Print Report
CEGL007014 (Pinus palustris) / Prunus umbellata - Rhus aromatica / Piptochaetium avenaceum - Schizachyrium scoparium Scrub Grassland
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: (Longleaf Pine) / Hog Plum - Fragrant Sumac / Blackseed Speargrass - Little Bluestem Scrub Grassland
Colloquial Name: Sprewell Bluff Hog Plum Basic Glade
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This community encompasses prairie-like vegetation occupying small-patch, gladelike openings on what is presumed to be mafic soils occurring in a matrix of Pinus palustris woodlands. These sites occur as inclusions within the broad band of extensive Hollis quartzite that comprises Pine Mountain in the outer Piedmont of Georgia. These glades are localized to a small area on the eastern end of Pine Mountain in the vicinity of Sprewell Bluff. The habitat supporting this vegetation is rare and unusual, with sharp edges delimiting the grass-dominated openings. Total woody cover is very low (<10%) with sparse Pinus palustris and scrub oaks characteristic of the Fall-line Sandhills occurring as a minor component. This would include Quercus margarettae, Quercus laevis, Quercus marilandica, and Quercus incana. Prunus umbellata is a characteristic and diagnostic patchy tall shrub, while Rhus aromatica is indicative of the sparse low-shrub layer. Other characteristic woody plants found within these openings include Yucca filamentosa, Prunus alabamensis, Vaccinium arboreum, and Crataegus flava. Some abundant grasses include Piptochaetium avenaceum, Schizachyrium scoparium, Sporobolus junceus, and Sorghastrum nutans, while additional graminoids include Sorghastrum elliottii and Dichanthelium commutatum. Characteristic forbs include Eryngium yuccifolium, Salvia urticifolia, Delphinium carolinianum, Nothoscordum bivalve, Penstemon australis, Helianthemum carolinianum, Oxalis violacea, Clitoria mariana, Packera anonyma, Tragia urticifolia, and Cocculus carolinus.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association is apparently endemic to the Georgia Piedmont and is known from a local area north of Sprewell Bluff on the Flint River. The Crataegus mentioned in the description has been known as Crataegus flava, but this is a problematic name. Apparently Crataegus lassa [Sandhills Hawthorn] is a better name for it (Weakley 2010), but this change cannot be formally recognized at this time.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Total woody cover is very low (<10%) with sparse Pinus palustris and scrub oaks characteristic of the Fall-line Sandhills occurring as a minor component. This would include Quercus margarettae, Quercus laevis, Quercus marilandica, and Quercus incana. Prunus umbellata is a characteristic and diagnostic patchy tall shrub, while Rhus aromatica is indicative of the sparse low-shrub layer. Other characteristic woody plants found within these openings include Yucca filamentosa, Prunus alabamensis, Vaccinium arboreum, and Crataegus flava (= Crataegus lassa). Piptochaetium avenaceum, Schizachyrium scoparium, Sporobolus junceus, and Sorghastrum nutans are abundant grasses, while additional graminoids include Sorghastrum elliottii and Dichanthelium commutatum. Characteristic forbs include Eryngium yuccifolium, Salvia urticifolia, Delphinium carolinianum, Nothoscordum bivalve, Penstemon australis, Helianthemum carolinianum, Oxalis violacea, Clitoria mariana, Packera anonyma, Tragia urticifolia, and Cocculus carolinus.
Dynamics: This vegetation depends on frequent, low-intensity, growing-season fires to control understory vegetation and to maintain the dominance of graminoid vegetation, however, it is suspected that mafic soils have also had a large role in maintaining the prairie-like character of this association.
Environmental Description: These glades are localized to a small area on the eastern end of Pine Mountain in the vicinity of Sprewell Bluff. The substrate for these openings appears be mafic soils occurring within a matrix of Pinus palustris woodlands associated with the Hollis quartzite of Pine Mountain. Sites are located generally on upper slopes and ridgetops, but some occur in lower topographic positions. Generally soils are deep, however, in some cases, exposed rock is evident on the edges of openings. These habitats frequently experience extremely xeric conditions, and the vegetation composition reflects species that can withstand drought.
Geographic Range: These glades are localized to a small area on the eastern end of Pine Mountain in the vicinity of Sprewell Bluff along the Flint River in the outer Piedmont of Georgia.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: GA
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.861497
Confidence Level: Moderate
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.c Little Bluestem - Balsam Groundsel - Prairie Groundsel Appalachian Mafic Glade Group | G180 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c |
| Alliance | A4679 <i>Pinus rigida - Quercus alba - Quercus stellata</i> Ultramafic Grassy Woodland Alliance | A4679 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c |
| Association | CEGL007014 (Longleaf Pine) / Hog Plum - Fragrant Sumac / Blackseed Speargrass - Little Bluestem Scrub Grassland | CEGL007014 | 2.B.2.Nc.1.c |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: ? Serpentine Subxeric Longleaf Woodland (Peet and Allard 1993)
- GNHP [Georgia Natural Heritage Program]. 2018. Unpublished data. Georgia Natural Heritage Program, Wildlife Resources Division, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Social Circle.
- Govus, Tom. Personal communication. Ecologist. Ellijay, GA.
- Peet, R. K., and D. J. Allard. 1993. Longleaf pine vegetation of the Southern Atlantic and Eastern Gulf Coast regions: A preliminary classification. Pages 45-81 in: S. M. Hermann, editor. The Longleaf Pine Ecosystem: Ecology, restoration and management. Proceedings of the eighteenth Tall Timbers fire ecology conference. Tall Timbers Research Station, Tallahassee, FL.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.
- Weakley, A. S. 2010. Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, Georgia, and surrounding areas. Unpublished working draft. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. [http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm]