Pine relicts are pine-dominated conifer forests that occur as discrete, isolated stands in the Driftless Area of southwestern Wisconsin. Most of these dry "relicts" are associated with sandstone or dolomite bluffs. The bedrock may outcrop as cliffs or ledges or underlie a thin layer of soil. The vegetation surrounding the conifer-clad bluffs is more typical of southern Wisconsin, including hardwood forests, remnant prairies and savannas, and lands used for various agricultural purposes. The dominant trees of the "relicts" may be eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), red pine (Pinus resinosa) or, less commonly, jack pine (Pinus banksiana). The pines sometimes occur in almost pure stands but are often mixed with hardwoods. The groundlayer is sometimes strongly reminiscent of those found in the pine forests of northern Wisconsin, in the heart of our northern pineries. Representative understory plants include ericaceous shrubs such as blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium and V. myrtilloides) and huckleberry (Gaylussacia baccata), and herbs or sub-shrubs such as wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), pipsissewa (Chimaphila umbellate), partridge-berry (Mitchella repens), and moccasin flower (Cypripedium acaule). These species of generally northern distributions are often mixed with familiar herbs of the southern Wisconsin's oak forests, savannas, and prairies.
