• This community includes herbaceous vegetation on rock substrates associated with the spray of cascades and waterfalls in the Southern Blue Ridge and adjacent portions of the Piedmont.
  • It is found in southwestern North Carolina, northwestern South Carolina, and northeastern Georgia, in the escarpment gorges of the Southern Blue Ridge and west of the escarpment in eastern Tennessee.
  • It occurs on saturated rock outcrops, on nearly vertical rock surfaces and ledges, slopes, and crevices with shallow soils which are constantly saturated.
  • Vegetative coverage is sparse to moderate with 50-75% unvegetated surface (bedrock) possible.
  • Vegetation grows in cracks and on organic accumulations on ledges.
  • It is characterized by a variable but unique assemblage of vascular herbs, algae, and bryophytes, many of which are endemic to this community.
  • Composition of this community varies from location to location, in part due to its insular nature.
    
    
• This community varies in composition with no consistent dominant species.
  • Nominal species are either constant or regional endemics. South and west of the Blue Ridge Escarpment, this association is less diverse than those occurrences in the central portion of the range.
    
    
• Vascular species (Galax urceolata, Heuchera parviflora var. parviflora, Houstonia serpyllifolia, Hydrocotyle americana, Impatiens capensis, Oxalis montana, Saxifraga careyana, Saxifraga caroliniana, Carex biltmoreana, Thalictrum spp.).
  
  
• Ferns (Adiantum pedatum, Asplenium monanthes, Asplenium montanum, Asplenium trichomanes ssp. trichomanes, Cystopteris protrusa, Grammitis nimbata (= Micropolypodium nimbatum), Hymenophyllum tayloriae, Phegopteris connectilis, Polypodium virginianum, Trichomanes boschianum, Trichomanes intricatum, Vittaria appalachiana).
  
  
• Characteristic species include liverworts (Bazzania denudata, Conocephalum conicum, Pellia epiphylla, Pellia neesiana, Plagiochila austini, Plagiochila caduciloba, Plagiochila sharpii ssp. sharpii, Plagiochila spp., Plagiochila sullivantii, Riccardia multifida).
  
  
• Mosses (Bryocrumia vivicolor, Dichodontium pellucidum, Fissidens osmundioides, Huperzia porophila, Hyophila involuta, Mnium marginatum, Oncophorus raui, Plagiomnium affine, Plagiomnium carolinianum, Pseudotaxiphyllum distichaceum, Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum quinquefarium, Thamnobryum alleghaniense).

• This community includes herbaceous vegetation on rock substrates associated with waterfalls.
  • Vegetative coverage is sparse to moderate with 50-75% unvegetated surface (bedrock) possible.
  • Vegetation grows in cracks and on organic accumulations on ledges.
  • It is characterized by a variable but unique assemblage of vascular herbs, algae, and bryophytes, many of which are endemic to this community.
  • Composition of this community varies from location to location, in part due to its insular nature.
    
    
• Vascular species (Galax urceolata, Heuchera parviflora var. parviflora, Houstonia serpyllifolia, Hydrocotyle americana, Impatiens capensis, Oxalis montana, Saxifraga careyana, Saxifraga caroliniana, and Thalictrum spp.).
  
  
• Ferns (Adiantum pedatum, Asplenium monanthes, Asplenium montanum, Asplenium trichomanes ssp. trichomanes Cystopteris protrusa, Grammitis nimbata (= Micropolypodium nimbatum), Hymenophyllum tayloriae, Phegopteris connectilis, Polypodium virginianum, Trichomanes intricatum, Vittaria appalachiana).
  
  
• Characteristic species include liverworts (Bazzania denudata, Conocephalum conicum, Pellia epiphylla, Pellia neesiana, Plagiochila austini, Plagiochila caduciloba, Plagiochila sharpii ssp. sharpii, Plagiochila spp., Plagiochila sullivantii, Riccardia multifida).
  
  
• Mosses (Bryocrumia vivicolor, Dichodontium pellucidum, Fissidens osmundioides, Huperzia porophila, Hyophila involuta, Mnium marginatum, Oncophorus raui, Plagiomnium affine, Plagiomnium carolinianum, Pseudotaxiphyllum distichaceum, Sphagnum girgensohnii, Sphagnum quinquefarium, Thamnobryum alleghaniense).

• It is found in southwestern North Carolina, northwestern South Carolina, and northeastern Georgia, in the escarpment gorges of the Southern Blue Ridge and west of the escarpment in eastern Tennessee.

• This community was sampled only from the Mount Le Conte quadrangle.
  
  
• On Mount Le Conte, it was sampled at Rainbow Falls, Grotto Falls, and Thousand Drips.
  • It is most common on the Tennessee side but may also occur at some waterfalls on the North Carolina side.

• Global Conservation Status Rank: G2 (Last reviewed: 04 30 1998).
  
  
• This community is very limited, known only from a few dozen occurrences, most of which are less than one acre in size; the largest are only about two acres in size.
  • Most examples are in rugged montane areas and have escaped direct disturbance, though many may have been affected by logging or development on surrounding lands.
  • Water-quality declines may have detrimental impacts on this very delicate and easily impacted community.
  • Even limited human visitation has degraded some occurrences.

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Anderson, L. E., H. A. Crum, and W. R. Buck. 1990. List of mosses of North America north of Mexico. The Bryologist 93:448-499.

Dellinger, B. 1992. Natural areas survey, Nantahala National Forest, Highlands Ranger District: Site survey reports. Unpublished data. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program, Raleigh.

Farrar, D. R. 1998. The tropical flora of rockhouse cliff formations in the eastern United States. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 125(2):91-108.

Nelson, J. B. 1986. The natural communities of South Carolina: Initial classification and description. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources Department, Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries, Columbia, SC. 55 pp.

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.

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.

Stotler, R., and B. Crandall-Stotler. 1977. A checklist of liverworts and hornworts of North America. The Bryologist 80:405-428.

Weakley, A. S., compiler. 1993. Natural Heritage Program list of the rare plant species of North Carolina. North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Parks and Recreation, Natural Heritage Program. Raleigh. 79 pp.

Weakley, A. S., and M. P. Schafale. 1994. Non-alluvial wetlands of the Southern Blue Ridge: Diversity in a threatened ecosystem. Water, Air, and Soil Pollution 77:359-383.

Wharton, C. H. 1978. The natural environments of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Atlanta. 227 pp.

Zartman, C. E., and J. D. Pittillo. 1998. Spray cliff communities of the Chattooga Basin. Castanea 63(3):217-240.