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CEGL008506 Quercus rubra - (Quercus alba) / Ilex montana / Dennstaedtia punctilobula - Lysimachia quadrifolia Forest

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Northern Red Oak - (White Oak) / Mountain Holly / Eastern Hay-scented Fern - Whorled Yellow Loosestrife Forest

Colloquial Name: Central Appalachian Northern Red Oak Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community type is known primarily from both the Northern Blue Ridge and Ridge and Valley provinces in the southern part of the Central Appalachians. Stands are restricted to elevations above 915 m (3000 feet). Prevailing aspect varies, but most examples are located on gentle to only moderately steep ridge crests and upper slopes. Soils are frequently bouldery and moderately to strongly infertile, with low base status. Quercus rubra is the principal dominant species in the overstory, with Quercus alba as a frequent but usually low-cover associate, often in a subcanopy layer. Canopy trees often exhibit stunted growth and sparse cover; the stature of these so-called "red oak orchards" reflects the harsh conditions of frequent wind and destructive ice storms. The abundance of Castanea dentata in the understory suggests its former importance in stands of this type. In localized stands, Quercus velutina or Tsuga canadensis share overstory dominance with Quercus rubra. The shrub layer is generally sparse to patchy, although a less common variant contains a dense ericaceous shrub layer. Composition of the herb layer varies considerably and usually features patch-dominance by one or more ferns and graminoids.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: The most constant (>60%) woody species in 53 samples classified as this association, in order of descending constancy, are Quercus rubra, Acer pensylvanicum, Ilex montana, Prunus serotina var. serotina, Betula lenta, Quercus alba, Kalmia latifolia, Castanea dentata, and Hamamelis virginiana. The most constant herbaceous species are Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Lysimachia quadrifolia, Dioscorea quaternata, Carex pensylvanica, Prenanthes altissima, and Solidago curtisii.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Quercus rubra is the principal dominant species in the overstory, with Quercus alba as a frequent but usually low-cover associate, often in a subcanopy layer. Many stands have a stunted, somewhat open canopy. The abundance of Castanea dentata in the understory suggests its former importance in stands of this type. Tree associates in the canopy and subcanopy can include Acer rubrum, Betula alleghaniensis, Betula lenta, Prunus serotina, Tsuga canadensis, Quercus velutina, and Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus), which is mostly restricted to elevations lower than those at which this type prevails. The shrub layer is generally sparse to patchy; Acer pensylvanicum, Ilex montana, Kalmia latifolia, Castanea dentata, and Hamamelis virginiana are the most frequent species. Other tall shrubs occurring with lower cover and/or frequency include Ribes rotundifolium, Rubus allegheniensis, Rhododendron prinophyllum, Corylus cornuta var. cornuta, and Prunus virginiana. Vaccinium pallidum and Vaccinium stamineum are infrequent low shrubs, but sometimes comprise 10% or more of the herb layer. An uncommon variant of this community type, usually occupying sharply convex landforms with soils shallow to bedrock, contains a dense shrub layer composed largely of Kalmia latifolia. Herbaceous composition varies considerably and usually features patch-dominance by one or more of the following: Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Carex pensylvanica, Lysimachia quadrifolia, and Deschampsia flexuosa. Calamagrostis porteri is a patch-dominant grass in a very small percentage of stands. Other characteristic herbs of this community are Ageratina altissima, Agrostis perennans, Amianthium muscitoxicum, Aralia nudicaulis, Asclepias exaltata, Dioscorea quaternata, Eurybia divaricata (= Aster divaricatus), Hieracium paniculatum, Maianthemum canadense, Pedicularis canadensis, Potentilla canadensis, Prenanthes altissima, Prenanthes trifoliolata, Smilax herbacea, Solidago arguta var. arguta, and Solidago curtisii. Many additional herbs occur at low cover and constancy. Species richness of plot-sampled stands ranges from 13 to 62 taxa per 400 m2 (mean = 40).

