Hiking North Carolina’s National Forests, 50 Can’t-Miss Trail Adventures in the Pisgah, Nantahala, Uwharrie, and Croatan National Forests.
Molloy, Johnny. 2013
The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 244 p. $45.00, $22.00.
ISBN 978-1-4696-1166-2, ISBN 978-1-4696-1167-9, $22.00.
51 black and white illustrations, 54 maps, 1 table.
Exploring Southern Appalachian Forests: An Ecological Guide to 30 Great Hikes in the Carolinas, Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia.
Jeffries, Stephanie B. and Thomas R. Wentworth. 2014.
The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 304 p. Cloth $45.00, $22.00.
ISBN 978-1-4696-1979-8, ISBN 978-1-4696-1820-3.
49 black and white illustrations, 14 drawings, 31 maps, 1 table.
Spira, Timothy P. 2015. Waterfalls & Wildflowers in the Southern Appalachians: Thirty Great Hikes.
The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 304 p. Softcover, $24.00.
ISBN 978-1-4696-2264-4.
170 color plates, 22 drawings, 1 illustration, 31 maps.
Yatskievych, George. 2013. Steyermark’s Flora of Missouri, Volume 3. Revised Ed. Dicots, Fabaceae (Subfamily Faboideae) through Zygophyllaceae.
Missouri Botanical Garden Press (PO Box 299, St. Louis, Missouri 63166-0299) in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Conservation (PO Box 180, Jefferson City, Missouri 65201-0180).
xvii þ 1382 p. 194 plates of black-and-white line drawings; 20 figures, including 27 individual black and white photographs; 798 distribution maps.
Hardcover, $65.00. ISBN 978-0- 915279-13-5.
ABSTRACT Japewiella dollypartoniana is described as new to science based on material from the Appalachian Mountains and adjacent regions of the Atlantic Coastal Plain. It is distinguished from other species of Japewia and Japewiella by its sorediate thallus and production of norstictic acid. Placement in Japewiella is supported by characters from fertile populations discovered in the Unicoi Mountains of western North Carolina which have apothecia that resemble those of Japewia torno¨ ensis (Nyl.) Tønsberg but differ in having a well-developed proper exciple and ascospores without a thick, gelatinous sheath.
ABSTRACT Miscanthus 3 giganteus Greef & Deu (giant miscanthus) is a perennial C4 grass grown worldwide for bioenergy production; however, there is concern about whether it can produce high yields on marginal soils in a temperate climate. The goals of this study were to determine whether giant miscanthus could establish and produce yields in Western North Carolina comparable to those in other regions and to determine whether fertilization and biochar could improve yields. At two field sites, Mills River (650 m) and Valle Crucis (830 m), fertilizer (0 and 100 kg NPK ha1) and biochar (0 and 15 t ha1) treatments were employed in a fully randomized block design. Genetically identical rhizomes were planted in spring of 2012 and allowed to grow for two growing seasons. No treatment effects were found for gas exchange, but rates were higher at Mills River than at Valle Crucis. There were no biochar or fertilizer effects on yields. First-year yields were greater at Mills River than at Valle Crucis (2.93 and 1.77 Mg dry weight [DW] ha1, respectively). Overwinter survival rates were 100% at both field sites. Second-year yields were approximately 103 greater than in the first year (27.68 Mg DW ha1 at Mills River vs. 30.12 Mg DW ha1 at Valle Crucis). The high survival and growth rates during the first 2 yr demonstrate that this bioenergy crop is capable of growing in Western North Carolina and producing yields comparable to those in other areas of the country where this crop has been grown.
ABSTRACT Thlaspi alliaceum L. (Brassicaceae) is a weedy, annual, European species of ruderal habitats known from 14 states in the eastern USA. It first was collected in North America in 1947 in Pennsylvania, although most references cite a 1956 collection from North Carolina. The species now has been vouchered in 23 Pennsylvania counties. Populations frequently consist of thousands of individuals. Despite its frequency, Thlaspi alliaceum is underreported in published works on the Pennsylvania flora.
