Name:
Bigelowia nuttallii - Aristida longespica - Schizachyrium scoparium West Gulf Coastal Plain Grassland Alliance
Reference:
NatureServe Biotics 2019
Description:
This alliance accommodates dry glades and barrens found in the West Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States in Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas, including sandstone (Catahoula) glades and barrens and inland saline soil prairies. In these examples, <i>Sporobolus silveanus</i> may be a primary component. The herbaceous flora is rich in endemic and disjunct species. Other typical herbaceous species include <i>Astragalus nuttallianus, Chaetopappa asteroides, Diodia teres, Fimbristylis puberula, Houstonia pusilla, Hypericum drummondii, Isolepis carinata, Krigia occidentalis, Lechea san-sabeana, Linum medium, Marshallia caespitosa, Minuartia drummondii, Nothoscordum bivalve, Phacelia glabra, Polygala mariana, Rhynchospora globularis, Saxifraga texana)</i>, and <i>Stylosanthes biflora</i>. Typical woody species that may be scattered in these communities include <i>Ilex vomitoria, Morella cerifera, Pinus palustris, Pinus echinata, Pinus taeda, Quercus marilandica, Quercus stellata, Vaccinium arboreum, Vaccinium corymbosum, Vaccinium elliottii</i>, and <i>Vaccinium stamineum</i>. Examples may appear almost devoid of vegetation during the dry summers, while the spring and autumn are periods of peak flowering. Soils are strongly acidic, sandy loams and silty clay loams, with high aluminum content. Much of the soil and rock is unvegetated. These soils can be saturated during the cooler, wetter months, but are extremely dry and hard during summer droughts. The drier inland saline prairies have scattered patchy vegetation with much bare soil.
Accession Code:
urn:lsid:vegbank.org:commConcept:39302-{A65AEB4D-5705-4597-8C58-CC7E077ED1DA}
Plot-observations of this Community Concept:
0
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