Mixed Hardwood Forest. Forest communities dominated by a mixture of hardwood trees, including box elder, sugar maple, red maple, tuliptree, hickory, redbud, beech and black cherry, probably represent the most widespread forest habitat type found in Antietam National Battlefield, Catoctin Mountain Park and Harpers Ferry National Historical Park. The composition of the tree stratum varies considerably from place to place, depending upon such things as the disturbance history and the type of soil present, with certain species such as redbud absent from sites where the soil is relatively acidic. In some situations, one or more of the trees characteristic of this habitat type can be dominant. For example, forests dominated by beech can be found in some areas at Catoctin Mountain Park. Most of the trees present (beech represents the most prominent exception) do not form ectomycorrhizal associations, which means that this group of macrofungi is absent. However, a diverse assemblage of wood-decay fungi is often present in these Beech Forests.