Volume 62 – Issue 1 (March 1997)

It seems that from any point of departure the Carolina Lowcountry traveler must always descend-descend into a humid land of blackwater river swamps and cypress savannahs, canebrakes and canebrake rattlers-descend into a voodoo-inspired world of live oaks and spanish moss, abandoned rice fields and ancient, white-washed wood-framed churches and shotgun houses with window sills painted electric blue to keep out the ‘haints’, and finally-descend onto one’s destination of unspoiled marsh, surf, tide and sun. In his book, Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry, Richard D. Porcher deftly guides the reader and would-be Lowcountry pilgrim down into this garden of earthly delights.

Sarracenia purpurea L. ssp. venosa (Raf.) Wherry var. montana Schnell & Determann var. nov. of sphag nous seep bogs of the southern Appalachians differs from vars. venosa and burkii in that the distal halves of the hood lobes are closely incurved adaxially and either touch or nearly touch, and the hairs lining the hood are shorter.

The endangered, semi-aquatic plant Ptilimnium nodosum had historically been known in the Potomac River drainage only from one site on Sleepy Creek, West Virginia and from the Potomac River, Maryland, where it was thought to have been extirpated. After extensive surveys in the Potomac drainage, the species has been found to occur along short to extensive stretches of the Cacapon River and Sleepy Creek in West Virginia and along Fifteen Mile Creek and Sideling Hill Creek, Maryland. It is also extant, in very small numbers, along the mainstem Potomac River.

Phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) foliar resorption during senescence was examined in Cardamine concatenata (a spring ephemeral), Trillium flexipes (a spring herb), and Smilacina racemosa (a summer herb) along contiguous forest topographic gradients in southwestern Ohio. Overall, mean apparent (and proportional) foliar P resorption ranged from -0.13 mg/g (-8.3%) for S. racemosa to 1.79 mg/g (68.1%) for C. concatenata. Mean apparent foliar N resorption ranged from 11.25 mg/g in S. racemosa to 37.71 mg/g in C. concatenata, while mean proportional N resorption ranged from 23.3% in T. flexipes to 62.4% in C. concatenata. Analysis of variance indicated significant differences among species and topographic positions for both P and N resorption. The significant topographic position effect for P resorption reflected greater overall resorption in the bottomland positions while that for N resorption reflected greatest resorption in uplands and bottomlands and lower resorption in slope positions. We suggest that the significant differences among species may reflect their phenological patterns and photosynthetic adaptations while differences among topographic positions primarily reflect soil nutrient availability and moisture status.

Overstory, shrub-layer, and herb-layer flora composition and abundance patterns in eleven forest sites were studied to evaluate species diversity and richness before implementing three types of harvest treatments. The sites were within the Wine Spring Creek Watershed and were classified as high elevation, dry, Quercus rubra-Rhododendron calendulaceum based on McNab and Browning’s Landscape Ecosystem Classification system. Evaluation of species diversity was determined by Shannon-Weiner’s index of diversity (H’) and Pielou’s species evenness index (J’). Overstory H’ based on tree density ranged from 1.62 to 2.50 and H’ based on tree basal area ranged from 0.94 to 2.22. The importance values for woody species, showed four species that occurred on all sites (Acer rubrum, Quercus rubra, Amelanchier arborea, and Castanea dentata) accounted for 32 to 84% of overstory abundance. Shrub-layer H’_Density ranged from 0.64 to 2.33 and H’_BA ranged from 0.40 to 2.26. Rhododendron calendulaceum and Castanea dentata were the only species present on all sites and accounted for 28.5 to 92.3% of the shrub-layer abundance. Herb-layer H’_Density ranged from 1.72 to 3.02 and J’_Density was low, between 0.5 and 0.6 on most sites. Herb-layer diversity was determined by a few dominant species. Although species richness ranged from 51 to 73, seven genera of understory herbs [Prenanthes trifoliata, Thelypteris noveboracensis, Viola hastata, Medeola virginiana, Solidago (curtisii and arguta), and Carex spp., and Aster spp.] occurred on all sites and accounted for 50 to 91% of the total density and 27 to 75% of the total cover. Early successional species were well represented at all sites. Seedling survivorship, germination, and overstory contribution of seeds, caused varied site representation of species. This study provides baseline data for observing variation in species richness and diversity that will result from experimental harvest methods.

The printer regrets leaving out the dates of publication for Volume 61, placed at the end of the annual Table of Contents, December 1996.

Old-growth forests in Congaree Swamp National Monument, South Carolina were surveyed to determine status of former state and national champion trees and to record size, topographic setting, and presence of conspecific saplings under the canopy of formerly known plus newly discovered big trees. Ninety-one big trees, including two previous champions, were measured. Of the 30 state champion trees listed in 1979 (including 9 national champions), only 2 were still alive by August 1995. Many apparently died before Hurricane Hugo struck in 1989. During the latest survey, 29 individuals (25 species) of state champion size, including 4 national champions (3 species), were found. Thirty-four of the measured trees were over 40 m tall; eight were over 48 m. Topographic positions were species-specific; however, most big trees occurred in broad, low flat areas or on the edges of sloughs. Few had conspecific saplings beneath their crowns.

Cane (Arundinaria gigantea (Walter) Muhl.) is found throughout the southeastern United States and forms monotypic stands known as canebrakes. Canebrake ecology has been largely ignored by contemporary workers and this paper is intended as a comprehensive review. Reproductive biology is poorly understood and various flowering cycles have been reported. Seed dispersal and seedling development remain largely unknown. Density estimates range as high as 160,000 culms/ha. Historic accounts suggest canebrakes were a dominant feature of the frontier landscape, particularly in alluvial habitats. Canebrakes developed under regimes of moderately intense disturbance, and probably originated when Indian agriculture was greatly curtailed following population declines caused by introduced European diseases. Subsequently, Indian burning practices maintained and expanded canebrakes by eliminating competing woody vegetation. Settlers valued canebrakes for livestock grazing and considered them indicative of fertile soils. Decline was rapid following settlement due to a combination of overgrazing, altered burning regimes, and landclearing. Large canebrakes are no longer extant and are not favored by current regimes of extreme disturbance. 

The pollination ecology of the tropical shrub, Ardisia escallonioides (Myrsinaceae), was studied over a three year period 1992-94 at three subtropical hardwood forests in Dade County, Florida. The flowering phenology is a “pulsed regular annual” pattern with distinct seasonal fall flowering. Although flowers are protogynous, individual plants are hermaphroditic due to staggered flower opening within and among in- florescences. Twelve species of insect taxa visited flowers, with halictid bees the most numerous (94%). The most abundant insect was the halictid bee Augochlora pura mosieri, comprising 83% of all visits. Insect behavior on flowers was correlated with foraging techniques on the pollen-only reward flowers.