Piedmont Pine-Oak Woodlands |
Landscapes
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Pine-Oak Woodlands are tree-dominated communities with gaps in the canopy that allow roughly 25- 60% of the sunlight to enter. They usually grow on dry sites, and are typically maintained through prescribed fire. Loblolly and shortleaf pines and dry-site oaks that are adapted to fire, (such as post oak and blackjack oak) are most common. Fire-maintained woodlands were more common in the past when humans set more fires and the landscape was less fragmented. As some sites revegetate from human impacts such as agriculture or development, they will pass through a pine woodland phase before becoming hardwood forest. This community can also include forest edges and forest gaps. What's special: Well-managed pine-oak woodlands are beautiful, with sunlight and blue sky shining through the open canopy; a thick, diverse ground and shrub layer; and a wide variety of bird species flitting among the trees, far more visible than they are in closed forests. Old maps and early explorer descriptions have shown that these communities were once widespread in the Georgia Piedmont, adding biodiversity to the natural heritage of the state, especially in the ground layer. Conservation: Ecologists are now using prescribed fires to bring woodlands back to the Piedmont, because the mix of trees, shrubs and ground cover supports diverse wildlife, and pollinators, and hosts rare plant species. Related communities: As tree cover gets denser, this community grades into Oak-Pine Forest. As soils become thinner and numerous rock outcroppings appear, the community grades to the Glades, Barrens, and Woodlands. |
Birds |
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Plants
Click on a plant name to see images. Plants are listed in order by scientific name. Terms such as "rich", "calcareous" and "mafic" are from The Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, here. Note: the thinner-barked trees listed below will be most common if they reached old age before fire was introduced to the site, or if the site is naturally open due to thin soils or human disturbance, and not experiencing fire. Trees Red maple Acer rubrum Serviceberry (downy) Amelanchier arborea Pale hickory Carya pallida Common chinquapin Castanea pumila Redbud Cercis canadensis (esp. calcareous or mafic rock) Flowering dogwood Cornus florida Persimmon (American) Diospyros virginiana Wild crabapple Malus angustifolia Blackgum Nyssa sylvatica Sourwood Oxydendrum arboreum Shortleaf pine Pinus echinata Loblolly pine Pinus taeda Hog plum Prunus umbellata Scarlet oak Quercus coccinea Southern red oak Quercus falcata Blackjack oak Quercus marilandica Rock chestnut oak Quercus montana Post oak Quercus stellata Black oak Quercus velutina Sassafras Sassafras albidum Shrubs and sub-shrubs Thick-pod white wild indigo Baptisia alba New Jersey tea Ceanothus americanus Pipsissewa Chimaphila maculata (sub-shrub) Fringe-tree Chionanthus virginicus Georgia calamint Clinopdium georgiana Trailing arbutus Epigaea repens (a sub-shrub; esp. on acidic soils) Carolina buckthorn Frangula caroliniana (esp. over calcareous and mafic rock) St. Andrews cross Hypericum hypericoides Mountain laurel Kalmia latifolia (acidic, north-facing, nearly mesic slopes) Ninebark Physocarpus opulifolius (often basic) Gorge rhododendron Rhododendron minus (acid) Fragrant sumac Rhus aromatica (especially over calcareous or mafic rock) Winged sumac Rhus copallinum Smooth sumac Rhus glabra Carolina rose Rosa carolina Dewberry (common) Rubus flagellaris Blackberry (eastern) Rubus pensilvanicus Coralberry Symphoricarpos orbiculatus (esp. over calcareous and mafic rock) Horse sugar Symplocos tinctoria Sparkleberry Vaccinium arboreum Hillside blueberry Vaccinium pallidum Deerberry Vaccinium stamineum Vines Crossvine Bignonia capreolata Trumpet vine Campsis radicans Carolina jessamine Gelsemium sempervirens Coral honeysuckle Lonicera sempervirens Passion flower/May-pop Passiflora incarnata Virginia creeper Parthenocissus quinquefolia Greenbrier (whiteleaf/sawbrier) Smilax glauca Poison ivy Toxicodendron radicans Muscadine Vitis rotundifolia Wildflowers (Forbs) Gerardia (purple) Agalinis purpurea Gerardia (slender) Agalinis tenuifolia Hairy angelica Angelica venenosa Thimbleweed Anemone virginiana (esp. on circumneutral soils) Pussytoes Antennaria plantaginifolia Eastern columbine Aquilegia canadensis (esp. on calcareous or mafic) Spreading dogbane Apocynum androsaemifolium Hemp dogbane Apocynum cannabinum Clasping milkweed Asclepias amplexicaulis Butterfly weed Asclepias tuberosa White milkweed Asclepias variegata Whorled milkweed Asclepias verticillata (esp. mafic rock) Green milkweed Asclepias viridiflora (esp. over mafic or calcareous) Thick-pod white wild indigo Baptisia alba Creamy wild indigo Baptisia bracteata Wild indigo Baptisia tinctoria Spurred butterfly pea Centrosema virginianum Partridge pea Chamaecrista fasciculata Green-and-gold Chrysogonum virginianum Maryland golden-aster Chrysopsis mariana Butterfly pea Clitoria mariana Tread-softly Cnidoscolus stimulosus Erect dayflower Commelina erecta Lobed coreopsis Coreopsis auriculata Large-flowered coreopsis Coreopsis grandiflora Woodland coreopsis Coreopsis major Carolina larkspur Delphinium carolinianum (thin soils;sun) Panicled tick-trefoil Desmodium paniculatum Elephant's-foot (leafy) Elephantopus carolinianus Elephant's-foot (common) Elephantopus tomentosus Robin's plantain Erigeron pulchellus Hyssopleaf boneset Eupatorium hyssopifolium Late flowering boneset Eupatorium serotinum Sessile-leaf boneset Eupatorium sessilifolium White wood aster Eurybia divaricata Indian physic/Bowman's root Gillenia trifoliata 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 Alumroot Heuchera americana Veiny hawkweed Hieracium venosum Quaker ladies Houstonia caerulea Summer bluet Houstonia purpurea Spotted St. John's-Wort Hypericum punctatum Yellow stargrass Hypoxis hirsutus Dwarf iris Iris verna Hairy lespedeza Lespedeza hirta Downy trailing lespedeza Lespedeza procumbens Smooth trailing lespedeza Lespedeza repens Blazing star (dense) Liatris spicata Blazing star (scaly) Liatris squarrosa Carolina lily Lilium michauxii Downy lobelia Lobelia puberula Sensitive briar Mimosa microphylla Wild bergamot Monarda fistulosa Bee-balm (spotted) Monarda punctata False garlic Nothoscordum bivalve Wild quinine Parthenium integrifolium Lousewort Pedicularis canadensis Southern beardtongue Penstemon australis Phlox (hairy) Phlox amoena Phlox (Carolina) Phlox carolina Pokeweed Phytolacca americana Silkgrass Pityopsis graminifolia Rabbit tobacco Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium Mountain mint (southern) Pycnanthemum pycnanthemoides Carolina petunia Ruellia caroliniensis Black-eyed Susan Rudbeckia hirta Lyreleaf sage Salvia lyrata Fire pink Silene virginica Rosinweed Silphium compositum Blue-eyed grass Sisyrinchium angustifolium Horse nettle Solanum carolinense Forest goldenrod Solidago arguta Slender goldenrod Solidago erecta Eastern gray goldenrod Solidago nemoralus Licorice goldenrod/Fragrant goldenrod Solidago odora Pencil-flower Stylosanthes biflora Eastern silvery aster Symphyotrichum concolor Georgia aster Symphyotrichum georgianum Calico aster Symphyotrichum laterifolum Clasping aster Symphyotrichum patens Frost aster Symphyotrichum pilosum Virginia goat's-rue Tephrosia virginiana Spiderwort (hairy) Tradescantia hirsuticaulis 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 Black-edged sedge Carex micromarginata Silky oat-grass Danthonia sericea Poverty oat-grass Danthonia spicata Bigtop lovegrass Eragrostis hirsuta Purple lovegrass Eragrostis spectabilis Eastern beard grass Gymnopogon ambiguus Pink muhly grass/hairgrass Muhlenbergia capillaris Eastern needlegrass Piptochaetium avenaceum Little bluestem Schizachyrium scoparium Yellow Indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans Purpletop/Greasy grass Tridens flavus Gamma grass Tripsacum dactyloides Ferns Ebony spleenwort Asplenium platyneuron Bracken fern Pteridium latiusculum |
Representative trees, in order by scientific name. Representative shrubs in order by scientific name.Representative wildflowers in order by scientific name.Representative ferns in order by scientific name
Representative grasses in order by scientific name
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