Tennessee Flora Committee. 2015. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Tennessee (editors: E.W. Chester, B.E. Wofford, J. Shaw, D. Estes, and D.H. Webb). The University of Tennessee Press, Knoxville, Tennessee. 813 p. Hardcover. $49.95. ISBN 978-1-62190-100-6.
Carex albursina Sheldon (CYPERACEAE)—
Tishomingo County
The population consists of 12 individuals growing on steep, north-facing slope with exposed limestone outcrops in mesic woods. The forest floor is dominated by mosses. Associates. Fraxinus biltmoreana Beadle, Quercus prinus L., Tilia americana L., Aesculus glabra Willd., Quercus rubra L., Staphylea trifolia L., Cladrastis kentukea (Dum. Cours.) Rudd, Delphinium tricorne Michx., and Dicentra cucullaria (L.)
ABSTRACT A survey to document the vascular flora of the Gopher Farm sandhill, Wayne County, Mississippi, was conducted from 2011 to 2015. As a part of the Chickasawhay Ranger District of the DeSoto National Forest, the Gopher Farm represents one of the most northerly sandhills in the Coastal Plain of Mississippi and one the largest publicly owned sandhills in the state. The survey resulted in 194 species, including 2 ferns, 3 gymnosperms, and 189 flowering plants. Of these, 45 are endemic to the Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain of the United States, and 6 are listed as rare species by the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program. The collection of Morella inodora represents the most northerly collection of that species in Mississippi.
ABSTRACT One explanation for the success of exotic plants in their introduced habitats is that, upon arriving to a new continent, plants escaped their native herbivores or pathogens, resulting in less damage and lower abundance of enemies than closely related native species (enemy release hypothesis). We tested whether the three exotic plant species, Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry), Fallopia japonica (Japanese knotweed), and Persicaria perfoliata (mile-a-minute weed), suffered less herbivory or pathogen attack than native species by comparing leaf damage and invertebrate herbivore abundance and diversity on the invasive species and their native congeners. Fallopia japonica and R. phoenicolasius received less leaf damage than their native congeners, and F. japonica also contained a lower diversity and abundance of invertebrate herbivores. If the observed decrease in damage experienced by these two plant species contributes to increased fitness, then escape from enemies may provide at least a partial explanation for their invasiveness. However, P. perfoliata actually received greater leaf damage than its native congener. Rhinoncomimus latipes, a weevil previously introduced in the United States as a biological control for P. perfoliata, accounted for the greatest abundance of insects collected from P. perfoliata. Therefore, it is likely that the biocontrol R. latipes was responsible for the greater damage on P. perfoliata, suggesting this insect may be effective at controlling P. perfoliata populations if its growth and reproduction is affected by the increased herbivore damage.
ABSTRACT Canaveral National Seashore (CANA) incorporates ca. 23,335 ha of land, shallow lagoons, and offshore waters in east central Florida. We surveyed the flora in 20 terrestrial sites and one lagoon site between the fall of 2002 and the fall of 2004, made additional collections from 2005 to 2015, and examined existing collections in the CANA and KSC (Kennedy Space Center) herbaria annotating them where necessary. The final floristic list includes 679 taxa. Of this total, 584 are native and 94 are introduced. Only 40 taxa were not represented by new collections. Fifteen taxa considered endangered or threatened by the state of Florida occur; one (Harrisia fragrans) is listed as endangered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. Those listed as endangered in Florida include Argusia gnaphalodes, Chamaesyce cumulicola, Glandularia maritima, Harrisia fragrans, Lantana depressa var. floridana, Lechea divaricata, Nemastylis floridana, Ophioglossum palmatum, Tephrosia angustissima var. curtissii, Tillandsia fasciculata var. densispica, and Tillandsia utriculata. Plants listed as threatened in Florida include Myrcianthes fragrans, Opuntia stricta, Pteroglossaspis ecristata, and Scaevola plumieri. Five plants are listed in Florida as commercially exploited: Encyclia tampensis, Epidendrum conopseum, Osmunda cinnamomea, O. regalis, and Zamia pumila. Twenty Category I and 11 Category II invasive exotic plants (Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council) occur. Feral pigs, introduced insects, and plant disease threaten some plants. Fire management, control of exotics, and restoration of disturbed areas are management concerns. The temperate and subtropical plants within CANA are sensitive to climatic changes; its coastal location and low elevation makes it vulnerable to sea level rise.
ABSTRACT Exyra ridingsii is a host-specific moth that spends its entire immature life cycle in the Sarracenia flava L. pitcher plant. Sarracenia flava requires a habitat that undergoes frequent fires and has acidic moist soil. During this investigation we studied the degree to which E. ridingsii damaged S. flava under different environmental conditions. From summer 2012 to fall 2013, five sites in the Croatan National Forest, North Carolina, were surveyed four times each year. At each site, 7 to 20 quadrats were randomly selected for sampling. In each quadrat, pitchers were counted and measured for height and whether the pitchers were affected by herbivory; the fraction affected was calculated (herbivory per clump). Median herbivory per clump at the burned sites ranged from 86– 100%. All other sites ranged from 50–75% with the exception of the unburned pocosin site, which was the lowest at 32%. Herbivory per clump was found to differ by site, but because sites varied in environmental characteristics other than burn status, other factors playing a role in habitat status cannot be ruled out. Tallest median trumpet heights were found at the unburned sites. During this study, E. ridingsii repopulated S. flava pitchers in the burned sites less than two months after fire, suggesting that they persist as a metapopulation.