Southern Piedmont Hardpan Forest – CEGL003714

The largest known stands of Southern Piedmont Hardpan Forest, totaling several hundred acres in aggregate, occur on gentle uplands underlain by mafic metamorphic rocks and slate in southeastern Halifax County.  The stand shown here is one of the most mature and least disturbed, with sparse understory and an herb layer dominated by eastern needlegrass (Piptochaetium avenaceum) and little-headed nutrush (Scleria oligantha).