Credits

Created by Virginia Pellington, Christina Prehn, and Robert Copus, Explore Natural Communities Interns Summer 2016, NatureServe.

Music: Summer Day by Kevin MacLeod, modified (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0.

Photo: Basic Woodland, by Milo Pyne, courtesy of NatureServe. Licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0.

Transcript

Podcast time: 3:07 minutes

As you hike up the Overlook Cliff Trail with its red blazes along Maryland Heights in Harpers Ferry, you may feel tired and out of breath, but don’t stop, yet! The Overlook Cliffs ahead are a feast for the eyes. At the Overlook you will be greeted with picturesque views of the historic town of Harpers Ferry, and you will hear, all around you, the calming sounds of the Shenandoah and Potomac rivers converging and flowing away. In a peaceful setting like this, it’s hard to imagine Civil War generals wanting to capture this ground and areas higher upslope to create a military advantage above the town.

Complementing the view below, here you will be immersed in the beauty of the unique natural community on the hillside behind you called the Basic Woodland. The Basic Woodland is comprised of arid, rocky slopes with grasses and a smattering of trees such as pignut hickory . You may notice evidence of dead or dying trees. These are remnants of white ash , victims of the devastating Emerald Ash Borer pest (Agrilus planipennis) that has swept through the eastern United States. Do you see the exposed bedrock near the bottom of the slope? Only a shallow layer of soil covers this bedrock as it continues all the way up the hillside. It is in the droughty conditions of this thin, rocky soil that the Basic Woodland manages to grow.

At first glance, this sunny hillside may appear pretty barren. However, this woodland’s scattered trees offer shade but still let ample sunlight shine on the community, which invites sun-loving species to thrive! These plants flourish in the scant, yet nutritious soil and give this natural community a lovely spread of grasses such as little bluestem  and wildflowers like elm-leaved goldenrod (Solidago ulmifolia) and hoary mountain-mint (Pycnanthemum incanum). If this Basic Woodland were more like a forest, it would have dense tall trees. The meadow species would not be able to grow in the trees’ shade! So, when you see grasses and colorful wildflowers dotting the woodland floor in summer, know that you're in a truly special natural community.

See if you can spot the elm-leaved goldenrod; this plant grows up to three feet tall, with small, yellow flowers arranged in arcing, slender clusters, making it easy to see from a distance. This plant’s bright yellow blooms highlight this woodland from summer to fall and are a source of nectar to bees and other insects. The elm-leaved goldenrod and other fall flowers are important food sources when some butterflies begin migrating south and bees are getting ready for winter.

So, next time you find yourself looking for a challenging hike and a rewarding view, take the red blazed trail to Overlook Cliffs.  Here, you can find peace and beauty among the trees and the elm-leaved goldenrod in this unique natural community, the Basic Woodland.

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