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CEGL003939 Kalmia latifolia - Gaylussacia baccata - Vaccinium (angustifolium, pallidum) - Menziesia pilosa Shrubland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Mountain Laurel - Black Huckleberry - (Lowbush Blueberry, Blue Ridge Blueberry) - Minniebush Shrubland

Colloquial Name: Central Appalachian Heath Barrens

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This shrubland community is restricted to high-elevation, acidic bedrock exposures in the Central Appalachians of eastern West Virginia and northwestern Virginia. It occurs on upper-slope and ridgetop outcrops, pavements, and clifftops of acidic bedrock (quartzite and granitic) at elevations from about 950 to 1460 m (3100-4800 feet). Surface cover of bedrock and loose boulders averages about 80% in plot samples, and soil development is minimal. These habitats have distinctly xeric moisture regimes and are subject to year-round microclimatic extremes, including high solar exposure and temperatures in summer, high winds, periodic ice, and low winter temperatures. Kalmia latifolia, Gaylussacia baccata, and Vaccinium spp. are codominant shrubs in variable proportions, with Vaccinium angustifolium the principal species of high-elevation sites (all >1200 m [4000 feet]) in West Virginia and Vaccinium pallidum the characteristic species of somewhat lower-elevation (950-1200 [3100-4000 feet]) sites in Virginia. Other woody plants occurring frequently in the type include Menziesia pilosa, Sorbus americana, Aronia melanocarpa, Gaultheria procumbens, Hamamelis virginiana, Prunus pensylvanica, Ilex montana, Ilex mucronata (West Virginia only), and extremely stunted (<3 m tall) Betula alleghaniensis. Herbaceous plants are typically very sparse, but occasional dense colonies of Deschampsia flexuosa occur on open ledges with thin mats of moss and organic matter. The vegetation is floristically quite depauperate and plot-sampled stands have a mean species richness of only 15 vascular taxa.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Classification of this type is based on analysis of 13 plot samples from Virginia and West Virginia. This community has some affinities to various Southern Appalachian heath bald communities in floristics, structure, and general edaphic conditions, but lacks many of the characteristic Southern Appalachian species such as Rhododendron carolinianum, Rhododendron catawbiense, Rhododendron calendulaceum, Eubotrys recurvus, Pieris floribunda, and Leiophyllum buxifolium. Species of northern affinity not found in Southern Appalachian heath balds (Ilex mucronata, Vaccinium angustifolium, Lycopodium annotinum, Aralia hispida, Carex polymorpha, Oryzopsis asperifolia) further differentiate this community, both from Southern Appalachian heath bald communities and from Kentucky examples of Kalmia latifolia - Gaylussacia baccata-dominated vegetation.

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

Floristics: Total vegetation cover varies from <25% to >75% and consists of dense shrub thickets and small herbaceous mats among the exposed rocks. Kalmia latifolia, Gaylussacia baccata, and Vaccinium spp. are codominant shrubs in variable proportions, with Vaccinium angustifolium the principal species of high-elevation sites (all >1200 m [4000 feet]) in West Virginia and Vaccinium pallidum the characteristic species of somewhat lower-elevation (950-1200 m [3100-4000 feet]) sites in Virginia. Patch-dominance of these ericads may occur in pronounced zonation or in extremely dense, stratified mixtures. Other woody plants occurring frequently in the type include Menziesia pilosa, Sorbus americana, Aronia melanocarpa, Aronia arbutifolia (= Photinia pyrifolia) (West Virginia only), Gaultheria procumbens, Hamamelis virginiana, Prunus pensylvanica, Rubus hispidus (West Virginia only), Ilex montana, Ilex mucronata (= Nemopanthus mucronatus) (West Virginia only), and extremely stunted (<3 m tall) Betula alleghaniensis. Additional stunted trees occasionally found in this type at low cover include Acer rubrum, Amelanchier laevis, Amelanchier sanguinea, Betula lenta, Picea rubens (West Virginia only), Pinus rigida, Pinus pungens, Rhododendron prinophyllum, Quercus rubra, and Tsuga canadensis. Herbaceous plants are typically very sparse, but occasional dense colonies of Deschampsia flexuosa occur on open ledges with thin mats of moss and organic matter. Other herbs that are sometimes important in this type are Aralia nudicaulis, Lysimachia quadrifolia, Maianthemum canadense, Polypodium appalachianum, Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum, Carex pensylvanica, Dennstaedtia punctilobula, Melampyrum lineare, Lycopodium annotinum, Lycopodium dendroideum (West Virginia only), Polygonum cilinode, Oryzopsis asperifolia, Carex polymorpha, Aralia hispida, and Paronychia argyrocoma. Species richness of 13 Virginia and West Virginia plot samples ranges from 5 to 22 taxa per 100 m2 (mean = 15).

