Walked in the FNAI reference area out Ranch House Road — a Beautiful spot. From the datasheet:
There are no trees in the reference dry prairie. The shrub cover is approximately 40 percent and generally less than 2 feet tall. Dominant shrubs are saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), and dwarf live oak (Quercus minima). Other common shrubs, but relatively low in cover are Atlantic St. John’s wort (Hypericum reductum), fourpetal St. John’s wort (Hypericum tetrapetalum), gallberry (Ilex glabra), coastalplain staggerbush (Lyonia fruticosa), fetterbush (Lyonia lucida), wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera), runner oak (Quercus elliottii), and shiny blueberry (Vaccinium myrsinites). Herbaceous cover is diverse and moderately dense (around 25%), represented primarily by wiregrass (Aristida stricta var. beyrichiana). Other common herbs, but generally less than 2 percent cover include little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), savannah yellow-eyed grass (Xyris flabelliformis), yellow hatpins (Syngonanthus flavidulus), lopsided indiangrass (Sorghastrum secundum), netted nutrush (Scleria reticularis), whitetop aster (Oclemena reticulata), narrowleaf silkgrass (Pityopsis graminifolia), whitehead bogbutton (Lachnocaulon anceps), blackroot (Pterocaulon pycnostachyum), tall elephantsfoot (Elephantopus elatus), dwarf sundew (Drosera brevifolia), Nuttall’s meadowbeauty (Rhexia nuttallii) bottlebrush threeawn (Aristida spiciformis), vanillaleaf (Carphephorus odoratissimus), humped bladderwort (Utricularia gibba), yellow-eyed grass (Xyris sp.), and nutsedges (Rhynchospora spp.).
This reference site for dry prairie has received light roller chopping to reduce the saw palmetto cover. Care was taken to prevent soil disturbance and as a result only a few weedy herbs, such as slender flattop goldenrod (Euthamia caroliniana) and broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus), are present. The area burned during the summer of 2007 stimulating the fruiting of wiregrass and other herbs. Data were originally collected at this site during February 2009. and a second data set was collected during November 2015.
