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CEGL007291 Liriodendron tulipifera - Tilia americana var. heterophylla - (Aesculus flava) / Actaea racemosa Forest
Type Concept Sentence: This association encompasses mixed mesophytic forests of the low mountains and foothills, mostly below 610 m (2000 feet) elevation in the Southern Blue Ridge escarpment and adjacent Piedmont. Examples are dominated by Liriodendron tulipifera with Acer rubrum, Aesculus flava, Aesculus flava, Fagus grandifolia, Fraxinus americana, Halesia tetraptera, Quercus alba, and Tilia americana var. heterophylla.
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Tuliptree - Appalachian Basswood - (Yellow Buckeye) / Black Baneberry Forest
Colloquial Name: Southern Appalachian Cove Forest (Typic Foothills Type)
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association encompasses mixed mesophytic forests of the low mountains and foothills, mostly below 610 m (2000 feet) elevation in the Southern Blue Ridge escarpment and adjacent Piedmont. This forest is dominated by Liriodendron tulipifera, but other canopy species typically include Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Fraxinus americana, Carya tomentosa, Aesculus flava, Halesia tetraptera, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus alba, and Acer rubrum. Tsuga canadensis is not dominant, shrubs are sparse, if present. In the vicinity of the Chauga River, South Carolina, Acer leucoderme may dominate the understory. Ferns are often locally dominant, typically Thelypteris noveboracensis, Polystichum acrostichoides, Adiantum pedatum, Phegopteris hexagonoptera, and Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides. The herb stratum is diverse and coverage is often scattered. Typical species include Actaea pachypoda, Asarum canadense, Carex plantaginea, Carex austrocaroliniana, Actaea racemosa, Collinsonia canadensis, Goodyera pubescens, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Viola blanda, Galium latifolium, Galium circaezans, Trillium catesbaei, Maianthemum racemosum, Sanguinaria canadensis, Thalictrum thalictroides, and Monarda clinopodia. This forest occurs on moderately steep, protected slopes and in coves, over nutrient-rich soils formed from colluvium. This association can have species with Piedmont affinities and lacks species typical of higher elevation cove forests, such as Acer saccharum, Impatiens pallida, Clintonia umbellulata, Prosartes maculata, Polygonatum pubescens, Streptopus lanceolatus var. roseus, Astilbe biternata, Veratrum viride, and Maianthemum canadense.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association was originally defined from the Chattooga Basin Project data (S. Simon pers. comm.). Additional examples are known from low escarpment and foothills areas of the Southern Blue Ridge, including the Brushy Mountains (Wilkes County, North Carolina), Linville Gorge (Burke County, North Carolina), and the Highland Ranger District, Nantahala National Forest (Jackson and Macon counties, North Carolina). Similar vegetation in the Cumberland Mountains and Plateau is distinguished by the lack of such species as Carex austrocaroliniana and Trillium catesbaei. [See ~Liriodendron tulipifera - Tilia americana var. heterophylla - Aesculus flava - Acer saccharum / (Magnolia tripetala) Forest (CEGL005222)$$.] Deciduous cove forests are perhaps the most complex group of communities to classify in the Southern Blue Ridge, due to a combination of wide environmental range, high species richness, and high biogeographic variability. The recognition of associations based on fertility and elevation is provisional and will likely need further refinement. The most closely related vegetation in Virginia is treated in ~Liriodendron tulipifera - Fraxinus americana - (Aesculus flava) / Actaea racemosa - Laportea canadensis Forest (CEGL007710)$$.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The canopy of stands of this forest is dominated by Liriodendron tulipifera, but other canopy species typically include Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Fraxinus americana, Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba), Aesculus flava, Halesia tetraptera, Fagus grandifolia, Quercus alba, and Acer rubrum. Tsuga canadensis is not dominant; shrubs are sparse, if present. In the vicinity of the Chauga River, South Carolina, Acer leucoderme may dominate the understory. Ferns are often locally dominant, typically Thelypteris noveboracensis, Polystichum acrostichoides, Adiantum pedatum, Phegopteris hexagonoptera, and Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides. The herb stratum is diverse and coverage is often scattered. Typical species include Actaea pachypoda, Asarum canadense, Carex plantaginea, Carex austrocaroliniana, Actaea racemosa (= Cimicifuga racemosa), Collinsonia canadensis, Goodyera pubescens, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Viola blanda, Galium latifolium, Galium circaezans, Trillium catesbaei, Maianthemum racemosum, Sanguinaria canadensis, Thalictrum thalictroides, and Monarda clinopodia.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This association encompasses mixed mesophytic forests of the low mountains and foothills, mostly below 610 m (2000 feet) elevation in the Southern Blue Ridge escarpment and adjacent Piedmont. This forest occurs on moderately steep, protected slopes and in coves, over nutrient-rich soils formed from colluvium.
Geographic Range: This community occurs in the escarpment region of the Southern Blue Ridge in western North Carolina, northern South Carolina, and Georgia. Stands have been tentatively attributed to this type from Tennessee and Virginia; these assignments needs to be confirmed.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: GA, NC, SC, TN?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686779
Confidence Level: Moderate
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4?
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.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation | F008 | 1.B.2 |
| Division | 1.B.2.Na Eastern North American Forest & Woodland Division | D008 | 1.B.2.Na |
| Macrogroup | 1.B.2.Na.3 Appalachian-Interior-Northeastern Mesic Forest Macrogroup | M883 | 1.B.2.Na.3 |
| Group | 1.B.2.Na.3.a American Beech - Tuliptree - Yellow Buckeye Forest Group | G020 | 1.B.2.Na.3.a |
| Alliance | A0235 Tuliptree - Appalachian Basswood - Yellow Buckeye Forest Alliance | A0235 | 1.B.2.Na.3.a |
| Association | CEGL007291 Tuliptree - Appalachian Basswood - (Yellow Buckeye) / Black Baneberry Forest | CEGL007291 | 1.B.2.Na.3.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Liriodendron tulipifera - Tsuga canadensis - Tilia americana var. heterophylla / Thelypteris noveboracensis Forest (Patterson 1994)
< IA5a. Southern Appalachian Mesophytic Cove Forest (Allard 1990)
< IA5a. Southern Appalachian Mesophytic Cove Forest (Allard 1990)
- 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.
- Patterson, K. D. 1994. Classification of vegetation in Ellicott Rock Wilderness, Southeastern Blue Ridge Escarpment. M.S. thesis, North Carolina State University, Raleigh. 91 pp.
- Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. No date. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
- SCWMRD [South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Columbia.
- 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.
- Simon, Steve. Personal communication. Ecologist. USDA Forest Service, National Forests in North Carolina, Asheville, NC.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.