Shale Barrens
A shale barren is a steep, south-facing, eroding slope of thinly bedded, weathered shale, having sparse tree cover and little soil. Ranging from precipitous shale cliffs to open woods, shale barrens support a unique plant community, found in the Ridge and Valley province, from southern Pennsylvania to southern Virginia.
The shale barrens in Highland and Bath Counties are part of an extensive area called the Mid-Appalachian Shale Barrens. Generally the shales lie on steep southern or southwestern slopes with a basal stream that tends to wash away the debris of friable shale that results from erosion of the beds.
Red Milkweed |
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Clematis albicoma Wherry (endemic) |
White-hair Leatherflower |
Clematis viticaulis Steele (endemic) |
Millboro Leatherflower |
Wild Bleeding Heart |
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Branched Draba or Branched Whitlow-grass |
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Forest or Licorice Bedstraw |
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Common Alumroot |
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Rattlesnake Weed |
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Long-leaved Houstonia or Bluet |
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Packera antennariifolia (endemic) |
Shale Barren Groundsel or Ragwort |
Paronychia montana (endemic) |
Mountain Nailwort or Shale Whitlowwort |
Hairy Beardtongue |
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Moss Phlox |
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Hairy Skullcap |
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Mountain or Shale Barren Pimpernel |
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Foamflower |