Stable talus slopes below terrace bluffs and above moist floodplains are the most common sites. Since these areas provide rich soil for agriculture most of them have been cleared and cultivated in the past, leaving few mature stands of this type. Beech is the distinctive species of this type, but it usually is not as abundant as white oak, red oak, sweetgum, and southern sugar male. Willow oak, yellow poplar and shagbark hickory also may be present. Sugar maple usually dominates the understory along with dogwood, deciduous holly, hornbeam, and hophornbeam.
Shrubs are infrequent, but woody vines such as grape and poison ivy often are abundant.
The Pine Types Loblolly pine grows on a wide variety of sites but reaches maximum growth on deep soils with good moisture and drainage. The understory in pure stands is often open, but in mixed or old stands, it is dominated by the hardwoods characteristic of the site. Shortleaf pine is somewhat more adapted to dry, fine textured upland soils than is loblolly pine. Although once common, pure stands of shortleaf pine are rare in Duke Forest today. Older shortleaf is more often found in mixed with a number of upland oaks and hickories.