Limestone Annual Flatrock Barren – CEGL007073

A distinctive complex of limestone barrens occurs on private land near Lexington in Rockbridge County.  These valley floor barrens are developed on gently sloping to flat exposures of Lincolnshire limestone, and are characterized by a mixture of annual grasses and low annual and perennial forbs.  Eastern prickly-pear (Opuntia humifusa, in foreground) and scattered shrubs of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana) may also occur.