Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Common Threesquare - Betonyleaf Thoroughwort - Marsh Bristlegrass - Brown''s Yellowtops Coastal Marsh

Colloquial Name: No Data Available

Hierarchy Level:  Association

Type Concept: This vegetation occurs in interdunal swales and other marshy areas on barrier islands along the south Texas coast. These wetlands are characterized (and may be dominated) by Schoenoplectus pungens, Typha domingensis, Flaveria brownii, Bacopa monnieri, Centella erecta, Phyla nodiflora, and/or Sesbania herbacea. Associated species may include Conoclinium betonicifolium, Setaria parviflora, Andropogon glomeratus, Pluchea odorata var. odorata, and Iva texensis. This provisional community is described from very limited plot data from Padre Island National Seashore, Texas. Some plots attributed to this type were dominated by annuals such as Flaveria brownii and Sesbania herbacea. Classification of these ephemeral ponds and depressions is difficult because of seasonal and weather-related shifts in species composition and dominance.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: This community might warrant splitting into separate types but we were not able to discern clear ecological patterns from the cluster analysis. More data will be necessary to discern these patterns if they are relevant. Taken as a whole, these wetlands tend to share a suite of species, but individual occurrences may exhibit strong dominance by different species. Separate types, e.g., one dominated by Schoenoplectus pungens and one dominated by Typha domingensis, are supported by the classification results of other studies of Padre Island and other barrier islands along the Gulf of Mexico (Judd and Lonard 2009). This provisional community is described from very limited plot data from Padre Island National Seashore, Texas. Classification of these ephemeral ponds and depressions is difficult because of seasonal and weather-related shifts in species composition and dominance. This community was described from 12 plots at Padre Island National Seashore that loosely clustered together, but Homoteneity and Goodness of Fit were low. This community represents a diverse set of occurrences with seasonal and aspect dominance that differs among sites. They are tied together by their landscape setting and presence of freshwater to oligohaline species not necessarily by dominance patterns. Based on dominance patterns alone, each plot might represent a different type. For classification purposes, more weight was given to perennial species with greater biomass, such as Schoenoplectus pungens and Typha domingensis even though their cover was low in some plots. Future sampling might best be conducted by repeatedly sampling sites across seasons and years.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available