Common (Translated Scientific) Name: American Umbrella-leaf - Lettuceleaf Saxifrage - Canadian Woodnettle Forested Herbaceous Seep

Colloquial Name: Rich Montane Seep (Cove Type)

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community occurs at moderate to high elevations of the southern Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina, eastern Tennessee, southwestern Virginia, northern Georgia, and probably northwestern South Carolina. It is a characteristic association of shaded seeps of the southern Appalachian Mountains, usually with overhanging canopies, though trees are not rooted in the seep itself. They often are not large enough to be readily mappable, but they are a distinctive habitat for many plants, invertebrate and vertebrate animals. Stands typically contain Diphylleia cymosa, Saxifraga micranthidifolia, and Laportea canadensis. Other characteristic species include Cardamine clematitis, Chelone lyonii, Chelone glabra, Chrysosplenium americanum, Boykinia aconitifolia, Cicuta maculata, Houstonia serpyllifolia, Viola cucullata, Viola macloskeyi ssp. pallens, Lilium grayi, Oxypolis rigidior, Parnassia asarifolia, Tiarella cordifolia, Thalictrum clavatum, Trautvetteria caroliniensis, Stellaria corei, and Geum geniculatum. Occurrences associated with more acidic soil conditions often contain Juncus gymnocarpus. This association often occurs in cove forests, and the canopy species may include Liriodendron tulipifera, Tilia americana, Fraxinus americana, Acer saccharum, and Aesculus flava.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: The nominal species Diphylleia cymosa, is a conspicuous component of this association, but may also be found in seeps of varying canopy closure at middle and high elevations. The associated nominal species, Saxifraga micranthidifolia and Laportea canadensis, are indicative of shaded seeps (G. Kauffman pers. comm.). Another high-elevation herbaceous seep association known from the Southern Appalachians, ~Impatiens (capensis, pallida) - Monarda didyma - Rudbeckia laciniata var. digitata Herbaceous Seep (CEGL004293)$$, often occurs on boulderfields or in northern hardwood forests, at higher elevations than the association defined here. Four plots (three from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and one from Towns County, Georgia) were classified as this association in the Appalachian Trail analysis (Fleming and Patterson 2009a). Diphylleia cymosa and Laportea canadensis are present and abundant in all the plot samples, and Saxifraga micranthidifolia is present in two of the plots, but otherwise, the samples varied in species composition.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available