Virginia Pine-Oak Forest Association
[A typical Virginia Pine-Oak Forest.] The Virginia pine-oak forest association is found throughout Maryland. It is most commonly found on the Piedmont Plateau and the Coastal Plain. Primarily, it occurs on old fields and other well-drained sites. It represents a transition from areas with almost pure Virginia pine to oaks and other hardwoods that tolerate shady conditions.

Characteristic tree species include:
Virginia pine, northern and southern red oak, scarlet oak, black oak, chestnut oak, white oak, post oak, and blackjack oak.

Associated tree species include: shortleaf pine, pitch pine, Table-Mountain pine, yellow-poplar, blackgum, red maple, persimmon, winged elm, hickory, and sourwood.

Understory plants include:
dogwood, eastern redbud, sumac, blackberry, poison-ivy, Virginia creeper, green brier, and honeysuckle.

Herbaceous plants include:
may apple, tick trefoil, broomsedge, and pipsissewa.

Without disturbance or with partial removal of the overstory, this community will gradually convert to an oak-hickory forest association. The Virginia pine-oak forest association can be maintained if oak regeneration is established before the entire overstory is removed naturally or by a planned treatment.

Forest Health Report Contents

This information provided by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Forest Service

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