Volume 79 - Issue 1 (March 2014)

ABSTRACT A 1.21-ha plot was established in a mature pine–hardwood forest (Hyatt’s Woods) along a low stream terrace in southeastern Arkansas. Compositionally, this stand had considerable arboreal richness, with 26 different tree species ‡9 cm in diameter. Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) contributed 42% of the stand’s 37.1 m2/ha of basal area; the remaining fraction included baldcypress (Taxodium distichum) and 24 hardwood species (no other single taxon exceeded 12%). Only a limited volume (15.2 m3/ha) of dead wood was encountered. The large size of the dominant conifers and abundance of high wood density hardwoods at Hyatt’s Woods yielded a considerable quantity of biomass—at 317 Mg/ha, few stands in the region have more. With all species combined, tree stem location exhibited a random spatial pattern, but this changed when individual species were considered. For example, loblolly pine tended to be clustered on the higher portions of this relatively flat site, while white

Plant species distributions and transitions between vegetation types are determined by numerous factors, including disturbances such as fire. Documentation of past changes in the distribution and structure of fire-dependent ecosystems is necessary to assess the success of land management in maintaining historic vegetation types. In our study system—longleaf pine (Pinus palustris)-wiregrass (Aristida stricta) savannas and embedded wetlands (i.e., pocosins)—wiregrass is dependent on frequent burning. We used soil carbon (C) isotopes to test for past changes in the abundance of wiregrass and for shifts in the ecotone between savanna and pocosin in four sites at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Wiregrass has a C4 photosynthetic pathway and therefore produces organic matter enriched in 13C compared to other dominant species in the community that have a C3 photosynthetic pathway. At each of the four sites, we measured profiles of soil d13C to a depth of 1 m at four locations along the vegetation

Weakley, Alan S., J. Christopher Ludwig, and John F. Townsend. 2012. Flora of Virginia. Bland Crowder, ed. Foundation of the Flora of Virginia Project Inc., Richmond. Fort Worth: Botanical Research Institute of Texas Press. 1572 p. Hardcover, $89.99. ISBN-13: 978-1-889878-38-6.

The Editorial Committee gratefully acknowledges and thanks the following people who reviewed manuscripts for Castanea during 2013. CASTANEA REVIEWERS FOR 2013 Marc D. Abrams Matthew Albrecht Loran Anderson Clare Aslan Brent T. Baker Larry Barden Carol Baskauf Loretta Battaglia Vanessa Beauchamp Kimberly Bohn Amy E. Boyd Irwin M. Brodo Luc Brouillet Charles T. Bryson Jessica R. Brzyski David Buckley Julian Campbell Edward W. Chester Jerry G. Chmielewski Stephen R Clayden Andre F. Clewell William H. Conner Mark Cowell Douglas A. DeBerry Rebecca Dolan Leslie Edwards Brent Frey William R. Graves James Hamrick Tracy S. Hawkins John Hayden David J. Hicks Jacques G. Hill David Hix Bruce Hoagland Ann F. Johnson Lisa M. Kennedy Kay Kirkman Wesley M. Knapp Carla Lambertini Lissa Leege Nancy Loewenstein Ryan W. McEwan D. Bruce Means Jon Mendelson Zack Murrell John Nelson Guy Nesom Michael J. Osland Donald J. Padgett Michael W. Palmer Thomas S. Patrick William

Jones, Ronald L. and B. Eugene Wofford. 2013. Woody Plants of Kentucky and Tennessee: The Complete Winter Guide to Their Identification and Use. University Press of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, 224 p. Hardcover, $45.00. ISBN: 978-0-8131-4250-0.

Baum, David A. and Stacey D. Smith. 2012. Tree Thinking: An Introduction to phylogenetic Biology. Roberts and Company Publishers, Greenwood Village, Colorado, 476 p. Hardcover, $75.00. ISBN 978-1-9362-2116-5.

ABSTRACT Sphenoclea zeylanica is described and its phenology, habitat, and distribution documented in North America, based upon data from voucher specimens and original field observations. The species, an exotic native to Asia, has been in the United States since the mid-1800s, with the earliest records from Louisiana where it was most likely introduced as a contaminant of rice seed. Its distribution and spread are linked strongly with cultivation of rice, and we document its dispersal in the United States over the past 150 years with the postbellum expansion of rice agriculture in the Mississippi River Valley. Photographs and scanning electron micrographs illustrate structural details of inflorescence, flower, fruit, and seed.

Leavenworthia uniflora (Michaux) Britton (Brassicaceae)—Shenandoah County: Rt. 733 roadside, on edge of Flat Rock Church parking lot. Lat: 38.69979 N, Lon: 78.74548 W. 22 March 2012. Brinton E. Domangue 666 (JMUH). Rt. 733 at Flat Rock Church, next to parking lot on north side of the church. Population of perhaps 50 individuals on lawn. Lat: 38.69979 N, Lon: 78.74548 W. 27 April 2013. Conley K. McMullen 921 (JMUH). Significance. This is the first report of Leavenworthia (gladecress) in Virginia (Weakley et al. 2012). Leavenworthia is a genus of eight native species found primarily in the southeastern United States. Leavenworthia uniflora, the most widespread species has previously been reported from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, and Tennessee. Consequently, the population reported here represents a significant range extension, and makes Virginia the easternmost state in which Leavenworthia is found.

ABSTRACT The Miccosukee gooseberry (Ribes echinellum Coville), a federally threatened shrub, has a restricted distribution at single sites in north Florida and South Carolina. The Florida population is apparently stable overall, but one subpopulation has declined over the past decade. This decline spurred resumption of long-term monitoring and research into potential causes of the plant’s rarity. In 2010 distinctive evidence of fruit predation inspired the title question. Using a time-lapse infrared camera we discovered a cotton mouse (Peromyscus gossypinus LeConte) eating fruit of the gooseberry. This type of fruit predation is apparently pervasive based on observations of plants scattered throughout the population. Cotton mouse scat is smaller than gooseberry seeds indicating that the seeds were probably destroyed during ingestion. Seed predation by the cotton mouse could have a significant negative effect on seed dispersal of the Miccosukee gooseberry.

ABSTRACT The ability to propagate and successfully reintroduce rare plant species is an important component in the conservation biologist’s toolbox. Unfortunately for many species, propagation methods and details about the species’ life histories, which can potentially inform reintroduction efforts, are often unknown. We describe for the first time the pseudoannual life cycle of rough-leaved loosestrife (Lysimachia asperulifolia Poiret [Primulaceae]) and techniques that we have used to vegetatively propagate and reintroduce this federally endangered species endemic to the Atlantic Coastal Plain of the United States. Using simulated dormancy and controlled soil temperatures, we increased the number of collected viable rhizomes by approximately 76% over one growing season. At two translocation sites, stem numbers increased an average of 318 – 145 SD % in five of seven test plots between 2004 and 2010. Using dormant-season–harvested rhizomes and/or reducing competition prior to transplanting via mowing or using herbicides greatly improved translocation success. Only