The Vascular Flora of the Perdido River Forever Wild Tract, Baldwin County, Alabama

ABSTRACT The Perdido River Forever Wild Tract (PRFWT) is a contiguous 7,365-ha property that was acquired through multiple purchases by the State of Alabama’s Forever Wild Program in December 2006. The PRFWT lies 48 km east-northeast of Mobile, Alabama, 56 km northwest of Pensacola, Florida, and is bound on the east by the Perdido River. The site is managed by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as a nature preserve and wildlife management/recreational area. An intensive floristic study of this area was conducted from October 2007 through June 2012. A total of 721 taxa (713 different species, including five hybrids) from 371 genera and 122 families were collected with 95 taxa representing county records. One state record species was also collected. Asteraceae was the most collected family, with 127 species. Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Cyperaceae were the next largest families with 74, 54, and 39 species, respectively. Quercus was the largest genus represented with 15 species. Eighty-four nonnative species were collected during the surveys. Plant collections were deposited at the Alabama Natural Heritage Section Herbarium (ALNHS) and Anniston Museum of Natural History/Jacksonville State University Herbarium (JSU), with replicates and duplicates deposited at the University of Alabama Herbarium (UNA), Auburn University Herbarium (AUA), and Troy University Herbarium (TROY).