• This association is often referred to as a classic "beech gap" forest and includes vegetation with short-statured canopies dominated by Fagus grandifolia, occurring over a dense, graminoid-dominated herbaceous stratum.
  • This forest is thought to be limited to the range of Picea rubens and Abies fraseri (Whittaker 1956) and occurs on concave slopes, flat ridgetops, or upper south- to southwest-facing slopes, at elevations of greater than 1,370 m (4,500 feet) in the southern Blue Ridge.
  • The majority of this community is distributed within the mountains of North Carolina, but it also occurs in Tennessee and possibly in Virginia.
  • This community commonly occurs as small patches surrounded by other forest types, montane grasslands and shrublands.
    
    
• This community is a broad-leaved deciduous forest with a canopy dominated by stunted, gnarled Fagus grandifolia, often with lesser amounts of Halesia tetraptera var. monticola or Betula alleghaniensis.
  
  
• Typically, there are not significant understory or shrub strata, but scattered shrubs such as Hydrangea arborescens may occur.
  
  
• Herbaceous cover is dense, often approaching 100% coverage, and dominated by Carex spp. (Carex aestivalis, Carex brunnescens, Carex debilis, Carex intumescens, Carex pensylvanica).
  
  
• Ferns and other herbs form 5-20% of the herbaceous cover and may include Ageratina altissima var. roanensis, Anemone quinquefolia, Angelica triquinata Arisaema triphyllum ssp. triphyllum, Eurybia chlorolepis, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, Dryopteris campyloptera, Epifagus virginiana, Erythronium umbilicatum ssp. monostolum, Impatiens pallida, Medeola virginiana, Oxalis montana, Laportea canadensis, Luzula acuminata, Phacelia bipinnatifida, Phacelia fimbriata, Poa alsodes, Prenanthes altissima, Prenanthes roanensis, Rugelia nudicaulis, Solidago glomerata, Stellaria corei, Thelypteris noveboracensis, and Trillium erectum.

• This forest has a 10-m canopy of Fagus grandifolia.
  
  
• The subcanopy is not well-developed, but Acer pensylvanicum has the highest coverage.
  • Other species in the subcanopy include Halesia tetraptera var. monticola, Picea rubens, and Tsuga canadensis.
    
    
• Typically, there are not significant understory or shrub strata, but scattered short shrubs/saplings such as Fagus grandifolia may occur.
  
  
• The herbaceous stratum is strongly dominated by Carex pensylvanica (75-85% coverage).
  • Other species present in minor amounts include Ageratina altissima var. roanensis, Angelica triquinata Arisaema triphyllum ssp. triphyllum, Eurybia chlorolepis, Athyrium filix-femina ssp. asplenioides, Brachyelytrum septentrionale, Dryopteris intermedia, Laportea canadensis, Luzula acuminata, Poa alsodes, Prenanthes spp., Rubus canadensis, Rugelia nudicaulis, Solidago curtisii, Stellaria pubera, and Viola rotundifolia.

• The majority of this community is distributed within the mountains of North Carolina, but it also occurs in Tennessee and possibly in Virginia.

• This community was sampled from a single location on the Mount Le Conte quadrangle, on the south slope of Trillium Gap (4,719 feet elevation).
  
  
• It was not observed on the Cades Cove quadrangle, but it does occur in other areas of the park.

• Global Conservation Status Rank: G1 (Last reviewed: 11 01 2002).
  
  
• This community has a very restricted range with scattered occurrences of small acreage.
  • Many occurrences have been, and continue to be, severely damaged by the European wild boar (Sus scrofa).
  • Grazing and soil disturbance by this animal reduces understory herb cover to 10-30 percent of undisturbed levels and may affect tree growth and nutrient cycling (Singer et al. 1984).
  • Beech bark disease, a complex made up of the Beech scale insect (Cryptococcus fagisuga) and a closely associated fungus (Nectria coccinea var. faginata) poses a severe threat to this community.
  • Most all of the beech gap communities in the Great Smoky Mountains had succumbed to the beech bark disease or a combination of the beech bark disease and pollution by 2002 (R. White pers. comm.).
  • Presumably this trend is being seen throughout the southern Appalachians, resulting in the possible extinction of this community in the next few years.
  • Therefore, this community was assigned a rank of G1.

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