Natural Communities of North Georgia
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  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Flatwoods (Upland Depression Swamps)
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Fertile Cove Forests
    • Acidic Cove Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic Dome Rock Outcrops
    • Rock Outcrops, Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland Ridge & Valley
    • Cumberland Ridge & Valley Overview
    • Mesic Forests
    • Dry Calcareous Forests
    • Acidic Oak-Pine Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Calcareous (Cedar) Glades
    • Calcareous Cliffs
    • Calcareous Prairies and Barrens
    • Acidic Glades and Barrens
    • Acidic Cliffs and Outcrops
    • Flatwoods
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests

Cumberland Plateau/Ridge & Valley Calcareous Glades & Barrens (Cedar Glades)

Calcareous Glades and Barrens are rocky areas over exposed limestone.The shallow, calcium-rich soils create harsh, unusual conditions that foster rare plant assemblages. The vegetation is in a mosaic of four types:  1) gravel glades where soil is less than 1/4 inch deep and many lichens, mosses and annual plants; 2) grassy glades, with deeper soils and many grasses and perennial wildflowers; fire is needed to keep many of these open) 3) shrub thickets with calcium loving shrubs and tree seedlings and 4) glade woodlands with stunted, calcium-loving trees, especially eastern red cedar. 
Indicator and representative species:  eastern red cedar in the midst of flat outcroppings of limestone, as well as other calcium-loving species as indicated in the plant list below.
What's special:  Expanses of exposed limestone are rare in Georgia and so this community contains  a number of rare, endemic species, including least glade cress, purple tassels, Nashville breadroot, and Eggleston's violet, as well as species that are more common farther west.
Related to: Grades  into dry calcareous forest as soil deepens over the limestone substrate and if fire becomes less common. This community also overlaps strongly with the Calcareous Prairies natural community; however, the prairies will have more extensive areas of deeper soil, and fewer limestone outcroppings.
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​Learn MORE HERE about plant adaptations to rocky places.   

​Plants
Click on a plant name to see images. Plant lists in order of scientific name.  
​  ​​Terms such as "rich", "calcareous" and "mafic" are from The Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, here. 
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​Trees
Common hackberry Celtis occidentalis (usually over calcareous)
Dwarf hackberry/Georgia hackberry Celtis tenuifolia (often over calcareous)
Redbud Cercis canadensis (esp. over calcareous or mafic)
White ash Fraxinus americana (calcareous or mafic in drier soils)
Eastern red cedar  Juniperus virginiana (most abundant over calcareous or mafic)
Shortleaf pine Pinus echinata 
Virginia pine Pinus virginiana 
Chinquapin oak  Quercus muehlenbergii (calcareous or mafic)
Post oak Quercus stellata
Winged elm
 Ulmus alata

Shrubs and Woody Vines
American rattan Berchemia scandens (calcareous)
Southern-privet Forestiera ligustrina (calcareous)
Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana (esp. over mafic or calcareous)
Fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica (usually over mafic or calcareous)
Coralberry Symphiocarpos orbiculatus (esp. over mafic or calcareous)

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Ground Layer
Wildflowers
Thimbleweed Anemone virginiana (prevalent on circumneutral)
Tall coreopsis Coreopsis tripteris (primarily over calcareous or mafic)
Purple tassels Dalea gattingeri (limestone)
Daisy fleabane Erigeron strigosus
Glade St. John's-wort Hypericum dolabriforme (limestone)
Least glade cress Leavenworthia exigua (limestone, calcareous)
Hoary puccoon Lithospermum canescens (calcareous or mafic)
Rattlesnake-master Manfreda virginica (mafic or calcareous)
Lime-barren sandwort Minuartia patula (calcareous or mafic)
Sundrops Oenothera fruticosa
Eastern prickly pear  Opuntia humifusa
Appalachian ragwort Packera anonyma
Nashville breadroot Pediomelum subacaule (limestone)
Hairy phlox Phlox amoena
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Prairie coneflower Ratibita pinnata (mafic/gabbro and calcareous)
Lyreleaf sage Salvia lyrata
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Nettle-leaf sage Salvia urticifolia
Great Plains ladies'-tresses  Spiranthes magnicamporum (limestone)
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Eggleston's violet Viola egglestonii (calcareous)


​Grasses and Sedges
Splitbeard bluestem Andropogon ternarius
​Silky/Downy oat-grass Danthonia sericea
Poverty oat grass Danthonia spicata
Little bluestem  
Schizachyrium scoparium

Bryophytes
Reindeer lichen Cladina, Cladonia
Lime stonecrop Sedum pulchellum

 Representative Trees in order by scientific name

Representative shrubs

​Representative wildlflowers in order by scientific name

Picture

​Contents of this site are based on the book The Natural Communities of Georgia, which can be purchased from the University of Georgia Press, Amazon, and other vendors.
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This site is a work in progress: comments and suggestions are welcome.  Email: ​naturalcommsga@gmail.com

  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Flatwoods (Upland Depression Swamps)
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Fertile Cove Forests
    • Acidic Cove Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic Dome Rock Outcrops
    • Rock Outcrops, Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland Ridge & Valley
    • Cumberland Ridge & Valley Overview
    • Mesic Forests
    • Dry Calcareous Forests
    • Acidic Oak-Pine Forests
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Calcareous (Cedar) Glades
    • Calcareous Cliffs
    • Calcareous Prairies and Barrens
    • Acidic Glades and Barrens
    • Acidic Cliffs and Outcrops
    • Flatwoods
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests