Northern Ontario Plant Database

Northern Ontario Vegetation Type (V-type)

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C-V17: Sugar Maple - Hemlock - Striped Maple
Summary: A mixedwood stand dominated by sugar maple and hemlock, with lesser quantities of yellow birch and beech in the canopy. The subcanopy and regeneration layers are dominated by sugar maple, but also have hemlock, yellow birch, and beech. The tall shrub layer is dominated by striped maple and red elderberry, with Canada fly honeysuckle in the low shrub layer. Smaller quantities of mountain maple, beaked hazel, and hobblebush may also occur. Fewer herbs occur in this vegetation type than in C-V15 and C-V16.

The most common understory species are spinulose woodfern, rose twisted-stalk, and wild lily-of-the-valley, though starflower, red trillium, drooping woodsedge, and shining clubmoss may occur with less than 50% frequency.

This vegetation type is most similar to C-V15 and C-V16, however, C-V17 is less diverse in all layers; it is characterized by the common presence of red elderberry in the shrub layer, and lacks red maple, wild sarsaparilla, and ground pine.

Soil & Ecosite Types: The Sugar Maple-Hemlock-Striped Maple Vegetation Type (C-V17) occurs most commonly on dry to fresh soils (S7), but may occasionally be found on moister soils. This vegetation type was described from districts within Site Regions 5E, mainly from Site Districts 5E-9, 5E-10, and 5E-1. Like C-V15 and C-V16, 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).

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)
[beech (Fagus grandifolia)]
[yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)]

subcanopy

sugar maple (Acer saccharum)
[hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)]
[yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis)]
[beech (Fagus grandifolia)]

regeneration

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

Shrubs:

tall shrubs

striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum)
red elderberry (Sambucus racemosa subsp. pubens)
[mountain maple (Acer spicatum)]
[beaked hazel (Corylus cornuta)]
[hobblebush (Viburnum lantanoides)]

low shrubs

Canada fly honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis)

Dwarf Shrubs and Herbs:

forbs

rose twisted-stalk (Streptopus lanceolatus)
wild lily-of-the-valley (Maianthemum canadense)
[starflower (Trientalis borealis)]
[red trillium (Trillium erectum)]

graminoids

[drooping woodsedge (Carex arctata)]

Ferns and Fern Allies:

ferns

spinulose woodfern (Dryopteris carthusiana)

clubmosses

[shining clubmoss (Huperzia lucidula)]

Bryophytes:

no species occurs more than 30% of the time

Lichens:

common powderhorn (Cladonia coniocraea)