Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Blackjack Oak / Little Bluestem - (Ashy Sunflower, Starry Rosinweed, Tall Blazingstar) Woodland

Colloquial Name: Western Highland Rim Blackjack Oak Barrens

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: These barrens are found on flat exposed ridgetops of the Western Highland Rim (Lewis County, Tennessee), and are dominated by a great variety of grasses and forbs. Scattered Quercus marilandica are characteristic. Among the dominant grasses, Schizachyrium scoparium is most abundant, with Andropogon gerardii and Sorghastrum nutans; Carex complanata and Dichanthelium spp. are also present. Forbs present include Liatris aspera, Liatris spicata, Silphium asteriscus, Monarda fistulosa, Mimosa microphylla, Tephrosia virginiana, Lobelia puberula, Eryngium yuccifolium, Euphorbia corollata, Gillenia stipulata, Symphyotrichum patens, Sericocarpus linifolius, Eupatorium hyssopifolium, Eupatorium rotundifolium, Eupatorium serotinum, Eupatorium sessilifolium, Parthenium integrifolium, Solidago odora, Helianthus hirsutus, Hypericum virgatum, and Lysimachia tonsa. In addition, this community provides habitat for Helianthus eggertii, a globally rare plant. At the one site known, this vegetation consists of scattered Quercus marilandica with a dense cover of grasses and forbs. Due to fire suppression, Rhus copallinum is invading; adjoining areas have been converted to Festuca pasture or are in Quercus stellata - Quercus falcata forest. These barrens occur on winter-wet, summer-dry loessal soils on the surface of the Western Highland Rim of middle Tennessee. Soils are generally deep, with chert fragments; rock outcrops are absent. The presence of this or similar vegetation may be related to remnant deposits of Cretaceous gravels which remain on some of the high flat ridges in this landscape.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This type needs to be compared with related types from adjoining states and from the Midwest. Few examples remain of this community; succession has extirpated many examples. Fire may have been an important factor in maintaining this community; in its absence, most sites appear to have developed greater canopy closure, with shrubs dominating at the expense of herbs. Most examples are marginal, being found along roadsides or field margins. Increasingly extensive agricultural development may have eliminated many occurrences. This association was originally described as a wooded herbaceous type, but is now considered a woodland.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available