Print Report

CEGL003895 Alnus serrulata - Xanthorhiza simplicissima Wet Shrubland

Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available

Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Hazel Alder - Yellowroot Wet Shrubland

Colloquial Name: Rocky Bar & Shore (Alder - Yellowroot Type)

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This association includes shrublands on rocky or gravelly substrates along narrow river margins in the southeastern Blue Ridge Escarpment gorges, ranging elsewhere on the Southern Blue Ridge and into the Cumberland Plateau. Vegetation composition, density, and height vary with frequency of flooding, substrate, and soil depth. Alnus serrulata and Xanthorhiza simplicissima are common and characteristic but not always dominant. Other shrubs may include Arundinaria gigantea, Diervilla sessilifolia, Salix nigra, Salix sericea, Rhododendron arborescens, Rhododendron viscosum, Rhododendron maximum, Rhododendron periclymenoides, Kalmia latifolia, Leucothoe fontanesiana, Cornus foemina, Cornus amomum, Physocarpus opulifolius, Itea virginica, and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides. Arborescent species that occur as tall shrubs (or as occasional trees, less than 10% cover) include Acer rubrum, Carpinus caroliniana, Diospyros virginiana, Liquidambar styraciflua, Liriodendron tulipifera, Platanus occidentalis, and Tsuga canadensis. Open areas dominated by grasses and forbs include species such as Agrostis perennans, Boykinia aconitifolia, Carex torta, Eutrochium fistulosum, Lycopus virginicus, Trautvetteria caroliniensis, Houstonia serpyllifolia, Impatiens capensis, Hypericum mutilum, Viola x primulifolia, and Holcus lanatus (exotic). Adjacent alluvial forests in the Blue Ridge are dominated by Tsuga canadensis, Liriodendron tulipifera, Betula lenta, and, at lower elevations, below 610 m (2000 feet), Platanus occidentalis and Liquidambar styraciflua.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This association is known from the Bankhead National Forest, Alabama, but further inventory is needed to fully describe the variation of this type on the Bankhead and elsewhere in the Cumberland Plateau. In the Appalachian Trail study (Fleming and Patterson 2009a), four plots from North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia were classified as this association. Species that are 100% constant are Alnus serrulata, Apios americana, Dichanthelium clandestinum, Rudbeckia laciniata, Solidago rugosa, Toxicodendron radicans, Verbesina alternifolia, and Viola sororia; species that are 75% constant include Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Amphicarpaea bracteata, Carpinus caroliniana, Clematis virginiana, Cryptotaenia canadensis, Impatiens capensis, and Xanthorhiza simplicissima. Exotic species that may be present (at 75% constancy) include Holcus lanatus, Microstegium vimineum, and Rosa multiflora.

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

Floristics: Alnus serrulata and Xanthorhiza simplicissima are common shrubs and characteristic but not always dominant. Other shrubs may include Arundinaria gigantea, Diervilla sessilifolia, Salix nigra, Salix sericea, Rhododendron arborescens, Rhododendron viscosum, Rhododendron maximum, Rhododendron periclymenoides, Kalmia latifolia, Leucothoe fontanesiana, Cornus foemina, Cornus amomum, Physocarpus opulifolius, Itea virginica, and Viburnum nudum var. cassinoides. Arborescent species that occur as tall shrubs (or as occasional trees, less than 10% cover) include Acer rubrum, Carpinus caroliniana, Diospyros virginiana, Liquidambar styraciflua, Liriodendron tulipifera, Platanus occidentalis, and Tsuga canadensis. Open areas dominated by grasses and forbs include species such as Agrostis perennans, Boykinia aconitifolia, Carex torta, Eutrochium fistulosum (= Eupatorium fistulosum), Lycopus virginicus, Trautvetteria caroliniensis, Houstonia serpyllifolia, Impatiens capensis, Hypericum mutilum, Viola x primulifolia, and Holcus lanatus (exotic). Adjacent alluvial forests in the Blue Ridge are dominated by Tsuga canadensis, Liriodendron tulipifera, Betula lenta, and, at lower elevations, below 610 m (2000 feet), Platanus occidentalis and Liquidambar styraciflua

Dynamics:  No Data Available
Environmental Description:  This association includes shrublands on rocky or gravelly substrates along narrow river margins in the southeastern Blue Ridge Escarpment gorges, ranging elsewhere on the Southern Blue Ridge and into the Cumberland Plateau. Vegetation composition, density, and height vary with frequency of flooding, substrate, and soil depth. The occurrences can be in very narrow bands of 1-2 m or wider bars of up to 10-20 m wide adjacent to large creeks and small rivers.
Geographic Range: This association is found along montane rivers in the Southern Blue Ridge and Cumberlands. Occurrences in adjacent regions are possible.

Nations: US

States/Provinces:  AL, GA, KY, NC, SC, TN, VA


Confidence Level: Moderate

Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G3G4

Greasons: No Data Available
Type Name Database Code Classification Code
Class 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class C02 2
Subclass 2.C Shrub & Herb Wetland Subclass S44 2.C
Formation 2.C.4 Temperate to Polar Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Formation F013 2.C.4
Division 2.C.4.Nd Eastern North American Temperate Freshwater Marsh, Wet Meadow & Shrubland Division D323 2.C.4.Nd
Macrogroup 2.C.4.Nd.3 Eastern North American Wet Shoreline Vegetation Macrogroup M880 2.C.4.Nd.3
Group 2.C.4.Nd.3.a Eastern North American Riverine Wetland Vegetation Group G755 2.C.4.Nd.3.a
Alliance A0943 Hazel Alder Rocky Floodplain Shrubland Alliance A0943 2.C.4.Nd.3.a
Association CEGL003895 Hazel Alder - Yellowroot Wet Shrubland CEGL003895 2.C.4.Nd.3.a
Concept Lineage: No Data Available

Predecessors: No Data Available

Obsolete Names: No Data Available

Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Alnus/Xanthorhiza rocky stream margin (Newell and Peet 1995)
< IIE3a. Riverside Shoal and Stream Bar Complex (Allard 1990)
= River Sandbar (Patterson 1994)
Concept Author(s): K.D. Patterson (1994)

Author of Description: R. White and K.D. Patterson

Acknowledgements: No Data Available

Version Date: 02-24-10
  • 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.
  • 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., and K. D. Patterson. 2009a. A vegetation classification for the Appalachian Trail: Virginia south to Georgia. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage. In-house analysis, March 2009.
  • NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
  • Nelson, J. B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina: Initial classification and description. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Columbia, SC. 55 pp.
  • Newell, C. L., and R. K. Peet. 1995. Vegetation of Linville Gorge Wilderness, North Carolina. Unpublished report. to USDA Forest Service. University of North Carolina, Department of Biology, Chapel Hill. 211 pp.
  • Patterson, K. D. 1994. Classification of vegetation in Ellicott Rock Wilderness, Southeastern Blue Ridge Escarpment. M.S. thesis, North Carolina State University, Raleigh. 91 pp.
  • Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. No date. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
  • 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.
  • Schotz, A., H. Summer, and R. White, Jr. 2008. Vascular plant inventory and ecological community classification for Little River Canyon National Preserve. NatureServe, Durham, NC. 244 pp.
  • Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.