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  Stands are primarily restricted to elevations above 915 m (3000 feet). Prevailing aspect varies, but most examples are located on gentle to only moderately steep ridge crests and upper slopes. Soils are frequently bouldery and moderately to strongly infertile, with low base status. In the Blue Ridge, stands are underlain by mafic and felsic parent material, including metabasalt, layered pyroxene granulite, charnockite, and charnockite gneiss. The Ridge and Valley stands occur on a complex of clastic sedimentary and metasedimentary formations. Most stands likely experience frequent high winds and ice damage. The composition and structure of nearly all examples of this community type in Virginia have been altered by logging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and by the loss of Castanea dentata as an important component in the 1930s.
Geographic Range: This type appears to be limited to a small geographic area of approximately 16 counties and approximately 20,000 km2 in northwestern Virginia and adjacent West Virginia. Within that region, it is restricted to the highest ridges, where habitats are patchy. If this type is found to be more widespread in West Virginia, Maryland, and/or Pennsylvania, a revision of the global rank may be warranted.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  VA, WV


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4

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.2 Appalachian-Northeastern Oak - Hardwood - Pine Forest & Woodland Macrogroup M502 1.B.2.Na.2
Group 1.B.2.Na.2.a Chestnut Oak - Hickory species / American Chestnut Forest Group G015 1.B.2.Na.2.a
Alliance A3116 Northern Red Oak - White Oak Montane Forest Alliance A3116 1.B.2.Na.2.a
Association CEGL008506 Northern Red Oak - (White Oak) / Mountain Holly / Eastern Hay-scented Fern - Whorled Yellow Loosestrife Forest CEGL008506 1.B.2.Na.2.a
Concept Lineage: CEGL008505 and CEGL008507 merged into CEGL008506.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus rubra - Quercus alba / Ilex montana / Dennstaedtia punctilobula - Carex pensylvanica - Deschampsia flexuosa Forest (Young et al. 2007a)
> Quercus rubra - Quercus alba / Rhododendron prinophyllum - Ilex montana / Calamagrostis porteri Forest (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
> Quercus rubra / Ilex montana - Menziesia pilosa / Dennstaedtia punctilobula Forest (Fleming and Coulling 2001)
> Quercus rubra / Ilex montana / Dennstaedtia punctilobula - Melanthium parviflorum Association, pro parte (Rawinski et al. 1996)
< Northern Red Oak: 55 (Eyre 1980)
Concept Author(s): G.P. Fleming and P. P. Coulling (2001)

Author of Description: G.P. Fleming and K.D. Patterson

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 02-24-10
  • Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
  • Eyre, F. H., editor. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Society of American Foresters, Washington, DC. 148 pp.
  • Fleming, G. P., K. D. Patterson, and K. Taverna. 2017. The natural communities of Virginia: A classification of ecological community groups and community types. Third approximation. Version 3.0. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. [http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/natural-communities/]
  • Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2009a. A vegetation classification for the Appalachian Trail: Virginia south to Georgia. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage. In-house analysis, March 2009.
  • Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2009b. Classification of selected Virginia montane wetland groups. In-house analysis, December 2009. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
  • Fleming, G. P., and P. P. Coulling. 2001. Ecological communities of the George Washington and Jefferson national forests, Virginia. Preliminary classification and description of vegetation types. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. 317 pp.
  • Rawinski, T. J., K. N. Hickman, J. Waller-Eling, G. P. Fleming, C. S. Austin, S. D. Helmick, C. Huber, G. Kappesser, F. C. Huber, Jr., T. Bailey, and T. K. Collins. 1996. Plant communities and ecological land units of the Glenwood Ranger District, George Washington and Jefferson national forests, Virginia. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage. Natural Heritage Technical Report 96-20. Richmond. 65 pp. plus appendices.
  • WVNHP [West Virginia Natural Heritage Program]. No date. Unpublished data. West Virginia Natural Heritage Program, Elkins.
  • Young, J., G. Fleming, P. Townsend, and J. Foster. 2006. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in relation to environmental gradients. Final Report (v.1.1). Research technical report prepared for USDI, National Park Service. USGS/NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. 92 pp. plus appendices.
  • Young, J., G. Fleming, P. Townsend, and J. Foster. 2007a. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in relation to environmental gradients. Final Report, volume 1.1. Unpublished report submitted to the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. 103 pp. plus appendices and GIS products.
  • Young, J., G. Fleming, W. Cass, and C. Lea. 2009. Vegetation of Shenandoah National Park in relation to environmental gradients, Version 2.0. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2009/142. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 389 pp.