Volume 71 – Issue 2 (Jun 2006)

This study is a compilation of vascular flora data from previous reports and current findings from 1965 through 2003 of Fort Bragg Military Reservation and Weymouth Woods Sandhills Nature Preserve, located in the Sandhills region of North Carolina. Vascular plants are divided into four major groups: Pteridophytes, Gymnosperms, Angiosperms (monocots) and Angiosperms (dicots). Reported for the study area are 143 families, 490 genera, and 1,206 species and infraspecific taxa, of which 203 (16.8%) are alien or adventive. Sixty one species are rare, of which three are federally endangered: Lysimachia asperulifolia, Rhus michauxii, and Schwalbea americana. The following five species are currently known in North Carolina only from study area populations: Carex tenax, Hypericum fasciculatum, Pteroglossaspis ecristata, Rhynchospora crinipes, and Warea cuneifolia. This study documents the importance of Fort Bragg Military Reservation and Weymouth Woods Preserve in contributing to the floristic diversity of the longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem.

A floristic survey was conducted of the Elk and Bison Prairie, Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area during the growing seasons of 2003 and 2004. The 265.5 ha fenced enclosure lies 1.0 km from Golden Pond, Kentucky, in western Trigg County within the Western Highland Rim of the Interior Low Plateau Province. Seven major plant habitats are: cool season grassland, warm season grassland, oakhickory forest, loblolly pine forest, corral gravel, corral pasture, and wet pond borders. Vascular plants consist of 497 specific and infraspecific taxa in 273 genera from 93 families. Ninety-four (18.9%) were exotics. Plant representation is seven Polypodiophyta, four Pinophyta, and 486 Magnoliophyta (129 Liliopsida, 357 Magnoliopsida). The largest families in species richness were the Poaceae (75), Asteraceae (71), Fabaceae (46), Cyperaceae (25), Lamiaceae (20), and Rosaceae (15). The largest genera were Carex (17), Panicum (15), Lespedeza (9), Desmodium (8), Eupatorium (8), and Juncus, Quercus, and Solidago (7 each). Carex gravida, Uvularia sessilifolia, and Vulpia myuros were documented for the first time from the Land Between The Lakes National Recreation Area.

John W. Thieret, Professor Emeritus of Biological Sciences at Northern Kentucky University, retired Director of the Northern Kentucky University Herbarium, Associate Editor of Sida, Contributions to Botany, and Editor of the Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science passed away on 7 December 2005, at Alexandria, Kentucky. He was 79 years old.

The microhabitat of the federally endangered Dalea foliosa was compared to that of its cedar glade congener D. gattingeri, as well as to adjoining habitat absent of both species but appearing suitable for D. foliosa (control site). Compared to D. gattingeri sites, D. foliosa sites had lower coverage of gravel, higher coverage of herbaceous vegetation, and deeper soils. Both species were present on sites with similar leaf litter and moss coverages. Nostoc commune was absent from D. foliosa populations, but present in most D. gattingeri populations. In terms of soil depth and coverage variables, control sites differed little from D. foliosa sites. Coverage of D. foliosa was negatively correlated with that of associated (neighboring) species. No appreciable differences in soil fertility were noted among sites. New populations of D. foliosa should be established in areas relatively free of competition, exposed to full or partial sunlight, with soil depths >4 cm, and near washes.

Results of surveys conducted from 1996 to 2004 support the endemic status of Solidago albopilosa in Kentucky as well as confirm that this species is limited to three counties in the Red River Gorge, although 35 new sites are added to the previously delimited distribution. An assessment of the status of this species identifies recreation as the primary cause for a decline in S. albopilosa populations. During our monitoring effort, 86% of S. albopilosa sites were impacted by recreation, and 33% of these were classed as severe.

A survey of the bryophyte flora, Anthocerotophyta (hornworts), Marchantiophyta (liverworts), and Bryophyta (mosses) of Jefferson County, Ohio was conducted from 1998 to 2004. Jefferson County (106,416 ha) is located in the unglaciated Allegheny Plateau region. Its eastern border is the Ohio River. Approximately 20% of the county has been mined for coal since the early 1900’s, and 29% has been cleared for agriculture. Seventeen (17) species of liverworts and 1 species of hornwort were found. Jefferson County records for moss species increased from 0 to 115. The moss flora of Jefferson County is compared to that of other Ohio counties using S0renson’s similarity index (SI).

We report a new Sabal minor county record for North Carolina that represents the furthest known northern population of the largely tropical family Arecaceae in eastern North America. We give a brief introduction to Sabal and explain why this S. minor population may represent a northward range expansion in response to climate warming in northeast North Carolina. Finally, we discuss the usefulness of both historical herbarium specimens and modern day botanical collections to research on climate change and plant population responses.

Noteworthy Collections: Georgia