Natural Communities of Georgia
  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands and Edges
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Thickets, Marshes, Seepage
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Mesic (Cove) Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Montane Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic domes
    • Acidic lower elevation cliffs and outcops
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland /Ridge & Valley
    • Overview of Cumberland /Ridge & Valley
    • 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
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Common Rocks of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge

Cumberland/Ridge and Valley Dry Calcareous Forests

​These forests grow over dry to somewhat dry soils, and include both calcareous and sub-calcareous conditions on valley floors or lower slopes. Rocky outcroppings appear occasionally.  
Indicator species: calcium-loving species, such as Chinquapin oak, Shumard oak, chalk maple, eastern red cedar, redbud,  Carolina buckthorn, coralberry, fragrant sumac, white ash, and redbud,
What's special:  In Georgia, these expanses of calcareous forests and the species that grow on them are rare because fairly acidic soils are most common.
Related communities:  Can grade into calcareous (cedar glades) in rocky openings.

                                
Click on the plant names below for images.   Plants are listed in alphabetical order by scientific name. 

​Trees
Chalk maple Acer leucoderme
Carolina shagbark hickory Carya carolinae-septrionalis
Pignut hickory Carya glabra
Mockernut hickory Carya tomentosa
Dwarf hackberry/Georgia hackberry Celtis tenuifolia
Eastern redbud Cercis canadensis
White ash Fraxinus americana
Eastern red cedar  Juniperus virginiana 
White oak
 Quercus alba
Blackjack oak Quercus marilandica
Chinquapin oak Quercus muehlenbergii
Shumard oak Quercus shumardii
Post oak Quercus stellata
Winged elm
 Ulmus alata
American elm Ulmus americana
Slippery elm
 Ulmus rubra

Shrubs
Supplejack/American rattan Berchemia scandens
Southern privet Forestiera ligustrina
Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana
Alabama snow-wreath Neviusia alabamensis
Wafer-ash Ptelea trifoliata
Fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica
Buckthorn bumelia Sideroxylon lyciodes
Coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus
Southern black haw Viburnum rufidulum
 

Ground Layer
Thimbleweed Anemone virginiana
Common smooth rockcress Boechera laevigata
Northern leatherflower Clematis viorna
Dwarf larkspur Delphinium tricorne
Crested iris Iris cristata
Hoary pucoon Lithospermum canescens
Eastern Solomon's plume Maianthemum racemosum
Solomon's seal - Polygonatum biflorum
Nettle-leaf sage - Salvia urticifolia
Black snakeroot - Sanicula canadensis
Indian pink Spigelia marilandica
Nettleleaf noseburn Tragia urticifolia
​​


​

Representative Trees

Representative Shrubs​

Wafer-ash in fruit by R&T Ware
Wafer-ash in flower by R&T Ware
Coralberry by R&T Ware

 Representative ground layer

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.
​



This site is a work in progress: comments and suggestions for useful information you'd like to see included are welcome.  Email: naturalcommsga@gmail.com

  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • Pine-Oak Woodlands and Edges
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Wet Meadows and Thickets, Marshes, Seepage
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Cliffs and Bluffs
    • Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands
  • Blue Ridge
    • Blue Ridge Overview
    • Northern Hardwoods
    • Montane Oak Forests
    • Mesic (Cove) Forests
    • Oak Forests
    • Montane Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • High Elevation Outcrops
    • Mafic domes
    • Acidic lower elevation cliffs and outcops
    • Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands
    • Mountain Bogs
    • Seepage Wetlands
    • Spray Cliffs
    • Montane Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Cumberland /Ridge & Valley
    • Overview of Cumberland /Ridge & Valley
    • 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
    • Acidic Seepage Wetlands
    • Bottomlands and Flooplains
  • Plant Adaptations to Deciduous Forests
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Common Rocks of the Piedmont and Blue Ridge