In the last issue, I mentioned that the SABC Endowment would be a major topic of the Executive Council meeting this fall. Endowment was discussed in the late October meeting and we did develop some direction that we hope will result in future success:
Volume 9. The genus Salix (Salicaceae) in the Southeastern United States, George W. Argus, ca 168 pp. January 1986. ISBN 0-912861-09-6.
The authors have recently collected Scleranthus annuus L., Myosotis discolor Pursh, Matelea cynanchoides (Engelm.) Woods., and Thelesperma filifolium (Hook.) Gray new to Louisiana. Myosotis discolor was collected in Claiborne Parish, and the other three species were found in Caddo Parish in extreme northwest Louisiana. None of these species are included in the recent checklist of Louisiana dicotyledons (Thomas and Allen 1982).
Melanthium latifolium Desv. has been reported from Sevier and Unicoi Counties, Tennessee (Sharp et al 1956). Sevier County specimens that we have reviewed include: Jennison 2778 and 2817, coil. 6 and 19 Aug 1936, (Herbarium of Great Smoky Mountain National Park and TENN).
The Kartesz and Kartesz Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland (1980) resurrects the old incorrect spelling Pachistima Raf. (Celastraceae) for this genus of two species of North American mountains, east and west.
Stylophorum is a small genus of Papaveraceae found in North America and eastern Asia. In the eastern United States, there is only one species, S. diphyllum (Michx.) Nutt., the celandine poppy, which is a perennial herb found in rich woods. Standard floristic works (Fernald 1950, Gleason 1952, Ernst 1962) state that S. diphyllum occurs from western Pennsylvania to Michigan and Wisconsin and south to Tennessee and Arkansas. In a recent treatment for the southeastern United States (Ernst and Kiger, in press), the range for that region is given as Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee, and West Virginia with Pennsylvania listed as questionable.
Distributional data and taxonomic notes are presented for thirty-one taxa of the vascular flora of West Virginia. Ten of these are listed as rare or endangered. Two species are new to the state flora, Aster sagittifolius Wedemeyer and Puccinellia distans (Jacq.) Parl. The naturalization of the following non-indigenous species is discussed: Arthraxon hispidus (Thunb.) Makino; Lysimachia vulgaris L.; Lythrum salicaria L.; and Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus. Suggestions are made for future revisions of the state list of rare species.
Cora Steyermark is the wife of Dr. Julian A. Steyermark, author of Flora of Missouri (Iowa State University Press, 1963). Behind the Scenes is the story of Dr. Steyermark’s fieldwork for his Flora, a project primarily of evenings, weekends, and holidays (E. Anderson. 1965. Madrono 18:28-29)
Extensive stands of Cerastium dubium (Caryophyllaceae) have been located in two contiguous counties (Effingham and Fayette) of central Illinois. This is only the second report of occurrence in North America and the first for the eastern half of the continent. A key is presented, in which this weedy species is compared with and distinguished from seven sympatric members of Cerastium growing in fields or ruderal habitats. Chromosome counts of five species are included, which support previous reports of a basic chromosome number of x = 18 (or 9?) for the genus. In contrast to the published meiotic number of n = 19 for European populations of C. dubium, we obtained n = 18 for the Illinois populations.
Twelve natural populations of ginseng (Panax quinquefolium) were located in 4 physiographic provinces in Arkansas. Importance values for overstory and understory woody species were computed in order to describe the dominant woody vegetation associated with ginseng.