Print Report
CEGL003601 Pinus palustris / Quercus laevis / Serenoa repens - Clinopodium coccineum Woodland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Longleaf Pine / Turkey Oak / Saw Palmetto - Scarlet Calamint Woodland
Colloquial Name: East Gulf Coastal Plain Subxeric Longleaf Pine Sandhill
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This East Gulf Coastal Plain community is characterized by a canopy of widely spaced Pinus palustris with a sparse subcanopy of Quercus laevis, above a well-developed shrub layer dominated by Serenoa repens. Openings between Serenoa cover have bare sand with scattered shrubs and herbs. Common herbaceous species include Aristida beyrichiana, Clinopodium coccineum, Schizachyrium scoparium, Galactia regularis, Pityopsis graminifolia, Rhynchosia cytisoides, and Cyperus retrofractus.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This community was first described by Peet and Allard (1993) from two sites, but may have first been noted by Pessin (1933). Additional surveys have not significantly expanded the geographic distribution, and the type is still known from only a few locations, including the De Soto National Forest in southern Mississippi (Harrison RNA, "Saw Palmetto Ridge") and from the Apalachicola National Forest; it could additionally occur in the lower Gulf Coastal Plain of Georgia. A plot on the Apalachicola National Forest was slightly different than the described type. It had a significant amount of Aristida beyrichiana, and the presence of several plant species not distributed as far west as Mississippi (Baptisia simplicifolia, Asimina angustifolia, Liatris chapmanii). In addition, it lacked many of the woody species described by Peet and Allard (1993) as being important. Rare animal species which may occur in this community include Gopherus polyphemus, Picoides borealis, and Drymarchon corais couperi.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy at the site from which this type was originally described, on the De Soto National Forest, had a 20- to 22-m high canopy of Pinus palustris. Apparently a range of understory trees were present; among the dominant were Quercus laevis, Quercus incana, Quercus marilandica, and Cornus florida. Shrub dominants were Ilex vomitoria, Vaccinium fuscatum, Vaccinium elliottii, Vaccinium stamineum, Clinopodium coccineum (= Calamintha coccinea), and Smilax pumila (Peet and Allard 1993). In contrast, a plot ascribed to this type from northern Florida had a much less diverse component of woody species, possibly suggesting fire frequency and/or site differences (NatureServe Ecology unpubl. data). Dominant understory species reported by Peet and Allard (1993) were Schizachyrium scoparium, Galactia regularis, Pityopsis graminifolia, Rhynchosia cytisoides, and Cyperus retrofractus. Allen (1956) noted Quercus incana and Quercus marilandica along with sparse vegetation between palmetto clumps consisting of Schizachyrium tenerum, Schizachyrium scoparium, Clinopodium coccineum, and Opuntia sp. Aristida beyrichiana was abundant in a north Florida plot, and several geographically limited species such as Baptisia simplicifolia, Asimina angustifolia, and Liatris chapmanii were also present (NatureServe Ecology unpubl. data). Other species recorded in plots of this type include Rhynchosia reniformis, Cyperus plukenetii, Aristida purpurascens, Aristida condensata, Schizachyrium tenerum, Rhynchospora megalocarpa, Ionactis linariifolius, Chamaecrista nictitans, Cnidoscolus urens var. stimulosus (= Cnidoscolus stimulosus), Dalea pinnata var. pinnata, Desmodium strictum, Elephantopus elatus, Gaura filipes, Houstonia procumbens, Hypericum hypericoides, Lechea spp., Smilax pumila, Dichanthelium aciculare, Scleria spp., Stylisma patens, Tephrosia chrysophylla, and Toxicodendron pubescens.
Dynamics: This community depends on frequent, low-intensity, growing-season fires to control understory vegetation and for the reproduction of Pinus palustris. Allen (1956) studied Pinus palustris regeneration at this site, where he noted that Pinus palustris seedlings were found primarily near clumps of Serenoa repens.
Environmental Description: This xeric woodland occurs on well-drained uplands, over deep, acidic sands. In southern Mississippi, this type apparently occurs on Norfolk sand (Allen 1956).
Geographic Range: This type is known from the Outer Coastal Plain of Mississippi and north Florida, and could occur in Alabama and Georgia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL?, FL, GA?, MS
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686414
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 1 Forest & Woodland Class | C01 | 1 |
| Subclass | 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass | S15 | 1.B |
| Formation | 1.B.1 Warm Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F018 | 1.B.1 |
| Division | 1.B.1.Na Southeastern North American Forest & Woodland Division | D006 | 1.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.1.Na.1 Longleaf Pine / Pineland Three-awn Woodland Macrogroup | M007 | 1.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 1.B.1.Na.1.c Longleaf Pine / Turkey Oak Xeric Woodland Group | G154 | 1.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Alliance | A4077 Longleaf Pine / Turkey Oak / Piedmont Three-awn Woodland Alliance | A4077 | 1.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Association | CEGL003601 Longleaf Pine / Turkey Oak / Saw Palmetto - Scarlet Calamint Woodland | CEGL003601 | 1.B.1.Na.1.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? IB6d. Southeastern Coastal Plain Subxeric Longleaf Pine - Saw Palmetto Woodland (Allard 1990)
< Panhandle Xeric Sandhills (Carr et al. 2010)
? Subxeric Longleaf Pine-Saw Palmetto Woodland (Peet and Allard 1993)
< Panhandle Xeric Sandhills (Carr et al. 2010)
? Subxeric Longleaf Pine-Saw Palmetto Woodland (Peet and Allard 1993)
- Allard, D. J. 1990. Southeastern United States ecological community classification. Interim report, Version 1.2. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Chapel Hill, NC. 96 pp.
- Allen, R. M. 1956. Relation of saw-palmetto to longleaf pine reproduction on a dry site. Ecology 37:195-196.
- Carr, S. C., K. M. Robertson, and R. K. Peet. 2010. A vegetation classification of fire-dependent pinelands of Florida. Castanea 75(2):153-189.
- FNAI [Florida Natural Areas Inventory]. 2010a. Guide to the natural communities of Florida: 2010 edition. Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee, FL. 228 pp. [https://fnai.org/naturalcommguide.cfm]
- MSNHP [Mississippi Natural Heritage Program]. 2006. Ecological communities of Mississippi. Museum of Natural Science, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, Jackson, MS. 9 pp.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Orzell, S. L. Personal communication. Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission, Nongame Wildlife Program, Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee.
- Peet, R. K., and D. J. Allard. 1993. Longleaf pine vegetation of the Southern Atlantic and Eastern Gulf Coast regions: A preliminary classification. Pages 45-81 in: S. M. Hermann, editor. The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem: Ecology, restoration and management. Proceedings of the eighteenth Tall Timbers fire ecology conference. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL.
- Pessin, L. J. 1933. Forest associations in the uplands of the lower Gulf Coastal Plain (longleaf pine belt). Ecology 14:1-14.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.