Castanea Archives

Illinois is home to approximately 2,107 native plant species of which about 16% are listed as threatened or endangered (T & E). In addition to the common threats associated with the decline of these species, climate change is a rapidly emerging threat. Climate predictions for Illinois have estimated that summer temperatures will resemble present-day summers in Texas by mid- to latecentury, while precipitation patterns are less predictable. Using NatureServe’s Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) tool we evaluated the climate change vulnerability for all 331 of Illinois T & E plant species. Overall, we found that over 80% are vulnerable to

ABSTRACT: The biodiversity of freshwater springs in the Arkansas Ozarks is poorly described and has received relatively little attention from researchers. Information on the biodiversity of springs is crucial for their management and conservation. This study describes the aquatic and semi-aquatic plant communities and key habitat features of several springs located at Buffalo National River, Arkansas. We report 58 taxa from among all springs, including eight genera of algae, one species of horsetail, three marchantiophytes, and one bryophyte. Among angiosperms, we found 21 species of monocots and 24 species of eudicots. Six non-native species occur among the springs and none

JoVonn G. Hill and John A. Barone, eds. 2018. Southeastern Grasslands: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Management. Published by The University of Alabama Press, Tuscaloosa, 344 p. Hardbound, $54.95. ISBN 978-0-8173-1988-5 Southeastern Grasslands: Biodiversity, Ecology and Management is a collection of 20 research and review articles that focus on the floristics, conservation, and ecological history of grassland prairies in the southeastern United States. The volume “was inspired by the” 2012 Southeast Prairie Symposium and is a varied tribute to a unique and disappearing biome that has been reduced to less than 10% of its original range. Human encroachment, climate change, and invasive

Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is documented for the first time for Louisiana in Plaquemines Parish, extending its range southward about 310 km. Three species of Lythrum are now known for Louisiana, and four species have been recorded for the central Gulf and lower Mississippi valley regions. A key to species and regional distributional data are provided for L. salicaria.

Thompson Pond, a bog lake in Pine Plains, New York, has flora indicative of both ombrotrophic and minerotrophic conditions. Distinct community types within this wetland system include a peripheral moat, hummock swamp, floating vegetation mats, peat rafts, aquatic floating-leaved and submergent macrophytes, and open water. A false-bottom of unconsolidated peat overlies the lake bed. Vegetation composition is typically diverse in such lakes, which support species of both acidic and calcareous habitat affinities. We repeated a 1973–74 survey to assess changes in wetland flora after four decades. The recent survey yielded 218 vascular plant species, representing 66 families and 134 genera.

ABSTRACT: Marshallia mohrii (Asteraceae) is a perennial forb endemic to grasslands in the southeastern United States. Despite having been listed as federally threatened for three decades, little is known about its biology and life history. In this study, we examined the role of light, temperature, seed age, and cold stratification on seed dormancy break and germination in M. mohrii. We also quantified soil temperatures in a Ketona glade population of M. mohrii to infer dormancy breaking and germination phenologies under natural conditions. Relatively high proportions (>65%) of cold stratified seeds germinated across a range of temperature regimes in both light

Abstract: Seed mortality due to low winter temperatures has been proposed as an explanation for the lack of seedling recruitment in natural populations of the rare riparian species Alnus maritima, but other factors such as the absence of essential root symbionts or canopy clearing disturbances could also limit establishment of new individuals. We investigated whether any of these factors could be identified as preventing recruitment into existing seaside alder populations. Stratification studies showed that not only can seeds withstand low temperatures, longer periods of cold stratification promote earlier seed germination and expand the temperature range for germination. Root microbiome studies

Conyza ramosissima Cronquist (ASTERACEAE) Page County: Rocky slope along road, 5 mi. NW of Luray, 20 June 1950, Bernard Mikula 5222 (FARM). Significance: This is the first report of Conyza ramosissima (syn. Erigeron divaricatus Michaux) from Virginia. The specimen collected by Mikula establishing this record was encountered in the course of a study of herbarium material of C. canadensis (L.) Cronquist to distinguish its varieties [var. canadensis and var. pusilla (Nuttall) Cronquist] as they occur in Virginia; Mikula’s specimen had been initially identified as Erigeron canadensis L. Conyza ramosissima is best distinguished from other species in the genus by its

ABSTRACT: Chevreulia acuminata is reported for the first time in North America from recent collections in the southeastern United States. Populations from Lee County, Alabama, and one in Troup County, Georgia, were found growing in lawns or grassy areas along with other weeds. Photographs and a description of C. acuminata are provided.

American ginseng (<i>Panax quinquefolius</i>) roots have long been harvested for use in herbal medicine. Overharvesting has threatened long-term viability of wild American ginseng populations. Research has been ongoing to determine factors affecting the variation of ginsenosides in roots. Given the conservation concerns regarding wild American ginseng, we began experimenting with a partial-root harvest method in 2014 for extracting tissue for ginsenoside analysis without killing individual plants or causing long-term declines in wild populations. We took partial-root harvest samples from 57 plants in four wild populations throughout western North Carolina and monitored morphological attributes of these and 56 paired, unharvested plants