Search

Documented presently as growing wild within, and immediately adjacent to, the Naples Botanical Garden (Collier Co., Florida) are individuals of 115 families, 351 genera, 576 species, and 587 infrageneric taxa of vascular plants. Of the 587 infrageneric taxa documented presently, 414 (70.6%) are clearly native and 13 (2.2%) are endemic to Florida. Herein, seven main kinds of habitats are recognized for the study area, and individual taxa inhabit one or more of those habitats. Seventeen presently reported infrageneric taxa are listed as Endangered (nine taxa) or Threatened (eight taxa) in Florida, and seven are listed as Critically Imperiled in South Florida. Based on the present study and on previous field work undertaken at the study site, 32 species plus two varieties are newly reported for Collier County. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siempre Verde Reserve is located in Imbabura Province, Ecuador, in the northwestern Andes within the "Chocó-Andean Corridor" and occupies an area of 504 ha, ranging in elevation from about 2300 to 3500 m. It is privately owned by the Lovett School, originally purchased in 1992 to construct a research center and to protect one of the few remaining tracts of undisturbed cloud forest in the region. It was legally established as a "bosque protector" by the Ecuadorian government in 1994. A study was initiated in April, 2016, to inventory the flora and assess the conservation value of the site by collecting botanical specimens and by evaluating prior and on-going studies on the flora and fauna of the site. The resulting study documents 408 taxa of vascular plants, including 42 pteridophytes, 1 gymnosperm, and 365 angiosperms. Of the angiosperms, 47 are Monocots, 24 are Magnoliids and Chloranthales, and 294 are Eudicots. Included in the list are 40 taxa endemic to Ecuador and 97 taxa on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Previous and on-going studies indicate a high diversity of orchids, epiphytes, and a rich fauna, including many plant-animal associations involving bats, birds, and insects. Some of Ecuador's most charismatic and threatened animals are known from Siempre Verde, including the spectacled bear, the puma, the olinguito, and at least nine species of bats. Much of the lower elevations along the river and around the building sites have been highly disturbed, but the higher elevations are still occupied by mature forest, with "elfin" forest at the higher sites. In comparisons with the tree and shrub species of other selected cloud forest studies in the region it was found that Siempre Verde shares 41% to 68% of the genera and 14% to 28% of the species for the lower montane zone, and 73% to 87% of the genera and 22% to 42% of the species for the upper montane zone. Notably, there are 30 genera and 144 species at Siempre Verde not found at any other of the 14 sites selected. Several non-native plant species were found, but none were particularly invasive. These results suggest that a rich flora exists at Siempre Verde, and that the Reserve harbors a unique combination of species unlike other similar cloud forest sites, providing evidence of the high conservation value of the site. Already a part of Ecuador's private forest reserve system, Siempre Verde Reserve is located in a region facing increasing threats from mining activities and climate change, and like other cloud forest sites in the region, faces a precarious future. This study summarizes the biological richness at the site, highlights the uniqueness of the Siempre Verde Reserve, and provides an important tool for decision-making and conservation policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Castner Range National Monument encompasses 2.70 x 107 m² of land in the northeast section of the Franklin Mountains adjacent to El Paso, Texas to the east and surrounded by Franklin Mountains State Park. The vegetation of this area has remained mostly undisturbed, outside of its role as a military weapons firing range from 1926 to 1966. A checklist of the plant species present in the area has not previously been published. In order to provide a comprehensive vascular plant list of the Castner Range National Monument, we compiled records of historical plant specimens of the UTEP Herbarium and other digitized records from SEINet and GBIF databases for georeferencing. Using QGIS, a map of vascular plant specimens found within the boundary of the Castner Range was constructed, which included 1,637 records. This data was supplemented with verified observational data from iNaturalist. From these records, we constructed a vascular plant checklist. A total of 82 families, 293 genera, and 470 species (and subspecies or varieties) of vascular plants were identified to occur in the boundaries of Castner Range National Monument. Two species, Escobaria sneedii and Sicyos glaber, have global vulnerable status (G3), and several collections in the Castner Range and Franklin Mountains represent the only records in Texas. This checklist can be applied to future studies and the high level of diversity helps justify preservation efforts regarding this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of ongoing work on the Flora of the Southeastern United States (Weakley & Southeastern Flora Team 2022a) and related projects, as well as for general floristic, conservation, and scientific work in eastern North America, it is essential to document taxonomic and nomenclatural changes and significant distribution records. Here we describe three new species (in Rhynchospora, Sabulina, and Solidago), describe a new section (in Trichostema), make new combinations to treat taxa at appropriate ranks in appropriate genera and with appropriate nomenclatural application based on types (in Lycopodioides, Moeroris, Morella, Nellica, Tamala, and Trichostema), and propose the lumping of two species, resulting in a change in name and nativity status (in Sisyrinchium). These new combinations (rank changes, or generic transfers to apply newly accepted generic concepts to taxa that do not have corresponding available names at the appropriate rank) are needed to accurately reflect current taxonomic understanding of the regional flora. In the course of doing so, we discuss and address various nomenclatural issues, including typifications, and clarify characters and identification of difficult groups (providing new keys) in the regional flora. We also report significant new distribution and naturalization records in many genera, in New Jersey (taxa in the genera Anthriscus, Calibrachoa, Chaenomeles, Dichanthelium, Diplotaxis, Ditrichia, Dysphania, Erigeron, Eucommia, Eupatorium, Lepidium, Malus, Montia, Nepeta, Persicaria, Picea, Psammophiliella, Pulmonaria, Quercus, Silphium, Verbascum, Verbena, Vicia), in the Coastal Plain of Alabama and Mississippi (taxa in the genera Baptisia, Clematis, Coreopsis, Galium, Matelea, Mirabilis, Poterium, Rhynchospora, Silphium, and Symphyotrichum), in southern Indiana (taxa in the genera Andropogon, Brunnichia, Echinacea, Landoltia, Montia, Persicaria, and Solidago), and in North Carolina, Virginia, and likely other states (Euphorbia). