Piedmont Glades, Barrens and Woodlands
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Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands are areas with shallow, gravelly soils interspersed with bare rock. The vegetation is a mosaic of herbaceous areas, shrubs, bare rock, and woodland islands or fringes. Plants are able to endure hot, droughty conditions. The vegetation changes depending rock type:
1. communities over acidic rock, such as quartzite, and biotite gneiss, and schist, support blueberries and other acid loving species, 2. communities over mafic rock, such as amphibolite, support a wider diversity of species that benefit from calcium and/or magnesium in the soil. Look for indicator species in the plant lists below. What's special: Glades and barrens can support plants that are out-competed in prairies and open woodlands, and can survive the tough conditions here. Thus, rare plants often occur in these habitats, and biodiversity is increased. Also, the mosaic of vegetation supports a diverse wildlife that is easy to observe. Conservation: in some cases, as with glades on Pine Mountain, fire is needed to prevent trees from invading and forming forests. Unspoiled sites, especially over mafic rock, are often undervalued by the public, and should be identified and conserved. Related to: Grades to Prairies in deeper soils, and to Pine-Oak Woodlands or Oak-Pine-Hickory-Forest as trees become more dense. Overlaps with Granite Outcrops and with Ultramafic Barrens and Woodlands. Learn MORE HERE about plant adaptations to rocky places. Learn more about rock types and their effect on vegetation HERE. |
Landscapes
Birds |
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Plants
Click on a plant name to see images. Plant list in order of scientific name. Terms such as "rich", "calcareous" and "mafic" are from The Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, here. Trees Chalk maple Acer leucoderme (particularly mafic or calcareous) Red maple Acer rubrum Downy serviceberry Amelanchier arborea Pignut hickory Carya glabra Dwarf hackberry/Georgia hackberry Celtis tenuifolia (often over calcareous substrate) Redbud Cercis canadensis (esp. over mafic or calcareous) Hawthorn (parsley) Crataegus marshallii (esp. calcareous or mafic) White ash Fraxinus americana (calcareous or mafic glades) Eastern red cedar Juniperus virginiana (most abundantly on mafic or calcareous rock, including shrink-swell soils) Shortleaf pine Pinus echinata Loblolly pine Pinus taeda Blackjack oak Quercus marilandica Rock chestnut oak Quercus montana Post oak Quercus stellata Winged elm Ulmus alata Shrubs New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus Fringe-tree Chionanthus virginicus Georgia calamint Clinopdium georgiana One-flowered haw Crataegus uniflora Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana (esp. over calcareous and mafic rock) St. Andrews cross Hypericum hypericoides Hairy mock orange Philadelphus hirsutus (esp. over mafic or calcareous rock) NInebark Physocarpus opulifolius (esp. mafic or calcareous) Wafer ash Ptelea trifoliata (esp. over calcareous or mafic rock) Fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica (usually mafic or calcareous) Winged sumac Rhus copallinum Smooth sumac Rhus glabra Coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (esp. over mafic or calcareous rock) Sparkleberry Vaccinium arboreum Hillside blueberry Vaccinium pallidum Deerberry Vaccinium stamineum Southern black haw Viburnum rufidulum (esp. over mafic sites, but not restricted to them) Curlyleaf yucca Yucca filamentosa Vines Trumpet vine Campsis radicans Carolina jessamine Gelsemium sempervirens Coral honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Greenbrier (whiteleaf/sawbrier) Smilax glauca Muscadine Vitis rotundifolia Ground Layer Wildflowers Slender gerardia Agalinis tenuifolia Thimbleweed Anemone berlandieri (thin, circumneutral soils) Pussytoes Antennaria plantaginifolia Spreading dogbane Apocynum androsaemifolium Green milkweed Asclepias viridiflora (esp. over mafic or calcareous rock) Rockcress/Sicklepod Boechera canadensis Missouri rockcress Boechera missouriensis (generally on mafic or rich granitic rock) Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Maryland golden-aster Chrysopsis mariana Curlyheads Clematis ochroleuca (generally over mafic or calcareous rocks) Short-spurred corydalis Corydalis flavula (over mafic rocks) Glade rushfoil Croton willdenowii Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum Poorjoe Diodia teres Sun-loving draba Draba aprica (granite and amphibolite, usually in red cedar litter) Smooth purple coneflower Echinacea laevigata (over mafic or calcareous rocks) Daisy fleabane Erigeron strigosus Flowering spurge (eastern) Eurphorbia corollata Alumroot Heuchera americana Hairy sunflower Helianthus hirsutus Quaker ladies Houstonia caerulea Pineweed Hypericum gentianoides Dwarf dandelion Krigia virginica Blazing star (small-head) Liatris microcephala Dense blazing star Liatris spicata Rattlesnake master Manfreda virginica Early saxifrage Micranthes virginiensis False garlic Nothoscordum bivalve Toadflax Nuttallanthus canadensis Sundrops Oenothera fruticosa Prickly pear Opuntia humifusa Appalachian ragwort Packera anonyma Woolly ragwort Packera tomentosa Wild quinine Parthenium integrifolium Appalachian rockpink Phermeranthus teretifolius Carolina phlox Phlox carolina Silkgrass Pityopsis graminifolia Stone Mountain mint Pycnanthemum curvipes Blue curls Trichostema dichotomum Nettle-leaf sage Salvia urticifolia (generally over mafic or calcareous rock) Fire pink Silene virginica Starry campion Silene stellata Pencil-flower Stylosanthes biflora Hairy spiderwort Tradescantia hirsuticaulis Smooth spiderwort Tradescantia ohiensis Nettleleaf noseburn Tragia urticifolia (generally over mafic or calcareous rock) Blue curls Trichostema dichotomum Grasses, Sedges and Rushes Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii Splitbeard bluestem Andropogon ternarius Old field broomsedge Andropogon virginicus Silky/Downy oat-grass Danthonia sericea Poverty oat grass Danthonia spicata Purple lovegrass Eragrostis spectabilis Pink muhly grass/hairgrass Muhlenbergia capillaris Eastern needlegrass Piptochaetium avenaceum Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Yellow Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Ferns Hairy lipfern Myriopteris lanosa (felsic or intermediate bedrock) Resurrection fern Pleopeltis michauxiana Rockcap fern Polypodium virginianum Bryophytes Rockmoss Grimmia laevigata Reindeer moss Cladonia spp. and Cladina spp. |
Representative Trees, in order of scientific name.
Representative Shrubs, in order of scientific name.
Representative Wildflowers, in order of scientific name.
Representative Ferns, in order of scientific name
Representative Grasses, in order of scientific name
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