Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Overcup Oak - (Willow Oak, Bald-cypress) / Greater Bladder Sedge - Virginia Water-horehound Floodplain Forest

Colloquial Name: Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain Overcup Oak Overflow Bottom Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This hydric forest community of overflow bottoms occurs in areas of deep inundation with standing water and saturated soils through mid-summer on the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain of southern Arkansas. The canopy is very much dominated by Quercus lyrata (90% canopy cover). The canopy is moderately tall (24+ m [80+ feet]) and can be moderately closed or have an open woodland appearance. Relatively large gaps are common. This community often covers hundreds of acres. This community is typically flooded deeper and longer than the Quercus phellos flats. The soils are level and poorly drained. The dominant overstory tree is Quercus lyrata with Carya aquatica, Quercus phellos, and Taxodium distichum occurring as occasional trees. Liquidambar styraciflua is not present. The understory is often minimal but may comprise Acer rubrum var. drummondii, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Ilex decidua, and Planera aquatica. There is minimal woody vegetation in the understory with Cornus obliqua occurring as an occasional. The shrub layer is usually sparse but may include Cephalanthus occidentalis, Hibiscus lasiocarpos, and Itea virginica. Woody vines are nearly absent but may include Smilax rotundifolia and Smilax smallii. The herbaceous layer is dominated by sedges. Herbaceous species include Symphyotrichum lanceolatum, Bidens aristosa, Boehmeria cylindrica, Brunnichia ovata, Carex frankii, Carex intumescens, Carex joorii, Carex louisianica, Carex lupulina, Carex tribuloides, Commelina virginica, Eleocharis sp., Iris virginica, Juncus effusus (common), Leersia oryzoides, Leersia virginica, Lobelia cardinalis, Lycopus virginicus, Panicum anceps, Pluchea camphorata, Polygonum hydropiperoides, Saururus cernuus, and Triadenum tubulosum. The herbaceous layer can be sparse or dense with thick meter-high vegetation. There is little leaf litter or duff due to flooding, although the soils can be partially organic. These forests occur on annually, deeply flooded, nearly level, poorly-drained, low fertility, acidic, silt-loams of the Guyton Series. This is a characteristic community of overflow bottoms on the Upper West Gulf Coastal Plain. The community forms a mosaic with Quercus phellos / Cornus obliqua - Amorpha fruticosa / Carex intumescens - Hymenocallis liriosme Seasonally Saturated Overflow Bottom Forest. [?This community also may form in shallow sloughs or abandoned overflow tributaries that are not dominated by Taxodium distichum - (Carya aquatica, Nyssa aquatica) / Planera aquatica / Boehmeria cylindrica - Saururus cernuus Semipermanently Flooded Floodplain Slough Forest.] Examples are known from Big Cypress Unique Area, Cattail Lake tract "overcup oak woodland," Oine Bluff Arsenal, and Pond Creek National Wildlife Refuge. The type location is in Dallas County. This community is also known from Jefferson, Little River, and Sevier counties, Arkansas.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This might be equivalent to ~Quercus lyrata - Carya aquatica Floodplain Forest (CEGL007397)$$, but one is shallow slough, the other saturated flats with some differences in vegetation. We might pull out the woodland type and describe it separately some day. Good-quality sites are known and not much threatened due to the very wet soils. Hydrologic alterations could affect this community. Also compare with ~Quercus texana - Quercus lyrata Floodplain Forest (CEGL007407)$$.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available