SHRUBBY AND HERBACEOUS FLORA OF 

 THE BEREA COLLEGE FOREST 



JAMES GROSSMAN 



Berea College, Berea, Kentucky 



and 



DAN PITTILLO 



University of Kentucky, Lexington 



The Berea College Forest is a 5,000 acre tract of land four miles 

 east of Berea in the Big Hill region. It is within the Knob Belt of' 

 the Cincinnati arch in central Kentucky. Much of it is watershed 

 for the three reservoirs that supply water to the Berea community. 

 The forest is used by the college for research and demonstration 

 of modern practices in silviculture. 



The knobs of the forest contain several types of rocks and vary 

 between 800 and 1,660 feet in elevation from their base to their peaks. 

 The lowest rock is the Ohio black shale. Above this are layers of 

 Cuyahoga and Logan shales; Warsaw, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, and 

 Gasper limestone; Rockcastle conglomerate; and Corbin sandstone. 

 The more resistant sandstone and conglomerate capping the knobs 

 give them their unique shape. The soils of the knobs also reflect 

 the nature of the rocks: basic clays are produced by shales and lime- 

 stones; acidic sandy-loam is produced by the sandstone and con- 

 glomerate. The Burnt Ridge area, Millstone Ridge, Indian Fort 

 Mountain (including East and West Pinnacles), and Bear Mountain 

 are sandy-loam areas. Cowbell Hollow, Moonshine Hollow, Indian 

 Fort Theater, Narrow Gap, Pigg Hollow, Gabbard House, Snake 

 Hollow, Upper and West Lake Hollows, the forester's residence, 

 the sawmill, Dogfoot Springs, and Grant Hollow are all underlain 

 by shales and limestones and are therefore clay areas. 



As a result of the various factors of topography, soil type, eleva- 

 tion, activity of man, etc., many different habitats are available to 

 plant life. The wooded and dry sandy ridges offer one habitat; the 

 bluffs and cliffs offer another. The moist, wooded valleys with their 

 many streams produce other habitats. The open areas along the log- 

 ging trails and around the marshy-bordered reservoirs give still other 

 environments. Thus it can be seen that many species may be found 

 concentrated in the relatively small confines of the college forest. 

 Only vascular plants, with the exception of tree species, were collec- 

 ted. Three classes are represented in the collection: the Equise- 

 tineae, Filicineae, and Angiospermae. They include 29 orders, 75 fami- 

 lies, 250 genera, and 448 species, varieties or forms. 



