On the other hand, north-facing slopes are more shaded and therefore more moist, but they take the brunt of sharp, cutting winds that impact the size and type of vegetation. Elevation and annual precipitation are also factors. The cove hardwood forest develops in protected coves with damp soils, generally at low and middle elevations. The floodplain forest, unique in Western North Carolina to the Asheville and French Broad River area, is related to the cove hardwood forest. One of the driest forests, the oak-pine forest, grows in thin and sandy soil that does not produce the lush vegetation usually so prevalent in the mountains.
Pines also grow well in dry conditions in part because their waxy needles conserve water.
But they cannot tolerate shade. Once the canopy becomes dense, pines are replaced by the dominating oaks. With its diverse trees and understory, the northern hardwoods forest resembles those forests found in New York and New England and features species common to the northern regions. Trees include yellow birch, yellow buckeye, and beech, among others. At Steestachee Bald, milepost 437.6, evidence of the yellow birch's ability to root in mossy boulders is evident.