Dynamics:  There are few threats to this vegetation at remote sites. However, several Virginia occurrences on public lands (e.g., Old Rag Mountain and Mary''s Rock in Shenandoah National Park) have been significantly impacted by heavy trampling at high-elevation overlooks near trails. In addition, susceptible lichen species may have been eliminated from these sites due to air pollution, but no baseline data are available to document this.
Environmental Description:  Stands occur on nearly level to steeply sloping (>30°) outcrops, pavements, and clifftops of acidic bedrock, including Tuscarora quartzite, charnockite, leucocharnockite, Old Rag granite, and sandstones of the Allegheny Formation and Pottsville group. Habitats are situated on upper slopes and summits with south to northwest aspects, at elevations ranging from about 950 to 1460 m (3100-4800 feet) in the Central Appalachians. Surface cover of bedrock and loose boulders averages about 80% in plot samples, and lichen cover on exposed rock surfaces is generally >75%. Soil development is minimal, consisting of localized crevices and mats of disintegrated rock and organic matter. These habitats have distinctly xeric moisture regimes and are subject to year-round microclimatic extremes, including high solar exposure and temperatures in summer, high winds, periodic ice, and low winter temperatures.
Geographic Range: The type is known from scattered sites in the Northern Blue Ridge, Ridge and Valley, and Allegheny Mountains of eastern West Virginia and northwestern Virginia and Allegheny Plateau physiographic province in Maryland.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  VA, WV


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G2

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass S18 2.B
Formation 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation F012 2.B.2
Division 2.B.2.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division D024 2.B.2.Nc
Macrogroup 2.B.2.Nc.1 Catawba Rosebay / Michaux''s Saxifrage - Flattened Oatgrass Felsic & Mafic Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup M506 2.B.2.Nc.1
Group 2.B.2.Nc.1.e North-Central Appalachian Acidic Scrub & Grassland Group G789 2.B.2.Nc.1.e
Alliance A4111 <i>Vaccinium pallidum - Vaccinium</i> spp. - Sheep Laurel Rocky Heath Alliance A4111 2.B.2.Nc.1.e
Association CEGL003939 Mountain Laurel - Black Huckleberry - (Lowbush Blueberry, Blue Ridge Blueberry) - Minniebush Shrubland CEGL003939 2.B.2.Nc.1.e
Concept Lineage: Determined to represent the same type: CEGL008538 merged into CEGL003939.

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: > Central Appalachian Heath Bald (Fleming 1985)
? Mountain laurel-black huckleberry summit (CAP pers. comm. 1998)
Concept Author(s): A.S. Weakley

Author of Description: G.P. Fleming

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 10-26-11
  • CAP [Central Appalachian Forest Working Group]. 1998. Central Appalachian Working group discussions. The Nature Conservancy, Boston, MA.
  • Fleming, G. P. 1985. A study of the dwarf pine forest and Carex polymorpha Muhl. on Panther Knob, West Virginia. Final report prepared for The Nature Conservancy, West Virginia Field Office. 149 pp.
  • Fleming, G. P., A. Belden, Jr., K. E. Heffernan, A. C. Chazal, N. E. Van Alstine, and E. M. Butler. 2007a. A natural heritage inventory of the rock outcrops of Shenandoah National Park. Unpublished report submitted to the National Park Service. Natural Heritage Technical Report 07-01. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 433 pp. plus appendixes.
  • 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 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.
  • Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
  • 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, 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.