Blue Ridge Acidic Cove Forests
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Blue Ridge Acidic Cove Forests are moist forests that grow below 3,500- 4,000 feet, most often in steep north-facing coves, within ravines and gorges, and on colluvial flats near streams. They have fairly thin, acidic soils, often because organic materials cannot grow deeply on the thin slopes these forest inhabit. Canadian hemlock has been an important component in the past, because it can root in the shallow soils and on rocks and fallen trees. Over time, the hemlocks grow large, and their needles, along with the leaves of other acid-loving, evergreen plants, help keep the soils acidic.
Indicator species: Eastern hemlock, Fraser magnolia, white pine, black birch, mountain laurel, great rhododendron, painted trillium, galax, Indian pipes and other ericads. What's special: These coves, lush with evergreens and rhododendrons, have a cool, mysterious feel and are especially beautiful near streams and waterfalls. The evergreen hemlocks keep streams shaded and cool, which is important for aquatic life. Tragically, the hemlocks are under threat from the woolly adelgid (see photos). Related communities: As sites become drier, they grade into Oak Forests. Seepage Wetlands and Spray Cliffs communities are often embedded and intergrade with this community near waterfalls and streams. Fertile Cove Forests and Acidic Cove Forests will often intergrade, with species from both appearing in a single stand. |
Landscapes
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Plants Click on a plant name to see images. Plants are listed in order by scientific name. Trees Black birch Betula lenta American (white) beech Fagus grandifolia var. carolina Common silverbell Halesia tetraptera Tulip-tree Liriodendron tulipifera Fraser magnolia Magnolia fraseri Umbrella magnolia Magnolia tripetala White pine Pinus strobus Northern red oak Quercus rubra Eastern hemlock Tsuga canadensis Shrubs and Vines Mountain sweet pepperbush Clethra acuminata Strawberry bush Euonymus americana Smooth hydrangea Hydrangea arborescens Mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia Doghobble Leucothoe fontanesiana Great laurel/Rosebay rhododendron Rhododendron maximum Ground Cover Wildflowers White snakeroot Ageratina altissima Fly-poison Amianthium muscitoxicum Round lobed hepatica Anemone americana Jack-in-the-pulpit Arisaema triphyllum Devil's-bit Chamaelirium luteum Pipsissewa Chimaphila maculata Trailing arbutus Epigaea repens Galax Galax urceolata Downy rattlesnake plantain Goodyera pubescens Shuttleworth's ginger Hexastylis shuttleworthii Summer bluet Houstonia purpurea Turks-cap lily Lilium superbum Fringed loosestrife Lysimachia ciliata Whorled loosestrife Lysimachia quadrifolia Partridge berry Mitchella repens Indian pipes Monotropa uniflora Axillary goldenrod Solidago caesia Star chickweed Stellaria pubera Rue anemone Thalictrum thalictroides Foamflower Tiarella cordifolia Catesby's trillium Trillium catesbaei Painted trillium Trillium undulatum Halberd-leaf violet Viola hastata Ferns Southern lady fern Athyrium asplenioides New York fern Parathelypteris novaboracensis Broad beech fern Phegopteris hexagonoptera |
Representative trees in order by scientific nameRepresentative ShrubsGround cover in order by scientific nameRepresentative ferns in order by scientific name
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