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CEGL007748 Quercus muehlenbergii / Cercis canadensis / Bromus pubescens - Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchellus - Aquilegia canadensis Forest

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Chinquapin Oak / Eastern Redbud / Hairy Woodland Brome - Robin''s-plantain - Red Columbine Forest

Colloquial Name: North Atlantic Coastal Plain Dry Calcareous Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This dry, open, calcareous forest of the Coastal Plain of Virginia and Maryland is restricted to subxeric to xeric, fertile habitats over unconsolidated, calcareous deposits. These localized habitats are found on southeast- to southwest-facing, usually convex slopes of deep ravines or stream-fronting bluffs that have downcut into Tertiary shell deposits or limesands. Occurrences are small (typically <1 acre) and highly localized in dissected portions of the Virginia Inner Coastal Plain and Maryland Outer Coastal Plain. Quercus muehlenbergii is a constant, codominant or dominant canopy tree and is the most characteristic tree of this type. Some stands tend toward a woodland physiognomy, with low-statured, gnarled trees and a very open canopy. The understory includes Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana and Cercis canadensis var. canadensis. The herb layer is usually patchy but contains a diversity of species, including several long-range mountain disjuncts. Particularly abundant or noteworthy herbaceous species include Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchellus, Dichanthelium boscii, Bromus pubescens, and Aquilegia canadensis. Other locally important species are Carex albicans, Matelea carolinensis, Elymus hystrix var. hystrix, Elymus villosus, Solidago ulmifolia var. ulmifolia, Symphyotrichum patens, Arabis laevigata, Verbesina virginica var. virginica, Campanulastrum americanum, Smallanthus uvedalius, Silphium trifoliatum var. trifoliatum, Desmodium pauciflorum, Hexalectris spicata, and Piptochaetium avenaceum.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Classification of this type is supported by analysis of a 1250-plot regional dataset for the NCR and Mid-Atlantic national parks vegetation mapping projects. In that analysis, this association was represented by 22 plots from James City, Stafford, Surry, Westmoreland, and York counties, Virginia, and two plots from Kent County, Maryland. According to Rod Simmons, vegetation similar to the stands of this type at Crow''s Nest, Stafford County, Virginia, occurs across the Potomac River at Chapman''s Landing, Maryland. It is likely that this community type is endemic to a narrow region of the Coastal Plain stretching from Charles County, Maryland, south to Surry County, Virginia. Further inventory is required to determine whether it is present in Isle of Wight County and City of Suffolk, Virginia. This is a small-patch community type, usually occurring in patches of <1 acre or 0.4 ha. The total acreage of all known occurrences is <20 hectares.

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

Floristics: Quercus muehlenbergii is a constant, codominant or dominant canopy tree and is the most characteristic tree of this type, occurring with a variety of mostly inconstant associates, including Acer floridanum (= Acer barbatum), Carya cordiformis, Celtis occidentalis, Fagus grandifolia, Fraxinus americana, Quercus alba, Quercus rubra, Quercus montana (= Quercus prinus), Tilia americana, and Ulmus rubra. Small tree and shrub associates include Cercis canadensis var. canadensis, Cornus florida, Dirca palustris, Ilex opaca var. opaca, Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana, Ostrya virginiana, Sideroxylon lycioides, and Viburnum rufidulum. The most characteristic or locally abundant herbs include Agrimonia rostellata, Aquilegia canadensis, Arabis laevigata var. laevigata, Aristolochia serpentaria, Bromus pubescens, Carex albicans var. australis, Carex laxiflora var. laxiflora, Dichanthelium boscii, Elymus hystrix var. hystrix, Elymus villosus, Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchellus, Phryma leptostachya, Solidago caesia, and Solidago ulmifolia var. ulmifolia. Herbs that are important in specific geographic parts of the range include Arnoglossum atriplicifolium, Asclepias verticillata, Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Desmodium pauciflorum, Eupatorium sessilifolium, Fleischmannia incarnata (= Eupatorium incarnatum), Heuchera americana, Matelea carolinensis, Piptochaetium avenaceum, Scleria oligantha, Silphium trifoliatum, Smallanthus uvedalius, Sorghastrum elliottii, and Symphyotrichum patens var. patens. Stands of this community type also contain a number of species that are more-or-less strongly disjunct from primary ranges in the mountains and Piedmont, including Hexalectris spicata, Corallorhiza wisteriana, Campanulastrum americanum, Celastrus scandens, Muhlenbergia sobolifera, Muhlenbergia tenuiflora, Sanicula marilandica, Arabis lyrata, Packera obovata, Symphyotrichum laeve var. laeve, and Thalictrum revolutum. Mean species richness of 24 plot samples analyzed by VDNH was 67 taxa per 400 m2.

