Print Report
CEGL007010 Leiophyllum buxifolium - (Hudsonia montana) / Selaginella tortipila - Carex umbellata Quartzite Outcrop Dwarf-shrubland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Sand-myrtle - (Mountain Golden-heather) / Twisted-hair Spikemoss - Parasol Sedge Dwarf-shrubland
Colloquial Name: Southern Blue Ridge Quartzite Ledge
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association is found on ledges of quartzite in Linville Gorge, North Carolina. It is now essentially extinct because of fire suppression, but is in the process of restoration by the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and North Carolina Plant Conservation Program. The community is a patchy mosaic of shrub, herbaceous, and nonvascular vegetation, and bare rock. Shallow soil patches are dominated by Leiophyllum buxifolium, Hudsonia montana, Rhododendron carolinianum, Kalmia latifolia, Hypericum densiflorum, or other species. Trees may be present with low cover, including Pinus strobus, Tsuga caroliniana, and Nyssa sylvatica. Open areas are dominated by Selaginella tortipila. Carex umbellata is a frequent component. In the absence of fire, the taller shrubs increase in cover and smother the smaller Hudsonia montana, as well as the herbaceous plants.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: See Nuttall''s (1821) descriptions of Table Rock Mountain. Hudsonia montana is nearly endemic to the southeastern part of Linville Gorge. This association may also be used for other quartzite outcrops that are flat-lying and are similar to it outside of the range of Hudsonia, but should not be used for more fractured quartzite outcrops with other vegetation. Former Hudsonia montana - Leiophyllum buxifolium Dwarf-shrubland (CEGL003948) has been subsumed into this association. There are at least 17 Carolina Vegetation Survey (CVS) plots that fall into this association.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: The community is a patchy mosaic of shrub, herbaceous, and nonvascular vegetation, and bare rock. Shallow soil patches are dominated by Leiophyllum buxifolium, Hudsonia montana, Rhododendron carolinianum, Kalmia latifolia, Hypericum densiflorum, or other species. Trees may be present with low cover, including Pinus strobus, Tsuga caroliniana, and Nyssa sylvatica. Open areas are dominated by Selaginella tortipila. Carex umbellata is a frequent component. Other frequent herbaceous species include Danthonia sericea, Schizachyrium scoparium, Coreopsis major, and Xerophyllum asphodeloides. In the absence of fire, the shrub zones increase in cover, and the taller Leiophyllum buxifolium and other shrubs smother the smaller Hudsonia montana, as well as the herbaceous plants. All remaining examples have been in this altered state, but recent prescribed burning and wild fires may be restoring more natural structure.
Dynamics: Fire is apparently crucial for maintaining natural structure. Without fire in recent years, tall shrubs have displaced smaller shrubs and herbs.
Environmental Description: This association is found on open ledges of quartzite at moderate elevation (around 1070-1220 m [3500-4000 feet]). This community is well-developed at Linville Gorge, where extensive flat-lying or gently dipping quartzite occurs in a geologic window. While this community is maintained in a non-forested condition by limited soil development, fire is also important for maintaining the natural structure and composition of the community.
Geographic Range: This community is largely restricted to Linville Gorge, North Carolina.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NC
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.860009
Confidence Level: Low - Poorly Documented
Confidence Level Comments: No Data Available
Grank: G1
Greasons: No Data Available
| Type | Name | Database Code | Classification Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class | 2 Shrub & Herb Vegetation Class | C02 | 2 |
| Subclass | 2.B Temperate & Boreal Grassland & Shrubland Subclass | S18 | 2.B |
| Formation | 2.B.2 Temperate Grassland & Shrubland Formation | F012 | 2.B.2 |
| Division | 2.B.2.Nc Eastern North American Grassland & Shrubland Division | D024 | 2.B.2.Nc |
| Macrogroup | 2.B.2.Nc.1 Catawba Rosebay / Michaux''s Saxifrage - Flattened Oatgrass Felsic & Mafic Scrub & Grassland Macrogroup | M506 | 2.B.2.Nc.1 |
| Group | 2.B.2.Nc.1.d Wretched Sedge - Michaux''s Saxifrage - Highbush Blueberry Appalachian Rocky Outcrop Group | G670 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.d |
| Alliance | A3961 Rock Spikemoss - Twisted-hair Spikemoss - Little Bluestem Rocky Grassland Alliance | A3961 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.d |
| Association | CEGL007010 Sand-myrtle - (Mountain Golden-heather) / Twisted-hair Spikemoss - Parasol Sedge Dwarf-shrubland | CEGL007010 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.d |
Concept Lineage: merged; 3948 was described as the hypothetical pre-fire-suppression expression of one zone of the community covered by this new association.
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Hudsonia montana cespitose patches (Nuttall 1818)
? IE4a. Southern Appalachian High Elevation Acidic Rocky Summit (Allard 1990)
? IE4a. Southern Appalachian High Elevation Acidic Rocky Summit (Allard 1990)
- 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.
- Frost, C. C. 1990. Hudsonia montana final report: Effects of fire, trampling and interspecies competition, 1985-1989. Chapel Hill, NC.
- Nuttall, T. 1818. Genera of North American plants and a catalogue of the species, to the year 1817. 2 volumes. Printed for the Author by D. Heartt. Philadelphia, PA.
- Nuttall, T. 1821. A journal of travels into the Arkansas territory during the year 1819. T. H. Palmer, Philadelphia. (Re-published 1980. University of Oklahoma Press, Norman.)
- 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.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.