Flora and Vegetation of Some Barrens of the Eastern Highland Rim of Tennessee

The flora and vegetation of six open barren and fringing forest sites were examined on the eastern Highland Rim of Tennessee. All sites are on flat to undulating loess-derived soils. A total of 560 vascular plants occur. Of the 530 native taxa, 76 are woody, and 27 are on the list of rare plants of the state. Major families are the Poaceae, Asteraceae, Cyperaceae, and Fabaceae. The flora is most closely related to those of the barrens of the western Highland Rim and of West Tennessee. (There is only a small western United States element.) Tallgrass vegetation on the May Prairie, the best of the remaining open barrens, is characterized by two types: big bluestem-tall panicum and tall panicum-little bluestem.