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CEGL004524 Saxifraga michauxii Acidic Outcrop Barrens

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Michaux''s Saxifrage Acidic Outcrop Barrens

Colloquial Name: Low-Elevation Rocky Summit (Acidic Type)

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This is a broadly defined type which encompasses a diversity of sloping rock outcrops at low to medium elevations in the Southern and Central Appalachians, with Saxifraga michauxii as a characteristic component. Other species are variable, but may include Saxifraga virginiensis, Saxifraga micranthidifolia, Carex spp., Schizachyrium scoparium, and others. This community shows some relationship to the others in this alliance, ~Saxifraga michauxii - Carex misera - Schizachyrium scoparium Rocky Grassland Alliance (A1621)$$, but it lacks most or all of the rare endemic species which are important components of the other types.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: North Carolina recognizes a Low Elevation Rocky Summit (Basic Subtype), a variant on mafic or basic metasedimentary rocks or felsic rocks influenced by base-rich seepage, containing plants that prefer higher pH conditions. It was formerly classified as a state nonstandard type, ~Saxifraga michauxii - Cheilanthes lanosa - Hylotelephium telephioides Grassland (CEGL004989)$$.

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

Floristics: A stand in the Chattahoochee National Forest (Almond Bald, M221Dc38) contains the herbaceous species Carex pensylvanica, Danthonia sericea, Schizachyrium scoparium, Heuchera villosa, Packera anonyma (= Senecio anonymus), Saxifraga michauxii, Asplenium platyneuron, Houstonia longifolia (= var. glabra), Solidago sp., Hypericum gentianoides, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Asclepias incarnata, Symphyotrichum patens (= Aster patens), Danthonia compressa, Dichanthelium sp., Dryopteris marginalis, Polygonatum biflorum, and Tradescantia sp. Small trees and shrubs are scattered in the stand or appear on the margins. They include Amelanchier laevis, Prunus angustifolia, Prunus serotina, Carya tomentosa (= Carya alba), Quercus alba, Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus), Robinia pseudoacacia, Diospyros virginiana, Quercus velutina, Vaccinium stamineum, Arundinaria gigantea, Rhus copallinum, and Vaccinium pallidum. Vines include Toxicodendron radicans, Smilax bona-nox, and Smilax rotundifolia. Trees on the margin of the stand include Quercus rubra, Carya glabra, and Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana.

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  No Data Available
Geographic Range: This community occurs in the Southern Blue Ridge from southwestern Virginia south into Georgia. It may extend north into the Ridge and Valley. It is also reported from the Piedmont (M. Schafale pers. comm. 2001).

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  GA, NC, SC, TN, VA


Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3?

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.d Wretched Sedge - Michaux''s Saxifrage - Highbush Blueberry Appalachian Rocky Outcrop Group G670 2.B.2.Nc.1.d
Alliance A1621 Michaux''s Saxifrage - Wretched Sedge - Little Bluestem Rocky Grassland Alliance A1621 2.B.2.Nc.1.d
Association CEGL004524 Michaux''s Saxifrage Acidic Outcrop Barrens CEGL004524 2.B.2.Nc.1.d
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? IE4b. Blue Ridge/Piedmont Low Elevation Acidic Rocky Summit (Allard 1990)
Concept Author(s): Southeastern Ecology Group

Author of Description: Southeastern Ecology Group

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 08-01-96
  • 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.
  • Chafin, L. 2011. Georgia''s natural communities and associated rare plant and animal species: Thumbnail accounts. Based on "Guide to the Natural Communities of Georgia," by Edwards et al. 2013. University of Georgia Press. Georgia Nongame Conservation Section, Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources. 125 pp.
  • 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/]
  • SCWMRD [South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department]. 2018. Unpublished data. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Columbia.
  • Schafale, M. P. 2012. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina, 4th Approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.
  • Schafale, M. P., and A. S. Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. Third approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 325 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.