Print Report
CEGL007043 Oxypolis rigidior - Drosera rotundifolia - Platanthera clavellata - Rhexia mariana var. mariana Herbaceous Seep
Type Concept Sentence: No Data Available
Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Stiff Cowbane - Roundleaf Sundew - Small Green Wood Orchid - Maryland Meadowbeauty Herbaceous Seep
Colloquial Name: Southern Blue Ridge Bedrock Seep
Hierarchy Level: Association
Type Concept: This association occurs in the Southern Blue Ridge of southern North Carolina and South Carolina on open granitic domes (exfoliated outcrops of granite or gneiss) with shallow saturated soils, occurring where a small stream flows over the rock. It may also occasionally occur as narrow bands along streams flowing over exfoliated or dipslope surfaces on forested mountainsides. The flora is quite variable among examples but shares the characteristics of having an unusual mix that includes some species of Coastal Plain affinities or otherwise unusual for the region, mountain wetland species, some species characteristic of bogs, and usually some species of rock outcrops. The species occurring with the highest constancy in known examples are Oxypolis rigidior, Drosera rotundifolia, and Rhynchospora spp. Some wetland orchid species, e.g., Platanthera clavellata, Calopogon sp., Pogonia ophioglossoides, or others, are almost always present. Sarracenia rubra ssp. jonesii or Sarracenia purpurea are sometimes abundant. Osmunda cinnamomea or Osmunda regalis are often abundant.
Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available
Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available
Classification Comments: This association includes the cataract bogs of South Carolina, as well as related, but less boggy, communities of similar environments in North Carolina. These communities are naturally small. However, the concept should be used only for well-developed examples, at least a few meters wide and many meters long, and associated with substantial sheetflow. Smaller seeps, only a few square meters in size and fed only by seasonal seepage from the adjacent soil, are common on the edges of exfoliated outcrops, but lack the distinctive, relatively diverse flora of these communities.
Similar NVC Types: No Data Available
note: No Data Available
Physiognomy and Structure: No Data Available
Floristics: Herbaceous plants generally dominate in the shallow soils in the best developed part of the seep. A zone of wetland shrubs often occurs on the edge, and may occupy a significant part of the wetland. The flora is quite variable among examples, but shares the characteristics of having an unusual mix that includes some species of Coastal Plain affinities or otherwise unusual for the region, mountain wetland species, some species characteristic of bogs, and usually some species of rock outcrops. The species occurring with the highest constancy in known examples are Oxypolis rigidior, Drosera rotundifolia, and Rhynchospora spp. Some wetland orchid species, e.g., Platanthera clavellata, Calopogon sp., Pogonia ophioglossoides, or others, are almost always present. Sarracenia rubra ssp. jonesii (= Sarracenia jonesii) or Sarracenia purpurea are sometimes abundant. Osmunda cinnamomea or Osmunda regalis are often abundant. Other species include Rhexia mariana var. mariana, Andropogon glomeratus, Aletris farinosa, Danthonia sericea, Xyris torta, Thalictrum clavatum, Parnassia grandifolia, Packera millefolium, Castilleja coccinea, Coreopsis gladiata, Carex debilis var. rudgei (= Carex flexuosa), Carex biltmoreana, Solidago rugosa, and Calamagrostis coarctata (= Calamagrostis cinnoides). Shrubs include Aronia arbutifolia, Xanthorhiza simplicissima, Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium fuscatum, Alnus serrulata, and Rhododendron spp.
Dynamics: These communities appear to be stable over periods of years. They may experience periodic catastrophic disturbance by flood scouring or by soil mats falling off of the rock.
Environmental Description: This association occurs where water flows slowly over smooth bedrock. They are generally associated with shallow saturated soils on open granitic domes (exfoliated outcrops of granite or gneiss), occurring where a small stream flows over the rock. They may also occasionally occur as narrow bands along streams flowing over exfoliated or dipslope surfaces on forested mountainsides. These communities are nearly permanently saturated by a combination of sheetflow and seepage, but are configured so that scouring by floods is not a regular occurrence. Those along streams in forested settings may have originally been created by a major flood or a landslide scouring away the soil along a stream course.
Geographic Range: This community occurs in the Southern Blue Ridge of southern North Carolina and South Carolina.
Nations: US
States/Provinces: NC, SC
Plot Analysis Summary:
http://vegbank.org/natureserve/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.866824
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.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.1 Shrubby-cinquefoil - Canadian Burnet / Inland Sedge Seep Macrogroup | M061 | 2.C.4.Nd.1 |
| Group | 2.C.4.Nd.1.a Catawba Rosebay / Tawny Cottongrass / Peatmoss species Shrub & Herb Seep Group | G184 | 2.C.4.Nd.1.a |
| Alliance | A3382 Nodding Sedge - Melic Mannagrass - Fowl Mannagrass Seep Alliance | A3382 | 2.C.4.Nd.1.a |
| Association | CEGL007043 Stiff Cowbane - Roundleaf Sundew - Small Green Wood Orchid - Maryland Meadowbeauty Herbaceous Seep | CEGL007043 | 2.C.4.Nd.1.a |
Concept Lineage: No Data Available
Predecessors: No Data Available
Obsolete Names: No Data Available
Obsolete Parents: No Data Available
Synonomy: = Cataract Bog (Porcher and Rayner 2001)
= Low Elevation Seep (Rock Outcrop Subtype) (Schafale 2012)
= Low Elevation Seep (Rock Outcrop Subtype) (Schafale 2012)
- 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.
- 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.
- Porcher, R. D., and D. A. Rayner. 2001. A guide to the wildflowers of South Carolina. University of South Carolina Press, Columbia. 551 pp.
- 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.
- Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.