Castanea Archives

Mycoheterotrophic plants derive most or all carbon and nutrients from fungal partners and represent poorly understood components of forest biodiversity. Many are rare or endangered yet can be ecological indicators of forest ecosystem function due to fungal host requirements. One such species is the IUCN red-listed (‘vulnerable’), fully mycoheterotrophic orchid, Corallorhiza bentleyi. This recently described species is among the rarest plants in Appalachia, known from five counties in Virginia and West Virginia. The species has a restricted range, small population size, and is self-pollinating. Here, an integrative approach was taken in conservation genetic assessment of C. bentleyi using floral morphometrics,

Samples for isolation of dictyostelid cellular slime molds (dictyostelids) were collected from two types of glades (limestone and dolomite) in northwest Arkansas. Glades are non-forest habitats which typically have shallow and usually rather xeric soils. As such, they would not appear to be particularly suitable for dictyostelids. In the present study, only seven species were recovered, and just three of these were recorded from both limestone and dolomite glades. Total densities (clones/gram) were rather low for both types of glades, with 25 clones/gram in dolomite glades and 23 clones/gram in limestone glades.

Myxomycetes (plasmodial slime molds or myxogastrids) have been collected in the Mountain Lake area of southwestern Virginia since 1890, and several recognized authorities on this group of organisms along with numerous other individuals have visited or worked at the University of Virginia Mountain Lake Biological Station. The collective efforts of all these individuals have generated a considerable body of information on myxomycetes. The purpose of this paper is to provide a comprehensive annotated checklist of all species of myxomycetes reported from the Mountain Lake area. This checklist contains 166 species in 39 genera. This total is approximately 36% of the

Hurricane Hugo was a category five storm in September of 1989 that significantly impacted natural areas along the Carolina coastal plain through wind damage and storm surge flooding. Francis Beidler Forest, an Audubon wildlife sanctuary in Four Holes Swamp, suffered severe damage to its forest canopy. In response to concerns that the rare spring ephemeral Trillium pusillum var. pusillum may be negatively impacted by the loss of the mixed hardwood canopy, we established permanent plots in the spring of 1990 with single leaf, triple leaf, and flowering individuals recorded by Ecology faculty and students at The Citadel. Disruption to the

The white, tubular, fragrant flowers of Guettarda scabra (Rubiaceae), rough-leaved velvetseed, open in the evening and are visited by hawkmoths (Sphingidae). Flowers last for one day, and recent observations reveal that butterflies also visit these flowers. Hawkmoths hover over the flower and lower their proboscis into the corolla to collect the nectar. Butterflies land on the petals before inserting their proboscis and may transport pollen on their bodies as well as their mouthparts. We conducted an experiment to determine the importance of each of these guilds for pollination of G. scabra. We excluded day-time visitors from some inflorescences and night-time

Three recent collections of Solanum pseudocapsicum represent the first documentation of this species from Alabama in 27 years, and apparently represent the only extant populations. The habitat of these collections appears to be different from that previously documented in Alabama, although it is not unusual range-wide. Solanum pseudocapsicum was last collected from Alabama in 1993 from Houston County, but searches of that location failed to relocate it. Previously it had been collected from Tallapoosa County (1877), Morgan County (1891), Lee County (1896), and Coosa County (1900), all in upland or ruderal habitats. In 2020 a small population of four plants

Limestone cedar glades, one of the rarest ecosystems in the world, are home to several uncommon species, including Trifolium calcaricum (Fabaceae), the running glade clover. Due to habitat destruction and fragmentation, the states of Tennessee and Virginia have listed T. calcaricum as an endangered species. To preserve T. calcaricum and increase its numbers, a reintroduction effort was initiated in 2016 in which individual plants were transplanted from a source site to secondary locations at Cedars of Lebanon State Park and Vesta Cedar Glade State Natural Area in Tennessee. In the current project, the extent of clonality among transplanted individuals was

In the Ridge and Valley physiographic province, knobs stand out as anomalous landforms embedded within a region of long, parallel ridges and valleys. In northeastern Tennessee, knobs are associated with the Sevier shale. Well-drained, acidic, channery loam Montevallo soils cover uplands of these knobs. A flora of the Sevier shale knobs of northeastern Tennessee identified 265 taxa in 57 plant families of which 13.6% were exotic and three were state listed (Berberis canadensis, Ruellia purshiana, Silene caroliniana var. pensylvanica). Many taxa had rarely or never been collected in northeastern Tennessee. The flora of the Sevier shale knobs was most similar

The Richard and Minnie Windler Award recognizes the authors of the best systematics and ecology papers published in Castanea during the previous year. For 2020, authors of two articles were selected as winners: Elizabeth McMurchie and Andrea Weeks for their article, “Vascular Flora and Ecological Community Assessment of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, Loudoun County, Virginia” (Castanea 85[1]:42–64), and Justin P. Williams and Tracy S. Hawkins for their article, “Acorn Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Predation Dynamics in a Mississippi Bottomland Hardwood Forest” (Castanea 85[1]:159–168).

The Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award has been presented annually since 1989 to individuals who show a dedication to botany. Ms. Bartholomew, better known to many as Betty, served as secretary of SABC from 1946 to 1981. In addition, her life was dedicated to plants as she transferred her excitement to students of all ages and walks of life while at West Virginia University, in Morgantown. She was tireless in her duty and service to our society as well as botany. This award has been presented to individuals who have also distinguished themselves in professional and public services that advanced our