Northern Ontario Plant Database

Northern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)

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C-V15: Sugar Maple - Hemlock - Yellow Birch - Red Maple - Striped Maple
Summary: A mixedwood stand dominated by sugar maple and hemlock, with yellow birch, red maple, beech, and white cedar occurring with less frequency. Regeneration is dominated by sugar and red maple, balsam fir, hemlock, beech, yellow birch, and some red oak. The tall shrub layer is dominated by striped maple and hobblebush, while Canada fly honeysuckle is the most common low shrub.

The herb layer is dominated by wild sarsaparilla, wild lily-of-the-valley, star flower, rose twisted-stalk, bluebead lily, and Indian cucumber-root, as well as spinulose woodfern and ground pine.

This vegetation type is similar to C-V16, however, C-V15 is characterized by the more common presence of red maple in the overstory and the occurrence of partridgeberry in the herb layer. Also, C-V15 lacks significant amounts of hairy Solomon's seal, Indian cucumber-root, and shining clubmoss.

Soil & Ecosite Types: The Sugar Maple-Hemlock-Yellow Birch-Red Maple-Striped Maple Vegetation Type (C-V15) occurs most commonly on moderately fresh to moist soil types, including dry to moderately fresh (S3), fresh to very fresh (S7), and moderately moist to moist (S11) coarse loamy to silty soils. This vegetation type was described from sites scattered throughout Site Regions 4E and 5E. Like C-V16 and C-V17, this vegetation type can be found on ecosite types C-ES 28.2 (Sugar Maple-Hemlock-Yellow Birch, fresh to moist) and C-ES 28.1 (Sugar Maple-Hemlock-Yellow Birch, dry to moderately fresh). Rarely, it may also be found on ecosite types C-ES 27.2 (Sugar Maple-White Birch-Poplar-White Pine, fresh to moist) and C-ES35 (Lowland Hardwood).

Note: In sample plots, species listed below occurred with 50% frequency or more, except for those in square brackets, which occurred with 30-49% frequency.

Trees:

overstorey

hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
[yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)]
[red maple (Acer rubrum)]
[beech (Fagus grandifolia)]
[white cedar (Thuja occidentalis)]

subcanopy

sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
[hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)]
[red maple (Acer rubrum)]
[balsam fir (Abies balsamea)]
[yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)]
[beech (Fagus grandifolia)]

regeneration

sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
red maple (Acer rubrum)
balsam fir (Abies balsamea)
hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)
beech (Fagus grandifolia)
yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)
[red oak (Quercus rubra)]

Shrubs:

tall shrubs

striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides)
[beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta)]
[mountain maple (Acer spicatum)]

low shrubs

Canada fly honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)

Dwarf Shrubs and Herbs:

dwarf shrubs

[partridgeberry (Mitchella repens)]

forbs

wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis)
wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense)
starflower (Trientalis borealis)
rose twisted-stalk (Streptopus lanceolatus)
bluebead lily (Clintonia borealis)
Indian cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana)

Ferns and Fern Allies:

ferns

spinulose woodfern (Dryopteris carthusiana)

clubmosses

ground pine (Lycopodium dendroideum or Lycopodium obscurum)

Bryophytes:

[glossy moss (Plagiothecium laetum)]
[beautiful branch moss (Callicladium haldanianum)]
[spiky dicranum (Dicranum flagellare)]
[reflexed cedar moss (Brachythecium reflexum)]

Lichens:

common powderhorn (Cladonia coniocraea)