Print Report

CEGL003296 Salix sitchensis / Equisetum arvense - Petasites frigidus Wet Shrubland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sitka Willow / Field Horsetail - Arctic Sweet-colt''s-foot Wet Shrubland

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This riparian association occurs in western Washington at low to montane elevations on floodplains or low terraces. These sites are probably frequently flooded by overbank riverine flooding, and have coarse-textured soils (gravelly and/or sandy). It is most often found along larger streams or rivers with well-developed floodplains. The well-developed, tall-shrub layer is dominated by Salix sitchensis. Young Alnus rubra can be present to codominant or Populus balsamifera ssp. trichocarpa is often present. Small amounts of Rubus spectabilis are usually present. The herbaceous layer varies from rather sparse to moderately dense. Equisetum arvense and/or Petasites frigidus are usually present. A variety of other herbs may be present.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This type is common along the Elwha River in Olympic National Park, often with Alnus rubra as a codominant in the tall-shrub layer. A Mount Rainier plot is at a higher elevation than the previous concept and has numerous subalpine species prominent (Valeriana sitchensis, Arnica latifolia).

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

Floristics: No Data Available

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  No Data Available
Geographic Range: No Data Available

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  WA


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G4?

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.Nb Western North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D031 2.C.4.Nb
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nb.4 Vancouverian Lowland Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Macrogroup M073 2.C.4.Nb.4
Group 2.C.4.Nb.4.c Alder species - Willow species - Meadowsweet species Wet Shrubland Group G322 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Alliance A3835 Dune Willow - Sitka Willow - Rose Spirea Wet Shrubland Alliance A3835 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Association CEGL003296 Sitka Willow / Field Horsetail - Arctic Sweet-colt''s-foot Wet Shrubland CEGL003296 2.C.4.Nb.4.c
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Alnus rubra/Salix sitchensis/Equisetum arvense Community Type (Mycek 1994)
= Salix sitchensis / Petasites frigidus Association (Diaz and Mellen 1996)
? Salix sitchensis-Rubus spectabilis Community Type (Mycek 1994)
= Salix sitchensis/(Equisetum arvense) Association (Murray 2000)
= Salix sitchensis/Equisetum arvense-Petasites frigidus Shrubland (Crawford et al. 2009)
= Salix sitchensis/Equisetum arvense Community (Chappell 1999)
? Salix sitchensis/Equisetum arvense Community Type (Mycek 1994)
? Salix sitchensis/Equisetum arvense vegetation types (4 variants) (Titus et al. 1999)
? Salix sitchensis/Petasites frigidus community (Diaz and Mellen 1996)
? Salix sitchensis community (Diaz and Mellen 1996)
Concept Author(s): Crawford et al. (2009)

Author of Description: Crawford et al. (2009)

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 01-04-16
  • Chappell, C. B. 1999. Ecological classification of low-elevation riparian vegetation on the Olympic Experimental State Forest: A first approximation. Unpublished progress report. Washing Natural Heritage Program, Washington Department of Natural Resources, Olympia. 43 pp.
  • Crawford, R. C., C. B. Chappell, C. C. Thompson, and F. J. Rocchio. 2009. Vegetation classification of Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic national parks. Plant association descriptions and identification keys: Appendices A-G. Natural Resource Technical Report NPS/NCCN/NRTR--2009/D-586. National Park Service, Fort Collins, CO. 586 pp.
  • Diaz, N. M., and T. K. Mellen. 1996. Riparian ecological types, Gifford Pinchot and Mt. Hood national forests, and Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. Technical Report R6-NR-TP-10-96. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Region, Portland, OR. 203 pp. plus appendices.
  • Murray, M. P. 2000. Wetland plant associations of the western hemlock zone in the central coastal and westslope Cascade Mountains. Unpublished report, Oregon Natural Heritage Program, Portland, OR. 82 pp. [http://www.natureserve.org/nhp/us/or/nw_or_wetlands.pdf]
  • Mycek, L. 1994. A classification of riparian plant communities in three geomorphological provinces of the Cascade Mountains in western Washington State. M.S. thesis, University of Washington, Seattle. 122 pp.
  • Titus, J. H., P. J. Titus, and R. del Moral. 1999. Wetland development in primary and secondary successional substrates; fourteen years after the eruption of Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA. Northwest Science 73:186-204.
  • WNHP [Washington Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data files. Washington Natural Heritage Program, Department of Natural Resources, Olympia, WA.
  • Western Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boulder, CO.