• This association includes forests of protected coves in the southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, and southwest Virginia.
  • This type extends peripherally into the Cumberland Mountains of southwestern Virginia.
  • These forests are associated with nutrient-rich soils and, often, mafic geologies, and occur on steep, middle to low protected slopes and coves at 610-1,400 m (2,000-4,600 feet) elevation.
  • This forest lacks dominance by Betula alleghaniensis and Fagus grandifolia, and has an herbaceous flora indicative of high-base status soils.
  • This association typically has a much more diverse herbaceous stratum than other deciduous cove forests of the Southern Blue Ridge.
    
• Examples of this association have deciduous forest canopies dominated by either Acer saccharum, Aesculus flava, Fraxinus americana, Halesia tetraptera var. monticola, or Tilia americana var. heterophylla, or by various combinations of these species.
  • Other common canopy species can include Carya cordiformis and Quercus rubra.
    
    
• A shrub stratum is vary sparse or absent, and the herbaceous stratum is dense and luxurious, with high species richness.
  
  
• The defining feature of this association is the lush herbaceous flora with many calciphilic species indicative of high pH or circumneutral soils.
  • Characteristic species include Asarum canadense, Carex plantaginea, Cymophyllus fraserianus, Cystopteris protrusa, Deparia acrostichoides, Diplazium pycnocarpon, Prosartes lanuginosa, Dryopteris goldiana, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Hydrophyllum canadense, Osmorhiza claytonii, Panax quinquefolius, Solidago flexicaulis, and Viola canadensis.
  • The herbaceous stratum can have local dominance by Laportea canadensis, Viola canadensis, Dryopteris intermedia, Actaea podocarpa, Actaea racemosa, and Caulophyllum thalictroides.

• This forest has a canopy dominated by various combinations of Acer saccharum, Aesculus flava, Tilia americana var. heterophylla, Halesia tetraptera var. monticola, and Fraxinus americana.
  • Occasionally Carya cordiformis or Quercus rubra may have high coverage in the canopy.
    
    
• The subcanopy is dominated by the canopy species, occasionally with high coverage by Cladrastis kentukea or Ostrya virginiana.
  
  
• The shrub stratum is absent or very sparse, with scattered woody saplings, commonly Acer saccharum, Aesculus flava, and Halesia tetraptera var. monticola.
  
  
• The herbaceous stratum is lush and diverse, with dominance varying among occurrences.
  • Herbaceous species that commonly have high coverage include Adiantum pedatum, Ageratina altissima var. altissima, Asarum canadense, Eurybia divaricata, Caulophyllum thalictroides, Actaea racemosa, Cystopteris protrusa, Deparia acrostichoides, Prosartes lanuginosa, Dryopteris intermedia, Dryopteris marginalis, Hydrophyllum canadense, Impatiens pallida, Laportea canadensis, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Polystichum acrostichoides, Sedum ternatum, Solidago curtisii, Solidago flexicaulis, Stellaria pubera, Tiarella cordifolia, and Viola canadensis.
  • Additional herbaceous species with at least 50% constancy include Arisaema triphyllum, Galium triflorum, Hepatica nobilis var. acuta, Osmorhiza claytonii, Panax quinquefolius, Polygonatum pubescens, Thalictrum spp. (e.g., Thalictrum clavatum, Thalictrum dioicum, Thalictrum pubescens, Thalictrum thalictroides), Trillium spp. (e.g., Trillium catesbaei, Trillium erectum, Trillium grandiflorum, Trillium rugelii, Trillium undulatum), Uvularia spp. (e.g., Uvularia grandiflora, Uvularia perfoliata), and Monarda spp. (e.g., Monarda, clinopodia, Monarda didyma).
  • Aristolochia macrophylla is a common vine.
  • Other species found in this association that are indicative of high base-status soils include Dryopteris goldiana, Sanguinaria canadensis, and Panax quinquefolius.

• This association occurs in the southern Appalachian Mountains of eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina and southwestern Virginia.
  • It likely ranges into the Blue Ridge of Georgia and extends peripherally into Virginia's Cumberland Mountains.

