Common (Translated Scientific) Name: Hapeman''s Coolwort - Monkeyflower species Wet Rock Alliance

Colloquial Name: Rocky Mountain-Great Basin Wet Cliff & Spray Zone

Hierarchy Level:  Alliance

Type Concept: These are seepage areas along vertical rockfaces, vertical to sloped rockwalls at the base of waterfalls, and large rocks and boulders kept wet by spray from nearby turbulent waterflow (e.g., cascading streamflow or churning of plunge pools at the base of waterfalls). They have a water regime ranging from seasonally to perennially wet but a minimum duration of wetness is needed to maintain these communities. Generally they are freshwater but water chemistry and pH can vary according to local bedrock. These are wet surfaces that range from nearly unvegetated to supporting mats of mosses and liverworts that in turn may support vascular plants and invertebrates. These areas are sometimes called "hanging gardens," or "vertical wetlands." This alliance is found in montane to alpine regions of the Rocky Mountain cordillera, from southern New Mexico north into Montana, Idaho, northeast Washington, Alberta and British Columbia, and west into the lower elevations and mountain ranges within the Intermountain West region.

Diagnostic Characteristics: No Data Available

Rationale for Nominal Species or Physiognomic Features: No Data Available

Classification Comments: These habitats have not been well-studied. The types and diversity of nonvascular and vascular plant communities are not well-known. Abiotic variation such as pH, water chemistry, shading effects, microclimatic effects, etc. are also understudied.

Similar NVC Types: No Data Available

note: No Data Available