20 October 2023.
Macon County, North Carolina, United States
Locality: Plants growing on slopes above Big Creek Road on a trail up from cabins toward the Appalachian Trail.
Coordinates: 35.0018, -83.4551
(Map it)
Elevation: 752m.
Georeference protocol: Lat/lon determined by GPS
Habitat: Wild Habitat
Environment description: Plants growing along a rocky stream in part shade. Slope: 25 percent. Aspect: Variable. The underlying geology of this area is Coweeta Group, primarily of Late Proterozoic origin. It is comprised of quartz dioritic gneiss, feldspar-quartz-biotite gneiss, metasandstone and quartzite, alumino-silicate schist, garnetiferous biotite gneiss, and minor amphibolite. Quartz dioritic gneiss is predominant. (Source: USGS North Carolina Geologic Map Data.) The primary soil type in the collection area is classified as Cullasaja-Tuckasegee complex, 15 to 30 percent slopes, stony. The Cullasaja series consists of very deep, well drained soils on benches, toe slopes, foot slopes, drainageways, and fans in coves in the Southern Blue Ridge mountains. They formed in colluvium derived from materials weathered from felsic to mafic high-grade metamorphic and igneous rocks such as granite, mica gneiss, hornblende gneiss, and schist. Slope ranges from 8 to 95 percent. The Tuckasegee series consists of very deep, well drained soils on gently sloping to very steep benches, foot slopes, toe slopes, drainageways, and fans in coves in the Southern Blue Ridge mountains. These soils formed in colluvium derived from materials weathered from igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks such as granite, mica gneiss, hornblende gneiss, and schist. Slopes range from 2 to 95 percent. (Source: NRCS Web Soil Survey.)
Number of plants sampled: 2
Associated species: Rhododendron maximum; Hamamelis virginiana; Tsuga canadensis; Betula lenta; Leucothoe fontanesiana; Pinus strobus; Polypodium virginianum; Acer pensylvanicum; Mitchella repens; Acer saccharum; Oxydendrum arboreum.
Comment: Plants are infrequent in the understory of the woodland slopes and along the edge of the road. Collected as Isotrema macrophyllum.
Collector(s):