Two species, Amorpha fruticosa L. and Yucca flaccida Haw, new to northwestern Pennsylvania, are reported from the Gull Point region of Presque Isle State Park. One of these, A. fruticosa, is weedy and/or invasive and a noxious weed in parts of its distribution. Yucca flaccida is also reported to occur in Butler County in western Pennsylvania. A third species, Sedum acre L., is reported as new to Presque Isle State Park, but not to Erie County per se. A fourth species, Hyacinthoides hispanica (Mill.) Rothm, is reported as new to Pennsylvania. The species has been identified as a potential or emerging threat to natural areas, especially shaded areas, in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Amorpha fruticosa L. (FABACEAE)—Erie County: Erie, Presque Isle State Park, Gull Point Trail, open, sandy area alongside trail; 42810.1550N, 080804.1590W; elevation approximately 172 – 4.6 m; 15 August 2013. J. Chmielewski & David Krayesky 3228 (SLRO).
Significance
Amorpha fruticosa (false indigo bush) is native to North America. This species of shrub occurs from Manitoba to Quebec and south throughout the lower 48 states except for Montana and Nevada (Bailey 1949, Fernald 1950, Britton and Brown 1970, USDA, NRCS 2014). The species may not, however, be native to Pennsylvania, and instead, represents introductions from populations farther west and south (Rhoads and Block 2000, 2007). Alternatively, the species may have escaped cultivation to New York and New England beyond its normal range of southern Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New Jersey (Bailey 1949, Fernald 1950, Britton and Brown 1970, Magee and Ahles 1999, Anonymous 2014a).
ABSTRACT Canoparmelia caroliniana is among the most common macrolichens in southeastern North America, occurring on the bark of trees in habitats from urban centers to pristine wilderness. Canoparmelia amabilis was distinguished from C. caroliniana on the basis of differences in the color of the lower surface and morphology of the isidia. Recent fieldwork revealed previously overlooked morphologically variability within C. caroliniana, prompting a revision based on morphology, ecology, and analyses of nrITS sequence data. These data do not support the distinction between C. amabilis and C. caroliniana, and indicate that C. amabilis should be placed in synonymy with C. caroliniana. Analyses of nrITS sequence data confirmed the monophyly of C. caroliniana (including C. amabilis) as well as that of C. cryptochlorophaea and C. texana. A lectotype is selected for C. amabilis because the holotype is presumed to be lost.
ABSTRACT Understory plants in temperate deciduous forests are dependent on a spring window of high light availability prior to canopy leafout. Aesculus glabra Willd. (Ohio buckeye, Hippocastanaceae) produces leaves several weeks before other trees in the same habitat. Aesculus glabra canopy is hypothesized to reduce the spring high-light period, and thus to have a negative effect on understory plants, especially annual and spring-ephemeral herbs. Understory community composition (herbs plus woody plants <0.5-m height) and environment were compared under A. glabra– and non–A. glabra-dominated canopy in May and July in a mesic, secondary forest in northeastern Indiana. The understory under A. glabra canopy had lower cover and observed species richness in both seasons, and ordination indicated differences in species composition in both seasons. Annual and summer-green herbs and woody plants had lower cover under A. glabra in May, but spring ephemerals did not differ. Summer-green herbs and woody plants had lower cover under A. glabra in July. Aesculus glabra canopy reduced spring light availability, decreased spring soil temperature, slightly increased soil phosphorus, increased July (but not May) soil moisture, and had no effect on soil nitrate. Aesculus glabra litter extracts reduced germination and seedling growth of Raphanus sativus L. but not Lactuca sativa L., while soils from under A. glabra did not affect germination of Phlox divaricata L. The primary effect of A. glabra on the understory appears to be via lower light availability and soil temperature in spring.