A Flora of the Rock Hill Blackjacks Heritage Preserve, York County, South Carolina

The Rock Hill Blackjacks Heritage Preserve was recently established, partly within the city limits of Rock Hill, South Carolina. It showed evidence of moderate to severe human disturbance including the effects of agriculture, forestry, construction of utility rights-of-way, and abandoned roads. Despite its small size and obvious disturbance, the preserve supported over 400 species of vascular plants. The reasons for this unusual level of diversity are not entirely clear. Geology was one factor. The preserve is underlaid by the Rock Hill gabbro/metagabbro pluton. Thin soils and seasonally wet areas provided a mixture of wetland and dryland species. It contained six distinct plant communities: 1) Bottomland Forest, 2) Gabbro Glade, 3) Montmorillonite Forest/Woodland, 4), Old Field Grassland/Shrubland, 5) Old Field Woodland, and 6) a distinct Grassland/Shrubland in the utility rights-of-way. The greatest diversity, including many tall-grass prairie species, was in the utility corridors that crisscross the preserve.