Dynamics:  Warm aspects and dry, highly calcareous soils appear to be the principal environmental factors in the occurrence and composition of this type. Owing to the scarcity of calcareous soils in the Coastal Plain, the combination of requisite site conditions for this type is very rare, accounting for the small and widely dispersed patches. The short, steep slopes incised into unconsolidated sediments provide a somewhat tenuous foothold for trees and are subject to windthrows during hurricanes and other high-wind conditions. For instance, all patches of this association at Chippokes State Park in Surry County, Virginia, were severely damaged by Hurricane Isabel in 2003 to the extent that the overstory was nearly removed, and the habitats cannot now be traversed because of the fallen trees. Increased light from the canopy removal has fostered massive invasions of Lonicera japonica and Microstegium vimineum at this site.
Environmental Description:  This forest occurs on subxeric to xeric, fertile habitats over unconsolidated, calcareous deposits in dissected portions of the Inner Coastal Plain from southeastern Virginia north to Kent County, Maryland. The majority of documented stands are in the central Virginia Coastal Plain near Williamsburg (James City, Surry, and York counties). Habitats are developed on the steep, convex, south-facing slopes of deep ravines and stream-fronting bluffs that have downcut into Tertiary shell deposits or limesands. Soils are slightly acidic to circumneutral, with high calcium levels. Mean soil chemistry values from plots of this type are comparable to those from limestone soils in the mountains (G. Fleming unpubl. data): pH = 6.5, Ca = 4707 (ppm), Mg = 116, Fe = 158, Mn = 67, Al = 403, P = 40, K = 113, cation exchange capacity = 27.4, total base saturation = 86.3%.
Geographic Range: This dry, open, calcareous forest is widely scattered in the Coastal Plain of Virginia and Maryland. Occurrences in Virginia are in highly dissected portions of the Inner Coastal Plain in James City, Stafford, Surry, Westmoreland, and York counties. Occurrences in Maryland are in the Outer Coastal Plain in Kent County.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  DC, MD, VA


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 1 Forest & Woodland Class C01 1
Subclass 1.B Temperate & Boreal Forest & Woodland Subclass S15 1.B
Formation 1.B.2 Cool Temperate Forest & Woodland Formation F008 1.B.2
Division 1.B.2.Na Eastern North American Forest & Woodland Division D008 1.B.2.Na
Macrogroup 1.B.2.Na.9 Pitch Pine - oak spp. - American Holly North Atlantic Forest Macrogroup M525 1.B.2.Na.9
Group 1.B.2.Na.9.b Black Oak - American Beech - Pitch Pine Coastal Plain Forest Group G894 1.B.2.Na.9.b
Alliance A4394 Chinquapin Oak - Mixed Hardwoods Calcareous Forest A4394 1.B.2.Na.9.b
Association CEGL007748 Chinquapin Oak / Eastern Redbud / Hairy Woodland Brome - Robin''s-plantain - Red Columbine Forest CEGL007748 1.B.2.Na.9.b
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Quercus muehlenbergii / Cercis canadensis / Dichanthelium boscii - Bromus pubescens - Erigeron pulchellus var. pulchellus - Aquilegia canadensis Forest (Fleming et al. 2007b)
= Quercus muhlenbergii - Carya cordiformis / Dichanthelium boscii - Erigeron pulchellus - (Desmodium pauciflorum) Forest (Fleming and Patterson 2003)
= Quercus muhlenbergii - Celtis (occidentalis, laevigata) / Elymus villosus Forest (Fleming and Patterson 2003)
= Quercus muhlenbergii / Erigeron pulchellus - Dichanthelium boscii - (Verbesina virginica) Forest (Fleming 2002a)
Concept Author(s): G.P. Fleming

Author of Description: G.P. Fleming

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 02-15-07
  • Eastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Boston, MA.
  • Fleming, G. P. 2001a. Community types of Coastal Plain calcareous ravines in Virginia. Preliminary analysis and classification. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. 4 pp.
  • Fleming, G. P. 2002a. Ecological communities of the Bull Run Mountains, Virginia: Baseline vegetation and floristic data for conservation planning and natural area stewardship. Natural Heritage Technical Report 02-12. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 274 pp. plus appendices.
  • Fleming, G. P. 2002b. Preliminary classification of Piedmont & Inner Coastal Plain vegetation types in Virginia. Natural Heritage Technical Report 02-14. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond. 29 pp.
  • Fleming, G. P. No date. Unpublished data. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA.
  • 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/]
  • Fleming, G. P., K. Taverna, and P. P. Coulling. 2007b. Vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks, eastern region. Regional (VA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2007. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
  • Fleming, G. P., and K. D. Patterson. 2003. Preliminary vegetation classification for the National Capitol Region parks. Regional (VA-WVA-MD-DC) analysis prepared for NatureServe and USGS-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program, March 2003. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond.
  • Harrison, J. W. 2011. The natural communities of Maryland: 2011 working list of ecological community groups and community types. Unpublished report. Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife and Heritage Service, Natural Heritage Program, Annapolis. 33 pp.
  • Harrison, J. W., compiler. 2004. Classification of vegetation communities of Maryland: First iteration. A subset of the International Classification of Ecological Communities: Terrestrial Vegetation of the United States, NatureServe. Maryland Natural Heritage Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis. 243 pp.
  • McAvoy, W. A., and J. W. Harrison. 2012. Plant community classification and the flora of Native American shell-middens on the Delmarva Peninsula. The Maryland Naturalist 52(1):1-34.
  • Patterson, K. D. 2008c. Vegetation classification and mapping at Colonial National Historical Park, Virginia. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2008/129. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 369 pp.
  • Patterson, K. D. 2008d. Vegetation classification and mapping at George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Virginia. Technical Report NPS/NER/NRTR--2008/099. National Park Service, Philadelphia, PA. 231 pp.
  • Patterson, Karen D. Personal communication. Ecologist, Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA.
  • Ware, D. M. E., and S. Ware. 1992. An Acer barbatum-rich ravine forest community in the Virginia coastal plain. Castanea 57:110-122.