Natural Communities of North Georgia
  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Piedmont Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • PIedmont Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Piedmont Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • PIedmont Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Piedmont Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Piedmont Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Piedmont Glades and Barrens
    • 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 Deciduous Forests
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Impact of Rock Type on Plant Composition

Prairies and Savannas (Upland)

.Prairies are expanses of grasses, forbs, and shrubs that grow on deeper soils than those of glades and barrens.  Savannas have a few scattered trees.  Most Piedmont prairies and savannas are kept open by mowing or fire; without them, trees will eventually dominate. Prairies often develop in "old fields" in the first two decades after agricultural land or logging sites are abandoned, in a procession called "succession".   During the first phases of succession, grasses, wildflowers and shrubs grow in, followed in later phases by trees.

Prairies, sometimes stretching for long distances, were more widespread in the past, when native Americans set fire to preserve them. Ecologists have concluded that for thousands of years, fire has been an important element in maintaining biodiversity on the landscape.


Landscapes
What's special:  Grasslands support many pollinators, including bees, butterflies, moths, and many other beneficial insects, which form the foundation of food chains, and are essential for sustaining natural landscapes. Birds and small mammals find food and shelter in prairies.  

Conservation:  It is a high priority in Georgia to restore and maintain prairies through prescribed fire, and planting prairie species under powerlines, where they are often maintained by mowing


Related to: Grades into Glades and Barrens on thin soils with rock outcrops, and into Pine-Oak Woodlands as trees become denser.  Grades to Wet Meadows in moister sites.
​Plants

Click on a plant name to see images and to learn more about each plant.  
​Listed in order by scientific name. 

Wildflowers
Purple gerardia 
Agalinis purpurea
Slender gerardia Agalinis tenuifolia
Hairy angelica  Angelica venenosa
Hemp dogbane Apocynum cannabinum
Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa
Wild indigo  Baptisia tinctoria 
Spurred butterfly pea Centrosema virginianum
Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata
Maryland golden-aster  Chrysopsis mariana
Butterfly pea Clitoria mariana
Large-flowered coreopsis Coreopsis grandiflora
Woodland coreopsis/Whorled coreopsis Coreopsis major
Daisy fleabane Erigeron philadelphicus
Dog fennel Eupatorium capillifolium
Hyssopleaf boneset Eupatorium hyssopifolium
Late flowering boneset Eupatorium serotinum
Sessile-leaf boneset Eupatorium sessilifolium
Flowering spurge Euphorbia corollata
Appalachian sunflower  Helianthus atrorubens
Spreading sunflower Helianthus divaricatus
Hairy sunflower Helianthus hirsutus
Longleaf sunflower Helianthus longifolius
Small-headed sunflower  Helianthus microcephalus
Roughleaf sunflower Helianthus strumosus
Veiny hawkweed  Hieracium venosum
Hairy lespedeza Lespedeza hirta
Downy trailing lespedeza Lespedeza procumbens 
Smooth trailing lespedeza Lespedeza repens  
Dense blazing star Liatris spicata
​
Southern blazing star Liatris squarrulosa
Downy lobelia Lobelia puberula
Appalachian bergamot  Monarda fistulosa
Sensitive briar Mimosa microphylla
Ragwort Packera anonyma
Wild quinine Parthenium integrifolium
Passion flower/May-pop Passiflora incarnata (a vine) 
Silkgrass Pityopsis graminifolia
Rabbit tobacco Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium
False dandelion Pyrrhopappus carolinanus
Carolina rose Rosa caroliniana
Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta
Horse nettle Solanum carolinense
Rosinweed Silphium compositum
Tall goldenrod Solidago altissima
Slender goldenrod Solidago erecta
Eastern gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralus
Licorice goldenrod/Fragrant goldenrod  Solidago odora
Pencil-flower  Stylosanthes biflora
Eastern silvery aster Symphyotrichum concolor​
​Clasping aster Symphyotrichum patens
Long-stalked aster Symphyotrichum dumosum
Georgia aster Symphyotrichum georgianum
Frost aster Symphyotrichum pilosum
Virginia goat's-rue  Tephrosia virginiana  
Blue curls
Trichostema dichotomum
Bird's-foot violet  Viola pedata     

Grasses, Sedges and Rushes
Big bluestem Andropogon gerardii
Splitbeard bluestem Andropogon ternarius
Broomsedge  Andropogon virginicus
Oval leaf sedge  Carex cephalophora
Silky oat-grass Danthonia sericea
Poverty oat-grass  Danthonia spicata
Bigtop lovegrass Eragrostis hirsuta
Purple lovegrass  Eragrostis spectabilis
Silver plumegrass Erianthus alopecuroides
Eastern beard grass Gymnopogon ambiguus
Pink muhly grass/hairgrass  Muhlenbergia capillaris
Beaked panic grass  Panicum anceps/Coleataenia anceps   
Eastern needlegrass  Piptochaetium avenaceum

Purpletop/Greasy grass Tridens flavus
​​Gamma grass Tripsacum dactyloides
Little bluestem  Schizachyrium scoparium 

Yellow Indiangrass  Sorghastrum nutans
​

Ferns
Bracken fern Pteridium latiusculum
​
​Representative wildflowers in order of scientific name
Grasses in order by scientific name

Representative Birds
Picture

​Contents of this site are based on the book The Natural Communities of Georgia,

This site is a work in progress: comments and suggestions are welcome.  Email: ​[email protected]

  • Home
  • Piedmont
    • Piedmont Overview
    • Piedmont Mesic (Moist) Forests
    • PIedmont Oak-Pine-Hickory Forests
    • Piedmont Bottomland/Floodplain Forest
    • PIedmont Pine-Oak Woodlands
    • Montane Longleaf
    • Piedmont Prairies and Savannas (Upland)
    • Piedmont Wet Meadows and Marshes
    • Granite Outcrops
    • Piedmont Glades and Barrens
    • 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 Deciduous Forests
  • Plant Adaptations to Rock Outcrops
  • Impact of Rock Type on Plant Composition