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How to Recognize It
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This unusual natural community is found on piles of extremely acidic rocks accumulated on a slope. What little soil exists between the rocks is very acidic and not very fertile. That’s why there are relatively few plant species in this natural community, and they tend to be widely spaced. Plants you might see are sweet birch trees, American witch-hazel shrubs, and vining Virginia creeper.
Can you find this combination of key features?
Identifying This Natural Community
- Widely spaced, stunted trees, most of which are sweet birch
- American witch-hazel shrubs
- Almost no low plants, except for perhaps vines of Virginia creeper and eastern poison-ivy
- Location: a slope covered with quartzite boulders and/or slabs of phyllite
If so, welcome to the Sweet Birch - Chestnut Oak Talus Woodland at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.
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