Home/Species/ Mountain Witch-alder

Fothergilla major

(Sims) Lodd.

Mountain Witch-alder

G3Vulnerable Found in 5 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G3VulnerableGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149547

Element CodePDHAM01020

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicendemic to a single nation

KingdomPlantae

PhylumAnthophyta

ClassDicotyledoneae

OrderHamamelidales

FamilyHamamelidaceae

GenusFothergilla

Other Common Names

mountain witchalder (EN)

Concept Reference

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.

Conservation Status

Review Date1998-04-14

Change Date1984-11-05

Edition Date1998-04-14

Edition AuthorsD. Gries

Rank Reasons

Fothergilla major is rare throughout its range of five southeastern states (disjunct in Arkansas). This taxon does occur in a national protected area in Tennessee and at least two state parks in North Carolina.

Range Extent Comments

Ranging from central North Carolina west to eastern Tennessee, south to northcentral Alabama, and disjunct in Arkansas (Wealey, 1996).

Occurrences Comments

Rare in North and South Carolina (Weakley, 1996).

Threat Impact Comments

Fothergilla major has a somwehat limited range and number of known occurrences, making it vulnerable to land-use conversion, habitat fragmentation, and forest management practices; conversion of natural forests to commercial forest land has probably impacted the species (Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project 2002). Habitat is unsuitable for most uses (Tennessee Element Ranking Form, Edwin Bridges, 1983).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Dry ridgetop forests of middle elevation ridges in the mountains, especially along the Blue Ridge Escarpment, summits and upper slopes of Piedmont monadnocks, north-facing bluffs in the lower Piedmont (Weakley, 1996).

Other Nations (1)

United StatesN3

Province	Rank	Native
North Carolina	S3	Yes
Alabama	S2	Yes
South Carolina	S2	Yes
Georgia	S1	Yes
Arkansas	S1	Yes
Tennessee	S2	Yes

Plant Characteristics

DurationPERENNIAL

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (5)

Arkansas (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Dismal Creek	Ozark-St. Francis National Forest	9,160

North Carolina (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bald Mountain	Pisgah National Forest	11,085
Dobson Knob	Pisgah National Forest	6,111
Linville Gorge Addition	Pisgah National Forest	2,809

Tennessee (1)

Area	Forest	Acres
Bald Mountain	Cherokee National Forest	11,743

References (4)

Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1183 pp.
Southern Appalachian Species Viability Project. 2002. A partnership between the U.S. Forest Service-Region 8, Natural Heritage Programs in the Southeast, NatureServe, and independent scientists to develop and review data on 1300+ regionally and locally rare species in the Southern Appalachian and Alabama region. Database (Access 97) provided to the U.S. Forest Service by NatureServe, Durham, North Carolina.
Weakley, A.S. 1996. Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia: working draft of 23 May 1996. The Nature Conservancy, Southeast Regional Office, Southern Conservation Science Dept., Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Unpaginated.