Volume 77 - Issue 3 (Sept 2012)

ABSTRACT There has been question whether the taxon known as Yucca filamentosa (Agavaceae) is to be distinguished from the taxon known as Yucca flaccida. Much of the uncertainty lay in the absence of sure knowledge of the forms intended by their original authors. A neotype of Y. flaccida from Florida was selected in 2006. Here, the type locality in Virginia of Y. filamentosa is revisited and an epitype is selected. The two taxa, as represented by plants from these two type localities, differ markedly in a number of characteristics. It is suggested that Y. filamentosa and Y. flaccida be retained at specific rank.

ABSTRACT The first occurrence of Lythrum hyssopifolia L. (hyssop loosestrife or grass poly, Lythraceae) is documented for Illinois. This Old World native is presently known from every continent except Antarctica with its North American distribution limited to thirteen states within the United States as well as two Canadian provinces.

While making collections across the state of Alabama, 57 state records and/or noteworthy taxa were observed. The collection information, along with a brief account of observations, where pertinent, is provided below. For each taxon listed, voucher specimens were collected and deposited at Alabama Natural Heritage Section Herbarium (ALNHS) and/or the Jacksonville State University Herbarium (JSU), which includes the herbarium at the Anniston Museum of Natural History, unless otherwise noted. The purpose of this article is to report collections which are all believed to constitute noteworthy and/or new additions to the flora of Alabama. Many of the collections suggest strongly disjunct observations, illustrating an immense need for further floral surveys in the state of Alabama. Currently ranking sixth in terms of overall plant biodiversity with approximately 4,040 plant taxa (Kartesz 2011), Alabama has a wondrous bounty of plant life. With such a varied assortment of habitats, ecotones, and microspheric niches, future

ABSTRACT Buford Mountain Conservation Area, located primarily in the northeastern corner of Iron County, Missouri, on the border with Washington County, is both geologically and floristically unique. To help develop an area management plan, the Missouri Department of Conservation was interested in conducting a floristic survey of vascular plants on a designated igneous glade region. The purpose of this study was to provide a vouchered floristic inventory, and to document any occurrences of rare or endangered taxa. The floristic survey was conducted over parts of two growing seasons (from 7 August 2010 to 2 August 2011) during which specimens were collected on approximately weekly to biweekly intervals. A controlled burn that encompassed the entire study site was conducted by the Missouri Department of Conservation on 13 April 2011 in an attempt to discourage encroachment by Carya ovata (shagbark hickory) and Juniperus virginiana var. virginiana (red cedar). A total of 132

ABSTRACT Back Bay and its flora have historically been influenced by the interaction of freshwater flow in combination with frequent intrusion of saline water into its basin. These events have resulted in a dynamic environmental setting influencing the abundance and composition of its phytoplankton community. Dominating these oligohaline waters is a diverse representation and high abundance of freshwater filamentous and colonial cyanobacteria. These include the nonheterocystous Planktolyngbya contorta, Planktolyngbya limnetica, and Pseudanabaena limnetica, taxa implicated as bloom producers in Bay waters with N:P molar ratios ranging from 23:1 to 74:1

ABSTRACT Populations of naturalized mimosa (Albizia julibrissin Durazz., Fabaceae) are reported from 32 counties in the southern third of Illinois. Literature and field studies suggest a significant range expansion of this taxon within Illinois during the last 50 yr. Most populations occur in open areas or along roadsides and forest edges, but a high-quality loess hill prairie on the Mississippi River bluffs contains high densities of mimosa seedlings and saplings. Mimosa is expected to continue to spread into suitable habitat based on its long history of invasion.

ABSTRACT Soil parameters were compared between serpentine oak savanna and grassland in Soldiers Delight Natural Environment Area, Maryland. Soils were analyzed for texture, depth to bedrock, bulk density, magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), aluminum (Al), nickel (Ni), potassium (K), iron (Fe), phosphorous (P), and acidity or alkalinity (pH). Oak savanna occurred on silt loam (61% silt) and grassland on sandy loam (64% sand). Silt loam had significantly greater depth (mean depth > 900 mm) than sandy loam (mean depth < 100 mm) and 50% higher fine soil bulk density. Rock fragment content was high in sandy loam (0.46 kg kg1, 0.20 m3 m3) and very low in silt loam (0.01 kg kg1, 0.01 m3 m3). The Mg:Ca ratio was not significantly different between soil types, pH was high for both soils (5.8 to 6.7), and bioavailability of Ni was probably not important ecologically. Based on the results of this study, soil

ABSTRACT Harperella (Harperella nodosum) is a federally endangered plant with 26 known sites in the southeastern United States. Experiments in the greenhouse and observations in the wild demonstrated that harperella is an annual plant and its seeds can germinate immediately after seed maturation under warm-weather conditions in late summer. Harperella was observed to utilize two complementary reproductive strategies as important adaptations to survival in a frequently flooded, semiaquatic habitat, depending on flooding frequency and amplitude: (a) sexual reproduction during low-water years involving flowering and seed production and (b) asexual reproduction during high-water years involving viability of ramets produced at the nodes.

The 2012 Richard and Minnie Windler Award winner for the best systematics botany paper published in Castanea during 2011 is Dr. James Schrader for his work ‘‘Taxonomy of Leitneria (Simaroubaceae) Resolved by ISSR, ITS, and Morphometric Characterization’’ (Schrader, J.A. and W.R. Graves, Castanea 76:313–338). Jim is currently Assistant Scientist III in Dr. Bill Graves’ Woody Plant Ecology Lab in the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. Jim received his B.A. in Biology from Bemidji State University in Bemidji, Minnesota, in 1997, and both his M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Physiology from the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. He completed his graduate studies in 2002 and was immediately hired to work in his present research position. Jim has studied rare plant species with disjunct populations for many years, including the biosystematics and phenology of Alnus maritima for his Ph.D. dissertation. Remarkably, he was the 2003 Windler Award recipient

We are proud to announce the 2012 Elizabeth Ann Bartholomew Award recipient as Audrey Mellichamp, a longtime managing editor for Castanea. From 1982 through 2011, Audrey worked to pull together manuscripts and organize them into issues of the journal. In the process she guided authors through the procedures, reminded officers of needed submissions, and communicated details to the printer. Audrey received her B.A. in Biology from Albion College (Albion, Michigan) and her M.S. in Botany from the University of Michigan. She started learning the editorship ropes about 1980 as Jesse Clovis retired from his position as editor and as the Southern Appalachian Botanical Club (as it was known then) moved the Castanea central office from the University of West Virginia to the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It was a time of much transition, with changes in printers, journal size, communication methods, organizational officers, and technology of publication. Over