Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Tuliptree - Box-elder - (American Sycamore) / American Hornbeam / Jumpseed Floodplain Forest

Colloquial Name: Northern Piedmont Small Stream Floodplain Forest

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This community occupies floodplains and terraces of medium-sized streams (large streams and small rivers) in the Piedmont of Maryland and Virginia. These floodplains are moderately extensive and subject to frequent overflow, but topographically fairly homogeneous. In these habitats, the alluvial landforms (e.g., levees, backswamps) are poorly developed or occur at very small scales. Hydrologic regime is temporarily flooded. Soils are generally alluvial silt loams and sands washed from various metamorphic and igneous rocks. This association is a closed forest with consistent overstory codominance by Liriodendron tulipifera in variable combinations with other trees. Acer negundo, Acer rubrum, or both are characteristic in the overstory or understory. Platanus occidentalis varies from codominant to absent. Other trees that may be important in some stands include Juglans nigra, Fraxinus pennsylvanica, Fraxinus americana, Carya cordiformis, Ulmus americana, Betula nigra, and Quercus palustris. Lindera benzoin, Carpinus caroliniana, and, less constantly, Asimina triloba and/or Viburnum prunifolium dominate the shrub layer. Vines of Toxicodendron radicans and other species may occur. Relatively diverse herb layers are composed of both mesophytic and hydrophytic species. Common herbs include Arisaema triphyllum, Geum canadense, Polygonum virginianum, Carex amphibola, Circaea lutetiana ssp. canadensis, Verbesina alternifolia, Carex radiata, Carex blanda, Impatiens capensis, Boehmeria cylindrica, Viola sororia, and Symphyotrichum lateriflorum. Although less constant, Elymus virginicus, Claytonia virginica, and Erythronium americanum form dominance patches in some stands. Because land-use effects (agriculture, grazing, utility corridors in and near the floodplain, excessively frequent flooding and sediment deposition following watershed development) frequently disturb the habitat, the herb layer is often weedy and is commonly dominated by the exotic grass Microstegium vimineum.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: Classification of this type is supported by 15 Virginia and Maryland plot samples analyzed during the Nation Capital Region vegetation mapping project, plus additional observational data. The collection of additional data from across the full range would assist in refining the description of this type and its full range of compositional variation. However, the smaller floodplains supporting this type are typically low priorities for sampling or research, in part because they are highly disturbed and good examples are hard to locate.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available