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CEGL004394 Cystopteris bulbifera - (Asplenium rhizophyllum) Cliff Sparse Vegetation
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Bulblet Bladderfern - (Walking Fern) Cliff Sparse Vegetation
Colloquial Name: Appalachian Wet Limestone Cliff
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This broadly defined type represents sparse vegetation on calcareous rocks and cliff exposures ranging from Kentucky to Virginia and south to Georgia. Examples have substantial cover of bare rock and bryophytes, along with scattered vascular plants. Dominant species may be Cystopteris bulbifera and Asplenium rhizophyllum. An example from the Chattahoochee National Forest contains Heuchera villosa, Adiantum pedatum, Asplenium rhizophyllum, Carex platyphylla, Cystopteris protrusa, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Laportea canadensis, and Solidago flexicaulis. Additional species at a similar site in Great Smoky Mountains National Park included Sedum ternatum, Physocarpus opulifolius, Pellaea atropurpurea, and Packera obovata. Additional types may be developed as more information becomes available.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This broadly defined type is being geographically subdivided into an eastern type and an Ozarkian placeholder, which is being split off. In Missouri, and perhaps elsewhere in the Interior Highlands region of the Midwest, this vegetation is synonymous with ~Central Midwest-Interior Limestone - Dolostone Moist Cliff Vegetation (CEGL002292)$$]; so it is not tracked there. Further Midwest/Southeast review is needed. Vegetation has been assigned here from Chattahoochee National Forest (Chattooga Ranger District, 231Ab33). In Virginia this vegetation is embedded in forested habitat and occurrences may be too small to target as a distinct association.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Vegetation assigned here from Chattahoochee National Forest (NatureServe Ecology unpubl. data) contains substantial cover by bare rock and bryophytes, along with scattered vascular plants, including Heuchera villosa, Adiantum pedatum, Asplenium rhizophyllum, Carex platyphylla, Cystopteris protrusa, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Laportea canadensis, and Solidago flexicaulis. Another example from Great Smoky Mountains National Park contains Sedum ternatum, Physocarpus opulifolius, Pellaea atropurpurea, and Packera obovata. Additional types may be developed as more information becomes available.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: This vegetation is found on calcareous cliffs in the Southern Blue Ridge and adjacent ecoregions, from Kentucky to Virginia and south to Georgia.
Geographic Range: This generally defined alkaline cliff type is found in the southeastern United States, from Kentucky to Virginia and south to Georgia. It is not known from North Carolina.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: GA, KY, TN, VA?, WV?
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.686789
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 6 Open Rock Vegetation Class | C06 | 6 |
| Subclass | 6.B Temperate & Boreal Open Rock Vegetation Subclass | S04 | 6.B |
| Formation | 6.B.1 Temperate & Boreal Cliff, Scree & Other Rock Vegetation Formation | F034 | 6.B.1 |
| Division | 6.B.1.Na Eastern North American Temperate Cliff, Scree & Rock Vegetation Division | D051 | 6.B.1.Na |
| Macrogroup | 6.B.1.Na.1 Shrubby Fivefingers - Rock Polypody / Cup Lichen species Eastern North American Cliff & Rock Vegetation Macrogroup | M111 | 6.B.1.Na.1 |
| Group | 6.B.1.Na.1.c Appalachian Cliff & Rock Vegetation Group | G840 | 6.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Alliance | A2076 Purple Cliffbrake - Bulblet Bladderfern Appalachian Circumneutral Cliff Alliance | A2076 | 6.B.1.Na.1.c |
| Association | CEGL004394 Bulblet Bladderfern - (Walking Fern) Cliff Sparse Vegetation | CEGL004394 | 6.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: < IE1c. Interior Upland Calcareous Cliff (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.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.