Agalinis auriculata (Michx.) Blake (OROBANCHACEAE)— Pickens County: Black Belt prairie, in association with Schizachyrium scoparium (Michx.) Nash, Solidago nemoralis Aiton, Solidago rigida L. ssp. glabrata L. Braun, Helianthus strumosus L., and a scattering of Juniperus virginiana L. var. virginiana; ca. 15 m N of Perry Long Road at a point ca. 1.4 road km NW of State Route 17 near Cochrane; T23N, R3W, NE1/4 of SE1/4 of Section 11; 33u04918.90N, 88u15954.30W; 6 September 2007, Schotz 2069 (UNA).
Significance. This specimen constitutes the first collection of this taxon in Alabama since 1940, based on a collection housed at Cornell University from Montgomery County by O.L. Justice and M.D. Whitehead [Justice & Whitehead s.n. (BH)]. The population consisted of 31 individual plants, all of which produced several flowers during the 2007 growing season. A species of conservation importance, A. auriculata has been rarely documented from Alabama, represented by only three earlier collections from the northern and western regions of the state.
Asclepias exaltata L. (ASCLEPIADACEAE)— Winston County: Bankhead National Forest: East side of the Sipsey Fork, approximately 215 m N of County Road 60 at the Sipsey Fork Recreation Area; T9S, R8W, SW1/4 of SE1/4, Section 5; 34u17918.10N, 87u23957.20W; 18 May 2006, Schotz 2018 (UNA).
Significance. The collection represents the third account of this perennial herb from Alabama since the original discoveries were made by George Vasey [Vasey s.n. (US)] and Charles Mohr [Mohr s.n. (US)] in the late 1800s. During the past century, the species has been gathered only twice, once on 12 June 1934, by Lillian Porter near Bryant in Jackson County [Porter s.n. (GH)], and subsequently by Robert Kral from Winston County on 28 May 1970 [Kral 39275 (VDB)]. Although relatively common to the north in Tennessee, A. exaltata reaches its southernmost limits in the mountains of northern Georgia and Alabama, occurring at high elevations and in cool, humid ravines. Situated approximately 123 km south-southwest of its nearest station in Giles County, Tennessee, the collection locality occurs in some of the most scenic and rugged terrain to be found in Alabama. Here, a modest population of A. exaltata inhabits a steep, west-facing slope overlooking the Sipsey Fork, in association with Adiantum peltatum L., Polystichum acrostichoides (Michx.) Schott, Carex brysonii Naczi, Arisaema triphyllum (L.) Schott, Trillium stamineum Harbison, and Packera obovata (Muhl. ex Willd.) Weber & Love.