilosa, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, Quercus alba, Rhynchospora globularis, Salix humilis, Sericocarpus linifolius, Thalictrum revolutum, and Vaccinium stamineum. Species richness averages 44 taxa / sample.

Classification of this type remains unresolved. Currently this type is defined only for Bluff Mountain, North Carolina, but similar vegetation is known from Buffalo Mountain in Floyd County, Virginia, associated with ~Minuartia groenlandica - Paronychia argyrocoma - Saxifraga michauxii Outcrop Barrens (CEGL008509)$$. Schafale and Weakley (1990) refer to Vaccinium corymbosum - Kalmia latifolia / Schizachyrium scoparium / Gaultheria procumbens - Cladonia spp. for this community.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available