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CEGL004717 Adiantum capillus-veneris - Thelypteris kunthii / Dumortiera hirsuta Cliff Vegetation

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available


Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Common Maidenhair - Kunth''s Maidenfern / Dumortiera Cliff Vegetation

Colloquial Name: Common Maidenhair Limestone Outcrop Seep

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This association occurs on seepy limestone exposed on shaded riverbanks, sinkhole sides, and stream ravines in the East Gulf Coastal Plain, extending south to Alachua and possibly St. Johns counties, Florida. Adiantum capillus-veneris and Thelypteris kunthii are generally the dominant herbs. Decumaria barbara is often a common to codominant festooning vine. Other species may include Aristolochia serpentaria, Selaginella ludoviciana, Carex spp., and others. Bryophytes are abundant and lush, usually dominated by the thallose liverwort Dumortiera hirsuta. In Panhandle Florida, Thelypteris ovata, Toxicodendron radicans, Decumaria barbara, and Parthenocissus quinquefolia are also reported in association with Adiantum.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Wharton (1978) describes "wet cliffs" with Adiantum capillus-veneris on a "laminated series of silt-clays" in western Georgia (Clay, Early counties) and adjacent Alabama in an area that Roland Harper called the "Blue Marl Region". Wharton comments that this area ("Chattahoochee Ravines") and the "Torreya ravines" are the only localities for Adiantum capillus-veneris not on limestone. Other herbs associated with this clay seepage environment include Polystichum acrostichoides, Osmunda cinnamomea, and Lobelia cardinalis (Wharton 1978).

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available

Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available

Floristics: Adiantum capillus-veneris and Thelypteris kunthii are generally the dominant herbs in this association. Decumaria barbara is often a common to codominant festooning vine. Other species may include Aristolochia serpentaria, Selaginella ludoviciana, Carex spp., and others. Bryophytes are abundant and lush, usually dominated by the thallose liverwort Dumortiera hirsuta. In Panhandle Florida, Thelypteris ovata, Toxicodendron radicans, Decumaria barbara, and Parthenocissus quinquefolia are also reported in association with Adiantum.

Dynamics:  No Data Available

Environmental Description:  Some examples of this association are found in cylindrical- or conical-shaped limesink depressions with steep vertical walls of exposed limestone in northern and possibly central Florida. These depressions form in karstic environments where cavities have been eroded in underlying limestone. As cavities enlarge, cavern roofs eventually collapse forming these steep-sided depressions. Some examples drain readily and contain standing water for short periods of time, while others contain permanent lakes. The steep-sided limestone walls are typically sparsely vegetated with mosses, liverworts, and ferns, with occasional herbs and shrubs in crevices where organic soils have developed (FNAI 1990). The steepness and depth of these depressions help create a generally moist microclimate which is often enhanced by seepage from surrounding uplands and the presence of standing water.

Geographic Range: This association is restricted to the East Gulf Coastal Plain of the Southeastern United States, extending south to Alachua and possibly St. Johns counties, Florida.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  AL, FL, GA




Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available

Grank: G3?

Greasons: No Data Available


Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available

Synonomy: No Data Available

Concept Author(s): A.S. Weakley

Author of Description: R.E. Evans and M. Pyne

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 07-26-11

  • FNAI [Florida Natural Areas Inventory]. 2010a. Guide to the natural communities of Florida: 2010 edition. Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee, FL. 228 pp. [https://fnai.org/naturalcommguide.cfm]
  • GNHP [Georgia Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. Georgia Natural Heritage Program, Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Social Circle.
  • Johnson, Ann F. Personal communication. Florida Natural Areas Inventory, Tallahassee.
  • Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
  • Wharton, C. H. 1978. The natural environments of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta. 227 pp.