Print Report
CEGL004622 Bigelowia nuttallii - Coreopsis pulchra - Liatris microcephala Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Nuttall''s Rayless-goldenrod - Woodland Tickseed - Small-head Blazingstar Grassland
Colloquial Name: Alabama Cumberland Sandstone Glade
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community is characteristic of shallow soils associated with sandstone outcrops on Lookout and Sand mountains in northeastern Alabama, ranging sporadically southwestward to the vicinity of Birmingham. Occurrences of this community type can attain dimensions as large as 4-5 acres. Typically, a scattering of small trees and shrubs, including Pinus virginiana, Acer rubrum, Chionanthus virginicus, Kalmia latifolia, Vaccinium arboreum, and Quercus spp., inhabit deeper soils that may have accumulated in crevices. The herbaceous component is represented by a high diversity of graminoids and forbs, with the following species being typical: Bigelowia nuttallii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Andropogon ternarius, Aristida longespica, Panicum virgatum, Tephrosia virginiana, Hypericum hypericoides, Agalinis tenuifolia, Castilleja coccinea, Symphyotrichum patens, Symphyotrichum concolor, Coreopsis major, Coreopsis pulchra, Helianthus divaricatus, Liatris microcephala, Pityopsis graminifolia, and Solidago erecta. Several regional endemics and rare species are restricted to this community, including Allium speculae, Coreopsis pulchra, Cuscuta harperi, Diervilla rivularis, Helianthus longifolius, Quercus boyntonii, Schoenolirion wrightii, and Phemeranthus mengesii. This community occurs in Jackson, DeKalb, Cherokee, Marshall, and Etowah counties, Alabama. In a southern outlier of this type (Jefferson County, Alabama, in the vicinity of Birmingham), herbaceous species include Bigelowia nudata, Hypericum gentianoides, Liatris microcephala, Phemeranthus mengesii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Opuntia humifusa, Seymeria cassioides, Cuscuta harperi, Pteridium aquilinum, and Solidago erecta. The scattered woody species include Pinus virginiana, Pinus palustris, Quercus falcata, Quercus georgiana, Ulmus alata, Amelanchier arborea, Vaccinium arboreum, Vaccinium elliottii, and the woody vines Smilax bona-nox, Gelsemium sempervirens, and Vitis rotundifolia.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: Perkins (1981) reports Bigelowia as dominating "basins, small vegetation islands, and edges of vegetation mats" on sandstone outcrops above Little River Canyon, Alabama (Lookout Mountain, Table Plateau Subsection). It is reported as "often the only herb in the samples ... (s)ometimes parasitizing Bigelowia was the rare dodder Cuscuta harperi." Al Schotz (pers. comm.) reports that the three nominal species "almost always co-exist with one another in this kind of habitat" and that, in addition, "a sizable number of regional endemics" are also present. Examples are known from Lake Guntersville State Park and Chitwood Bog TNC Preserve.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Stands of this association contain a high diversity of graminoids and forbs. The following species are typical: Bigelowia nuttallii, Schizachyrium scoparium, Andropogon ternarius, Aristida longespica, Panicum virgatum, Tephrosia virginiana, Hypericum gentianoides, Hypericum hypericoides, Agalinis tenuifolia, Castilleja coccinea, Seymeria cassioides, Phemeranthus mengesii (= Talinum mengesii), Symphyotrichum patens (= Aster patens), Symphyotrichum concolor (= Aster concolor), Coreopsis major, Coreopsis pulchra, Helianthus divaricatus, Liatris microcephala, Pityopsis graminifolia, Solidago erecta (= Solidago speciosa var. erecta), Opuntia humifusa, Cuscuta harperi, and Pteridium aquilinum. Typically, a scattering of small trees and shrubs, including Pinus virginiana, Pinus palustris, Quercus falcata, Quercus georgiana, Ulmus alata, Amelanchier arborea, Acer rubrum, Chionanthus virginicus, Kalmia latifolia, Vaccinium arboreum, and Vaccinium elliottii, inhabit deeper soils that may have accumulated in crevices. The woody vines Smilax bona-nox, Gelsemium sempervirens, and Vitis rotundifolia may also be present. Several regional endemics and rare species are restricted to this community, including Allium speculae, Coreopsis pulchra, Cuscuta harperi, Diervilla rivularis, Helianthus longifolius, Quercus boyntonii, Schoenolirion wrightii, and Phemeranthus mengesii.
Dynamics: No Data Available
Environmental Description: No Data Available
Geographic Range: This community is characteristic of shallow soils associated with sandstone outcrops on Lookout and Sand mountains in northeastern Alabama, ranging sporadically southwestward to the vicinity of Birmingham.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: AL
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.687590
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.2 Little Bluestem - Silky Oatgrass Acidic Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M509 | 2.B.2.Nc.2 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.2.b Little Bluestem - Silky Oatgrass Acidic Glade & Barrens Group | G178 | 2.B.2.Nc.2.b |
| Alliance | A3474 Little Bluestem - Silky Oatgrass - Nuttall''s Rayless-goldenrod Cumberland Sandstone Grassland Alliance | A3474 | 2.B.2.Nc.2.b |
| Association | CEGL004622 Nuttall''s Rayless-goldenrod - Woodland Tickseed - Small-head Blazingstar Grassland | CEGL004622 | 2.B.2.Nc.2.b |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: < IE8a. Interior Upland Sandstone Glade (Allard 1990)
- ALNHP [Alabama Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data on file. Alabama Natural Heritage Program, Auburn University.
- 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.
- McVaugh, R. 1943. The vegetation of the granitic flat-rocks of the southeastern United States. Ecological Monographs 13:120-166.
- NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Perkins, B. E. 1981. Vegetation of sandstone outcrops of the Cumberland Plateau. M.S. thesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. xi plus 121 pp.
- Schotz, A., H. Summer, and R. White, Jr. 2008. Vascular plant inventory and ecological community classification for Little River Canyon National Preserve. NatureServe, Durham, NC. 244 pp.
- Schotz, Al. Personal communication. Community Ecologist. Alabama Natural Heritage Program. Montgomery, AL.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.