Volume 54 – Issue 3 (Sep 1989)

The phytosociology and flora of a serpentine pine-cedar savanna were studied in Harford County, Maryland. This community comprises 69 vascular plant taxa, including two taxa that are restricted in Maryland to serpentine soil (Talinum teretifolium and Cerastium arvense var. villosum) and one species that is “highly state rare” (Panicum flexile). In the ground layer, 99% of the vegetative cover was perennial and half of it was graminoid. About 40% of herbaceous cover was produced by Andropogon scoparius and Aristida purpurascens. Fire suppression may have contributed to the abundance of Pinus virginiana and Juniperus virginiana.

Sesbania is circumscribed by some authors to include sections Daubentonia and Glottidium. Others consider these sections as distinct genera closely related to Sesbania. Most recently, Glottidium has been treated as a monotypic genus and Daubentonia retained as a section of Sesbania. Comparative anatomy of cotyledons, leaves, and pericarps of species of Glottidium, Daubentonia and Sesbania (sensu stricto) from the southeastern United States reveals numerous shared character states; however, pericarp anatomy distinguishes Glottidium from the other taxa. These results are consistent with the segregation of Glottidium and the retention of Daubentonia within Sesbania.

Seasonal phytoplankton and water quality relationships were identified by discriminant analysis procedures for a 20 year old borrow pit lake. Diatoms and chlorophyceans were more abundant during the colder months of spring and winter, and cyanobacteria characteristic of summer and early fall. Low inorganic nitrogen levels, higher pH values, and warmer, more stable water conditions were coupled with cyanobacteria development. Diatom abundance was associated with lower water temperatures and increased nitrite, silica and oxygen levels.

In Washington County, Virginia, a swamp containing Thuja occidentalis L., and several rare vascular species has been found. Species rare for Virginia include: Rhynchospora capillacea Torrey, Juncus inflexus L. and Juncus articulatus L., Parnassia grandifolia DC., Desmodium canadense (L.) DC., and Solidago patula Willd. There are seven widely disjunct species, five reported new for southwestern Virginia. New to southwestern Virginia are Cypripedium reginae Walter, Rhamnus alnifolia L’Heritier, Pogonia ophioglossoides (L.) Ker., Erianthus giganteus (Walter) Muhl., and Carex howei Mack. The other disjunct species are Carex retroflexa Willd. and (Jalopogon tuberosus (L.) BSP. Physiography and floristics of the site are discussed.

Noteworthy Collections: Virginia

The bryoflora of the Red River Gorge region, on the western escarpment of the Cumberland Plateau, is rich and geographically diverse. The 264 taxa include 179 mosses (174 species and 5 varieties) and 85 hepatic species. Most Red River taxa (about 80%) are more or less widely distributed in the northern hemisphere and about half range south to the Gulf Coast in North America. These remarkably broad distributions (compared to those of vascular plants) are similar to those for the North America bryoflora as a whole. At Red River, northern species, rare species, and hepatics are favored by the numerous caves and ravines carved from the hard Pennsylvanian sandstone-conglomerate and from Mississippian limestone. Rare species include Gymnostomum angustifolium, Hygrohypnum closteri, and Scopelophila cataractae. Examples of relict or disjunctive taxa found in caves are Bryoxiphium norvegicum, Hookeria acutifolia, Brothera leana, Diphyscium cumberlandianum, Rhabdoweisia crispata, Syrrhopodon texanus, Trichostomum tenuirostre, and Plagiochila sullivantii.

Four forest plots on Bluff Mountain in northwestern North Carolina, U.S.A., with Tsuga caroliniana as a major component of the vegetation were used to study life history traits of T. caroliniana and its role in community dynamics. Growth rate of T. caroliniana was low, showed no difference among plots, and showed a slight relationship with age. Two of the plots contained old populations of T. caroliniana with low and moderate recruitment respectively. Both plots had small, declining populations of oaks (Quercus rubra, Q. alba). The third plot contained a younger population of T. caroliniana with high recruitment; oaks were more abundant but were declining. The fourth plot was dominated by oaks and contained a still younger, expanding T. caroliniana population; oak populations were stable. Tsuga caroliniana appeared to be expanding from a population center near some bluffs to adjacent oak forests. There was indication that recruitment of T. caroliniana is episodic. Tsuga caroliniana had good recruitment under shaded conditions in which other species had low or no recruitment. Once established, it tended to suppress most other species. Many traits of T. caroliniana are compatible with the stress tolerant strategy of Grime. Consistent with Grime’s proposals on life history strategies and plant succession the stress tolerant T. caroliniana is more abundant in more stressful habitats such as bluffs, but also appears as a late successional species in other habitats.

The following western plants are reported as new for West Virginia: Zigadenus elegans Pursh ssp. glaucus (Nutt.) Hulten, Erysimum asperum (Nutt.) DC., Astragalus neglectus (T.&G.) Sheldon, and Solidago rigida L. var rigida. A possible migratory route of these species to West Virginia is described.

Dr. Nelle P. Ammons was born May 23, 1889 at Rice’s Landing, Pennsylvania. She earned a B.A. degree in 1917 and an M.A. degree in 1923, both from West Virginia University. She attended summer courses at Columbia University and the University of Chicago. Her studies culminated in a Ph.D. degree in botany at the University of Pittsburgh in 1937.

The first Bartholomew Award was presented to Dr. Aaron J. Sharp on April 7, 1989 at the 50th annual meeting of The Association of Southeastern Biologists held at Charlotte, North Carolina. SABC annually presents the Award in memory of Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew (1912-1985) who served as Secretary of the Club from 1946 until 1981. The Award is presented to individuals who have distinguished themselves in professional and public service in the field of botany. The Award consists of a certificate permanently mounted on an Appalachian wood and a book or books not exceeding $150 in value.