Book Review: Textbook of Dendrology
Book Review: Textbook of Dendrology
Book Review: Textbook of Dendrology
ABSTRACT Thirty-nine vascular plant taxa and one new family (Elatinaceae) are newly reported with vouchers for the flora of South Carolina. These include 30 monocots (14 of which are Cyperaceae), and 19 dicots. In addition, an appendix is provided which lists 318 taxa with literature citations that have been reported as new for the state since the publication of Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas.
ABSTRACT A status survey of Frasera caroliniensis Walter was conducted in South Carolina during 1993-1995 to confirm population location and determine population size, habitat, and associated vascular plants. Seven populations were found within the piedmont physiological province and ranged in size from 20 plants to over 10,000 plants. Populations typically grow in a Mesic Mixed Hardwood forest near or along streams with slightly to moderately acidic sandy loam to loamy sand soil. The canopy vegetation always included Liquidambar styraciflua, Liriodendron tulipifera, and Carya glabra. Eight other canopy species were found to be important trees, at some of, but not all the locations.
ABSTRACT A total of 265 vascular taxa were found on five limestone prairie barrens in northwestern Alabama. Floristic element percentages were within expected ranges except the percentage of southern taxa was lower, and the percentage of western taxa was higher than expected. Eight barrens taxa (Comandra umbellata, Cypripedium candidum, Dalea gattingeri, Eriogonum longifolium var. harperi, Echinaceapurpurea, Frasera carolinensis, Mirabilis albida, Schoenolirion croceum, Spiranthes magnicamporum) are on the Alabama Natural Heritage Program Species Inventory List. Barrens are the primary habitat in Alabama for Eriogonum longifolium var. harperi which was formerly a candidate species for listing by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Other rarely collected species of the barrens were Aster pratensis and Thymelea passerina.
ABSTRACT At the time of European settlement in the late 1700s, extensive areas on the Pennyroyal Plain of northwestern Middle Tennessee and southwestern central Kentucky were grass-dominated with scattered and stunted trees and shrubs, apparently as a result of regular burning by Native Americans. These areas were referred to as “barrens” by settlers and because soils were deep and fertile, almost all were in tilth by the middle 1800s. To our knowledge no sites of barrens vegetation from this region, commonly called the “Big Barrens,” escaped cultivation. However, since establishment of the Fort Campbell Military Reservation (FCMR) in 1942, regular burning to maintain open conditions for military training has allowed a “barrens flora” to re-develop on former barrens that had been converted to agriculture. We prepared floristic lists from 22 barrens stands during the growing seasons of 1993, 1994, and part of 1995. The combined list includes 342 species with
ABSTRACT Site conditions and vegetation of five high elevation areas in West Virginia historically considered grass balds were examined. All occurred on rounded peaks or ridges, with south or southwest facing slopes, above 1150 m, in the transition zone between red spruce (Picea rubens) and northern hardwood forests. Mountain oat grass (Danthonia compressa) was the dominant herb, although other grasses were abundant. At two sites, forbs and ferns were codominant. Blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) were dominant in the shrub strata at all sites. Comparison of the vegetation of West Virginia sites to five grass balds studied by Gilbert (1954) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) revealed the following differences: (1) balds of the two regions shared some dominants, but West Virginia balds were more diverse in the herbaceous layer, with lower levels of dominance. (2) West Virginia balds also had a more highly developed shrub strata. Recent studies of
ABSTRACT The high peaks of the southern Appalachians (Latitude 35°-37°N, Longitude 81°-84°W) range up to 2,037 m (6,684 ft) in elevation, but lack an alpine treeline. Because some species with alpine affinities persist on high elevation rock outcrops in these mountains and because of our interest in the potential impacts of past and future climate changes on rare plants, we sought answers to the following questions: At what elevation would climatic treeline occur in these mountains under current climatic conditions if the mountains were higher and how variable are predictions based on different methods and assumptions? We compared sixteen estimates based on geographic, vegetational, floristic, and climatic lines of evidence in order to bracket the potential treeline. At 36°N in eastern North America these estimates showed considerable variation, ranging from 2,009 m to 3,237 m (28 m lower to 1,200 m higher than the highest summit). World-wide latitude averages probably
1997 Richard and Minnie Windier Award Recipients: Daniel F. Brunton, Donald M. Britton, and Thomas F. Wieboldt
The Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award
1997 Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award Recipient: Donna M. E. Ware