• This community was sampled on the Mount Le Conte quadrangle, Cades Cove quadrangle, and Kinzel Springs quadrangle.
  • Additional historic samples are from the Calderwood quadrangle (2,780 feet elevation).
    
    
• On the Cades Cove quadrangle, historic and recent samples of this community ranged from 2,880 to 3,960 feet elevation.
  • Samples from the southern portion of the Cades Cove quadrangle came from an east-facing cove of lower Gregory Ridge; protected upper slopes of the Gregory Ridge Trail; lower slopes above Forge Creek; and protected slopes north of Ekaneetlee Gap.
  • In the western portion of the quadrangle, this community was sampled on the north slope of Pine Ridge.
  • In the northern portion of the Cades Cove quadrangle, this community was sampled from a cove above Bunting Branch, north of Coon Butt; from a cove below the north side of Coon Butt; and from upper Fanny Branch.
    
    
• An additional sample of this community was taken from the southern portion of the Kinzel Springs quadrangle, in a cove along Scotts Mountain Trail.
  
  
• Samples from the Mount Le Conte quadrangle ranged from 2,508 to 3,890 feet elevation.
  • In the central and eastern portion of the Mount Le Conte quadrangle, this community was sampled from a cove below Rocky Spur; from broad, protected slopes below Rainbow Falls; west of Porters Flat on middle cove slopes above Long Branch; and on the west slope above Porters Creek.
  • In the southwestern portion of the Mount Le Conte quadrangle, this community was sampled on a southwest-facing cove above Highway 441 in the vicinity of Fort Harry; on a slope east and south of Balsam Point; from a low cove above the west prong of the Pigeon River; on a cove northwest of Bullhead; and on a lowslope/cove above Le Conte Creek, north of Bullhead.
  • Additional examples of this community were found in the western portion of the quadrangle in a cove north of Mt. Winnesoka, and on the north slopes of Piney Mountain, above Cherokee Orchard Road.

• Global Conservation Status Rank: G3G4 (Last reviewed: 12 29 1999).
  
  
• This community is naturally uncommon within its range due to specific habitat requirements.
  • It only occurs in protected, concave, topographic positions over high-base status soils in the Southern Blue Ridge, a region of predominantly nutrient-poor (acidic) soils.
  • Although relatively secure and not highly threatened today, most remaining examples of this community have been affected by past logging, thus much of the remaining acreage is not of high quality.

Braun, E. L. 1950. Deciduous forests of eastern North America. Hafner Press, New York. 596 pp.

Eyre, F. H., editor. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Society of American Foresters, Washington, DC. 148 pp.

Fleming, G. P., and P. P. Coulling. 2001. Ecological communities of the George Washington and Jefferson national forests, Virginia. Preliminary classification and description of vegetation types. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. 317 pp.

Fleming, G. P., P. P. Coulling, D. P. Walton, K. M. McCoy, and M. R. Parrish. 2001. The natural communities of Virginia: Classification of ecological community groups. First approximation. Natural Heritage Technical Report 01-1. Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Natural Heritage, Richmond, VA. Unpublished report. January 2001. 76 pp.

NatureServe Ecology - Southeastern United States. No date. Unpublished data. NatureServe, Durham, NC.

Patterson, K. D., C. J. Ulrey, and J. Drake. 1999. Vegetation classification of Great Smoky Mountains National Park: Cades Cove and Mount Le Conte quadrangles. Unpublished report submitted to BRD-NPS Vegetation Mapping Program. The Nature Conservancy, Chapel Hill, NC.

Peet, R. K., T. R. Wentworth, M. P. Schafale, and A.S. Weakley. 2002. Unpublished data of the North Carolina Vegetation Survey. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Rheinhardt, R. D., and S. A. Ware. 1984. The vegetation of the Balsam Mountains of southwestern Virginia: A phytosociological study. Buletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 111:287-300.

Schafale, M. 1998b. Fourth approximation guide. High mountain communities. March 1998 draft. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.

Schafale, M. P., and A. S. Weakley. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina. Third approximation. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh. 325 pp.

Southeastern Ecology Working Group of NatureServe. No date. International Ecological Classification Standard: International Vegetation Classification. Terrestrial Vegetation. NatureServe, Durham, NC.