Historical Considerations of Conifer Expansion in Maryland Serpentine “Barrens”

by R. Wayne Tyndall

Castanea, Vol. 57, No. 2 (Jun., 1992), pp. 123-131

Abstract

The phytosociology and flora of a serpentine pine-cedar savanna were studied in Harford County, Maryland. This community comprises 69 vascular plant taxa, including two taxa that are restricted in Maryland to serpentine soil (Talinum teretifolium and Cerastium arvense var. villosum) and one species that is “highly state rare” (Panicum flexile). In the ground layer, 99% of the vegetative cover was perennial and half of it was graminoid. About 40% of herbaceous cover was produced by Andropogon scoparius and Aristida purpurascens. Fire suppression may have contributed to the abundance of Pinus virginiana and Juniperus virginiana.

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