Habitat in Virginia
Mountain balds
Treeless grassy or shrubby summits and ridges in the high mountains. Schafale
- Plants
- 70
- Birds
- 67

Plants
Plants that grow wild in this habitat in Virginia. Not a planting list.
- Prairie WillowSalix humilis
- Mountain Highbush BlueberryVaccinium simulatum
- Northern Highbush BlueberryVaccinium corymbosum
- Smooth BlackberryRubus canadensis
- Southern Mountain CranberryVaccinium erythrocarpum
- Atlantic GoldenrodSolidago arguta var. caroliniana
- Catawba RhododendronRhododendron catawbiense
- MinniebushRhododendron pilosum
- Lanceleaf GoldenrodSolidago lancifolia
- Northern Roughleaf GoldenrodSolidago patula
- Slender GoldenrodSolidago erecta
- Cumberland AzaleaRhododendron cumberlandense
- Flame AzaleaRhododendron calendulaceum
- Purple ChokeberryAronia prunifolia
- Smooth AzaleaRhododendron arborescens
- Black ChokeberryAronia melanocarpa
- Spotted Joe Pye WeedEutrochium maculatum var. maculatum
- Witherod ViburnumViburnum cassinoides
- Dotted HawthornCrataegus punctata
- Eastern HawthornCrataegus macrosperma
- Allegheny ServiceberryAmelanchier laevis
- Wild StrawberryFragaria virginiana
- Appalachian GooseberryRibes rotundifolium
- Prickly GooseberryRibes cynosbati
- Northern MaleberryLyonia ligustrina var. ligustrina
- Blue Ridge St. John's-wortHypericum mitchellianum
- Quaking AspenPopulus tremuloides
- Red SprucePicea rubens
- American Mountain-ashSorbus americana
- Crested SedgeCarex cristatella
- Flexuous White-edge SedgeCarex flexuosa
- Hay SedgeCarex argyrantha
- Pale SedgeCarex pallescens
- Pennsylvania SedgeCarex pensylvanica
- Mountain Sweet-pepperbushClethra acuminata
- Dense Blazing-starLiatris spicata
- Heller's Blazing-starLiatris helleri
- Big BluestemAndropogon gerardii
- Cow-parsnipHeracleum maximum
- Fringed BromeBromus ciliatus
- Roan Mountain Rattlesnake-rootNabalus roanensis
- Gray's LilyLilium grayi
- Mountain AndromedaPieris floribunda
- Roan Mountain BluetHoustonia montana
- Thymeleaf BluetHoustonia serpyllifolia
- Eastern TeaberryGaultheria procumbens
- Flattened OatgrassDanthonia compressa
- Filmy AngelicaAngelica triquinata
Wildlife
Animals whose habitat model includes this habitat in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food.
Birds 61
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Snowy OwlBubo scandiacus
- Turkey VultureCathartes aura
- Vesper SparrowPooecetes gramineus
- White-crowned SparrowZonotrichia leucophrys
- White-eyed VireoVireo griseus
- White-throated SparrowZonotrichia albicollis
- Wild TurkeyMeleagris gallopavo
- Wood ThrushHylocichla mustelina
- Yellow-breasted ChatIcteria virens
- Yellow-rumped WarblerDendroica coronata
Near water in this habitat 6
These use it only close to water, such as stream banks for nesting.
- Bank SwallowRiparia riparia
- Canada GooseBranta canadensis
- Northern Rough-winged SwallowStelgidopteryx serripennis
- Rusty BlackbirdEuphagus carolinus
- Spotted SandpiperActitis macularius
- VeeryCatharus fuscescens
Sources
- Schafale, Guide to the Natural Communities of North Carolina, Fourth Approximation (NC Natural Heritage Program, 2012) habitat description
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition, habitat text phone app
- NC Parks species accounts
- USDA Forest Service Fire Effects Information System (reviewed notes)
- USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models (2001)
- USGS Gap Analysis Project range maps (2001)
- NatureServe Explorer ecological systems (CC BY 4.0)
- Andrews Bald, Forney Ridge Trail, July 2020, Andrea Walton / Great Smoky Mountains National Park habitat picture
Habitat classes are filed under these habitat types by reviewed matches; descriptions are short glosses.




















































