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CEGL004161 Carex lurida - Carex leptalea - Parnassia grandifolia - Juncus brachycephalus - (Xyris tennesseensis) Seepage Fen

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Shallow Sedge - Bristly-stalked Sedge - Largeleaf Grass-of-Parnassus - Small-head Rush - (Tennessee Yellow-eyed-grass) Seepage Fen

Colloquial Name: Highland Rim Grass-of-Parnassus Seepage Fen

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This seepage fen is found in the United States in the Highland Rim region of middle Tennessee, southeastern Kentucky, and southern Ohio. Examples occur in calcareous seepage on flat to sloping areas associated with streams. Soils contain a thin organic layer over limestone gravel, over a less permeable layer of more solid rock. The vegetation is dominated by herbaceous plants. Characteristic species include Carex atlantica, Carex lurida, Carex leptalea ssp. harperi, Parnassia grandifolia, Juncus brachycephalus, Rudbeckia fulgida (var. umbrosa in Tennessee occurrences, var. speciosa in the Kentucky occurrence), Cardamine bulbosa, Impatiens capensis, Juncus coriaceus, Juncus effusus, Lobelia puberula, Lobelia cardinalis, Oxypolis rigidior, Phlox glaberrima, Rhynchospora capitellata, Scirpus atrovirens, Scirpus cyperinus, Solidago patula var. patula, and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens. Woody species include Alnus serrulata, Salix humilis, Salix caroliniana, Cornus amomum, and Acer rubrum, which may invade the herbaceous seep. In the Western Highland Rim of Tennessee (Lewis, Cheatham, and Williamson counties), Xyris tennesseensis is endemic to this community and occurs in 50% or more of its occurrences. Ohio examples lack Parnassia grandifolia but are included here.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This community is represented by about ten occurrences in three counties in the Western Highland Rim of Tennessee; all are small in size and vulnerable. A single site in Clinton County, Kentucky (in the Eastern Karst Plain 222Eb), appears to belong to this community, and is tentatively placed here, along with examples in southern Ohio which apparently lack Parnassia. This community is closely related to ~(Carex interior, Carex lurida) - Carex leptalea - Parnassia grandifolia - Rhynchospora capillacea Seepage Fen (CEGL002404)$$ of Arkansas and Missouri.

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

Floristics: The vegetation is dominated by herbaceous plants. Characteristic species include Carex atlantica, Carex lurida, Carex leptalea ssp. harperi, Parnassia grandifolia, Juncus brachycephalus, Rudbeckia fulgida (var. umbrosa in Tennessee occurrences, var. speciosa in the Kentucky occurrence), Conoclinium coelestinum (= Eupatorium coelestinum), Cardamine bulbosa, Impatiens capensis, Juncus coriaceus, Juncus effusus, Liparis loeselii, Lobelia puberula, Lobelia cardinalis, Mimulus sp., Oxypolis rigidior, Phlox glaberrima, Rhynchospora capitellata, Scirpus atrovirens, Scirpus cyperinus, Solidago patula var. patula, and Thelypteris palustris var. pubescens. Woody species include Alnus serrulata, Salix humilis, Salix caroliniana, Cornus amomum, and Acer rubrum, which may invade the herbaceous seep. Ohio examples lack Parnassia grandifolia, and may contain Carex crawei, Carex cryptolepis, Platanthera clavellata, Helenium autumnale, Packera aurea (= Senecio aureus), Juncus dudleyi, Pedicularis lanceolata, and Pycnanthemum tenuifolium.

Dynamics:  Periodic fire may have played a role in the dynamics of this community, but this is not clearly understood. Alnus serrulata may invade examples of this association in the absence of fire and other disturbance. The saturated conditions of the sites, with shallow soils over bedrock on slopes, leads to some natural tree-fall, keeping some stands open, even in the absence of fire.
Environmental Description:  Examples occur in calcareous seepage on lower slopes associated with streams. Soils contain a thin organic layer over limestone gravel, over a less permeable layer of more solid rock. The geology is mapped as the Fort Payne Formation, which is highly variable at a local scale. The gravels with which this seepage vegetation is associated may represent an unnamed fine-scale subunit within the Fort Payne.
Geographic Range: This seepage fen is found in the United States in the Highland Rim region of middle Tennessee and southeastern Kentucky, and related areas of southern Ohio.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  KY, OH, TN


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation F013 2.C.4
Division 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D323 2.C.4.Nd
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nd.1 Shrubby-cinquefoil - Canadian Burnet / Inland Sedge Seep Macrogroup M061 2.C.4.Nd.1
Group 2.C.4.Nd.1.b Inland Sedge - Shallow Sedge - Largeleaf Grass-of-Parnassus Seepage Fen Group G182 2.C.4.Nd.1.b
Alliance A3390 Shallow Sedge - Inland Sedge - Largeleaf Grass-of-Parnassus Southern Interior Seepage Fen Alliance A3390 2.C.4.Nd.1.b
Association CEGL004161 Shallow Sedge - Bristly-stalked Sedge - Largeleaf Grass-of-Parnassus - Small-head Rush - (Tennessee Yellow-eyed-grass) Seepage Fen CEGL004161 2.C.4.Nd.1.b
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Carex lurida (hystericina?) - Carex leptalea - Rhynchospora capillacea Alkaline Seep (Minney 2000)
= Carex lurida - Carex leptalea - Parnassia grandifolia - Juncus brachycephalus - (Xyris tennesseensis) Herbaceous Vegetation (Faber-Langendoen 2001)
= Grass-of-Parnassus - Mixed Graminoid Seep (Pyne 1994)
Concept Author(s): M. Pyne and A.S. Weakley

Author of Description: M. Pyne

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 03-05-13
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  • Faber-Langendoen, D., editor. 2001. Plant communities of the Midwest: Classification in an ecological context. Association for Biodiversity Information, Arlington, VA. 61 pp. plus appendix (705 pp.).
  • Kral, R. 1983. A report on some rare, threatened, or endangered forest-related vascular plants of the South: Volume I. Isoetaceae through Euphorbiaceae. Technical Publication R8-TP2. USDA Forest Service, Atlanta. 718 pp.
  • Minney, D. 2000. Edge of Appalachia Preserve: Plant community descriptions. Preliminary draft. An unpublished report for the Ohio Chapter of The Nature Conservancy.
  • Nordman, C., M. Russo, and L. Smart. 2011. Vegetation types of the Natchez Trace Parkway, based on the U.S. National Vegetation Classification. NatureServe Central Databases (International Ecological Classification Standard: Terrestrial Ecological Classifications). Arlington, VA. Data current as of 11 April 2011. 548 pp.
  • ONHD [Ohio Natural Heritage Database]. No date. Vegetation classification of Ohio and unpublished data. Ohio Natural Heritage Database, Division of Natural Areas and Preserves, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Columbus.
  • Pyne, M. 1994. Tennessee natural communities. Unpublished document. Tennessee Department of Conservation, Ecology Service Division, Nashville. 7 pp.
  • Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
  • TDNH [Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage]. 2018. Unpublished data. Tennessee Division of Natural Heritage, Nashville, TN.