Vascular Plants of Sand Prairie Conservation Area in Scott County, Missouri

ABSTRACT This study was undertaken to document the vascular plant species of Sand Prairie Conservation Area, an 80 hectare site located at roughly 37u059N; 89u309W in Scott County, Missouri, during the growing seasons of 2007 and 2008. A total of 220 vascular plant taxa were collected from the Conservation Area: 55 Monocots, 162 Dicots, one Pteridophyte, and two Gymnosperms. Forty-one non-native taxa were documented, representing about 19 percent of the species collected. Notable collections include 10 Species of Conservation Concern and one state record. During the 2008 growing season, the distributions of the 10 Species of Conservation Concern found on Sand Prairie Conservation Area were mapped using GPS and GIS technologies. The assembled species list, along with known distributions of Species of Conservation Concern, will serve as baseline data for future management and restoration efforts.