There have been a number of new books lately on Southeastern trees and shrubs. While each of them have their merits, I find this one distinctly different, and will be using it as a moderately priced identification manual in my undergraduate dendrology course.
Carex pumila, a widespread seacoast sandbinder in the Old World, was collected several times as a waif in Oregon shortly after the turn of the century and, more recently, at two sites in North Carolina. The collections were usually misdetermined as the European C. hirta. At least one of the North Carolina populations is still extant, although the site has been heavily disturbed. The plant is inconspicuous, and quite possibly more frequent than the few collections suggest. However, since it evidently has never spread beyond isolated, single colonies, it probably will not become a serious pest.
ABSTRACT
Potted seedlings of red maple (Acer rubrum L.), redbay (Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng.), and Chinese tallow (Sapium sebiferum (L.) Roxb.) were subjected to flooding with saltwater for 0 to 5 days. Red maple and redbay seedlings were very susceptible to saltwater flooding and were unable to tolerate more than 1 day of flooding. Chinese tallow seedlings, on the other hand, were able to tolerate saltwater well (60% survival after 5 days of flooding). Height growth of red maple and redbay seedlings was low (0.6 and 3.4 cm, respectively) during the eight week study even for those seedlings not exposed to saltwater. Unflooded Chinese tallow seedlings, however, grew 20.7 cm during the eight week observation period. Diameter growth of flooded seedlings along with biomass of shoot, leaf, and root components in all three species was significantly reduced by saltwater flooding. Biomass partitioning of surviving seedlings was not appreciably affected by saltwater flooding. Chinese tallow seems to be able to tolerate salinity fairly well and may become a dominant species of southern coastal forests.
A stump treatment was applied to the cut stubs of Chinese wisteria (Wisteria Sweet). Three herbicides, applied full strength, and a cut treatment were selected and each treatment replicated 10 times: AMS [ammonium sulfamate] 95% soluble crystal (Ammate), isopropylamine salt of glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine] 480 g/L (Roundup), and fosamine ammonium [ammonium ethyl carbamoylphosphonate] 480 g/L (Krenite). Final evaluation was made one year after treatment, but evaluation at ten months after treatment would have been satisfactory. All three herbicides were effective.
In a continuing chromosome survey of Pycnanthemum, chromosome counts are given for 21 accessions representing 12 species. Among these is a first record (2n = 78) for P. floridanum and a corrected diploid count (2n = 38) for a collection of P. loomisii earlier reported to be tetraploid. The first hexaploid count (2n = 120) known for P. torrei supplements prior reports of tetraploidy in this taxon. Data on chromosome numbers, meiotic behavior, and percent stainable pollen are presented for 16 interspecific crosses that produced flowering F1 hybrids. Thirteen species were used in the hybridization program, including eight diploids representing six distinct species groups. In three species combinations, only non-flowering F1 hybrids were formed. Although the species of Pycnanthemum are capable of crossing even in morphologically widely divergent combinations, the hybrids are generally characterized by meiotic abnormalities and low pollen stainability.
The vegetation of wet creek bottom communities present at the headwaters or along the margins of creeks in eastern Texas was analyzed using the plot method. A polar ordination of the 20 communities resulted in a northern group and a southern group. The northern group was characterized by Magnolia virginiana and Nyssa sylvatica as overstory dominants with a shrub layer composed primarily of Myrica heterophylla, Alnus serrulata, and Itea virginica. The southern group was dominated by Nyssa sylvatica and Magnolia virginiana in the overstory with a shrub layer of Cyrilla racemiflora and Ilex coriacea. Smilax laurifolia was an important vine in both groups. Although species diversity and evenness values were generally high for all communities, the northern group had significantly higher diversity and evenness values than the southern group.
Dendrochronological techniques were used to examine growth differences between paired “declined” and “healthy” oak trees (subgenus Erythrobalanus) in western North Carolina. Declined trees exhibited better growth prior to the late 1940’s. Following major growth reductions in the early 1950’s, in 1961, and in the late 1960’s for both health groups, annual radial growth of declined trees continued in a downward trend while growth of trees in the healthy class recovered, albeit at a somewhat reduced rate. By 1991, trees in the declined group exhibited typical decline symptoms.
Dr. Warren Frank Lamboy is the recipient of the 3rd annual Richard and Minnie Windler Award for his paper entitled, “The Taxonomic Status and Probable Origin of Aster chlorolepits, a Southern Appalachian Endemic,” which appeared in Castanea 57(1): 52-65.
The Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award
The recipient of the 1993 Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award for public service is Dr. Roy B. Clarkson, Professor Emeritus, Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia. This recognition from the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society was announced by Dr. Robert R. Haynes, Chair of the Award Committee, at the annual breakfast meeting on April 16th, 1993, during the Association of Southeastern Biologists meeting in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Dr. Joan Gibson of Morgantown, West Virginia accepted the award for Dr. Clarkson who was unable to attend. She later presented it to him at a luncheon held with his university colleagues in Morgantown.