Clinging to life in barrens

By Thelma Dalmas
Published: September 16, 2008

Last weekend, the Virginia Native Plant Society held its annual meeting in Northern Virginia.

Although my husband, John, and I have been members for more than 20 years, the timing has simply never worked to attend one of the statewide functions. However, this year when the newsletter arrived and I saw that one of the field trips included a visit to a globally rare serpentine barren, I knew that we would be there.

Unusual plant communities have always interested me, especially when it includes a situation in which plants struggle for existence in an area that really doesn’t have the resources to support them. Serpentine soils are rich in magnesium, nickel, and chromium, and the presence of these elements tends to discourage most plant growth.

At first glance, a serpentine barren may resemble nothing more than an old field, and a poor one at that. However, closer investigation will reveal a climax community that has managed to scrape out an existence where most vegetation cannot survive. The soil is thin and rocky, deficient in most of the nutrients that are required for growth. Along the Atlantic coast, these barrens are clustered north of Virginia, with one disjunct site in Georgia.

We visited the Travilah Serpentine Barren, which is located near Rockville, Md. It is the largest site of its kind in the mid-Atlantic and is protected as part of the Montgomery County park system. In an effort to preserve the unique aspects of this botanic community, there has been very little development of the site. You won’t find manicured trails, restroom facilities or picnic spots. However, you will see a rare and unusual group of plants determined to survive in an unpromising habitat.

The forest is primarily hardwoods with a few scattered short-leaf and Virginia pines. We found 10 species of oaks, including red, black, white, chestnut, scarlet, blackjack, pin, Spanish, post and shingle. None of the trees was large; their genetic potential was limited due to the nutrient poor soil. Both the ground cover and the understory were sparse.

It was certainly a far cry from the richness and diversity of our mountain cove forests. However, as our group walked along amid the stunted forest, I could not help but be impressed by the sheer determination of life and the lyrics ran through my mind, “You can’t always get what you want … but if you try sometimes, you get what you need.”

I’m glad that I had the opportunity to see the serpentine barrens.

News and notes
The Blue Ridge Wildflower Society will sponsor a field trip on Monday, Sept. 22 that will feature “Big Trees of the Roanoke Valley.” The trip leader will be Jeff Kirwan, co-author of “Remarkable Trees of Virginia.” Meet at 1:30 pm at the Orange Market on Thompson Memorial Drive in Salem. For more information, contact Butch Kelly at .

The broad-winged hawks are flying over the Virginia ridges now. Hawk watchers at Snickers Gap, at the Loudoun/Clarke County line counted 256 on Sept. 14. The majority of the birds will probably pass our way over the next 10 days.