Tips to Distinguish Chestnut Oak / Mountain Laurel Forest from Mixed Oak / Heath Forest at Rock Creek Park

Chestnut Oak / Mountain Laurel Forest vs. Mixed Oak / Heath Forest at Rock Creek Park

Similarities: Both have a canopy of oak trees adapted to dry sites, and an understory of shrubs in the heath family. Both generally lack American beech trees.

Tips to Distinguish: However, the Mixed Oak / Heath Forest contains a variety of oaks (white, black, scarlet, chestnut, northern red), and a variety of understory plants (hillside blueberry, black huckleberry). The Chestnut Oak / Mountain Laurel Forest, on the other hand, is predominantly chestnut oaks with dense patches of mountain laurel in the understory.