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of ongoing efforts to understand, document, and conserve the flora of the southeastern United States, we make new combinations to accord with our generic taxonomy, name a new hybrid, re-recognize a species relegated to synonymy in recent decades, lectotypify and generally clarify nomenclatural issues in several genera, clarify taxonomy and distributions of species, and report important new and current distribution records. In Doellingeria (Asteraceae), we clarify the taxonomy and distribution of D. sericocarpoides and D. umbellata in the region. In Trilisa, we summarize and clarify the taxonomy of the genus Trilisa (Asteraceae), name a new hybrid in the genus, and present a new key to the taxa in the genus. Species delimitation in Stillingia (Euphorbiaceae) has been controversial and unsettled in the region, and we examine the confused taxonomy and nomenclature of the genus Stillingia (Euphorbiaceae) in the southeastern United States, re-recognizing a species used by J.K. Small, but with an expanded circumscription and a clarification of various nomenclatural issues. We examine typification of Desmodium dillenii (Fabaceae) and its application to our modern understanding of the circumscription of taxa, recommending it be considered a junior synonym of Desmodium glabellum. In Juncus, we assign a lectotype for Juncus anthelatus, clarifying its application. In Primulaceae, we discuss the delineation of genera in Lysimachieae, and take a middle path regarding lumping/splitting, supporting the recognition of traditional and monophyletic segregates Trientalis, Steironema, Anagallis, Centunculus, while treating Lysimachia in a moderately broad sense, including Glaux and multiple subclades; in order to implement this taxonomy in the southeastern United states, we make a single new combination in Steironema. We also discuss generic circumscription in Selaginellaceae, and argue for the recognition at genus rank of six major clades, monophyletic, ancient, and morphologically recognizable; in order to apply this taxonomy in the southeastern United States, we make five new combinations in Bryodesma, Gymnogynum, and Stachygynandrum. Finally, we report important new records of locally, regionally, or globally rare species in North Carolina: Helanthium tenellum, Chenopodium berlandieri var. macrocalycium, Carex barrattii, Carex vestita, Eleocharis compressa var. compressa, Rhynchospora compressa, Rhynchospora sulcata, and Croton willdenowii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dichanthelium caerulescens is documented for the first time in Louisiana, as the result of floristic fieldwork performed in 2019 through 2021. Louisiana records extend the range of D. caerulescens westward by approximately 265 mi (426.5 km) into the Western Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion. These findings also identify a new habitat, coastal prairie, utilized by D. caerulescens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The families Aizoaceae and Molluginaceae are distributed in tropical and subtropical areas around the world. In Mexico, these families have been studied for Aguascalientes, Guerrero, Veracruz, the Bajío region, Mexico Valley, and Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley. This work aimed to develop morphological descriptions and dichotomous keys for the taxa of the families Aizoaceae and Molluginaceae present in the state of Sonora. The material collected in the state of Sonora and deposited in the University of Sonora herbarium and the Mexico National Herbarium was reviewed, and the identity of the specimens was corroborated using specialized bibliography. In addition, the specimens deposited in the Herbarium of the Arizona State University Vascular Plant Herbarium, University of Arizona Herbarium, and Desert Botanical Garden were consulted online via Red de Herbarios del Noroeste de México. In Sonora, the family Aizoaceae is represented by three genera and five species, while the family Molluginaceae is represented by three genera and three species, mostly distributed in the Sonoran biogeographic province, in sandy soils. All the taxa of Aizoaceae present in the state are part of the flora of beaches and coastal dunes, and the three genera on the family Molluginaceae reported to the country are also found in Sonora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1967 Donald Pinkava began botanical exploration of the then little-studied Bolsón de Cuatro Ciénegas in the east-central portion of the Chihuahuan Desert. This closed (i.e., internally drained) basin contains an unusual assemblage of biotic communities in a relatively small region. Following 10 years of field studies, between 1979 and 1984 Pinkava published catalogs of the vascular flora of his 2,000 km2 study area, and documented 860 species in 456 genera from 114 families. He also recognized and summarized eight "vegetation zones" in the study area: aquatic and semiaquatic habitats, gypsum dunes, basin sacaton grasslands, a transition zone, desertscrub, chaparral, oak-pine and oak woodlands, and montane conifer forests. Some updates and discussions are offered relative to both the flora and vegetation of the basin area. The botanical richness of this region is illustrated by Acanthaceae. A key to and synopsis of the 13 species in six genera of that family occurring there are provided. Lists comparing Acanthaceae in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts are also appended. Pinkava's pioneering botanical inventory in and around the Bolsón de Cuatro Ciénegas was both timely and has had a significant impact on subsequent efforts to preserve this precious natural resource of international significance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Southwest Mississippi is a poorly studied, but biologically diverse region, encompassing the broad transition from the East Gulf Coastal Plain longleaf pine-bluestem ecosystem to the rich hardwood forests of the Loess bluffs and hills. A floristic inventory of an approximately 694.7-hectare privately owned natural area in Lincoln County was conducted. The Fair River Farm is situated in a region of highly dissected terrain around the Little Fair River and Kees Creek, near the transition between two major level III ecoregions, and the boundary between the Pearl River and lower Mississippi River drainage basins. 744 vascular plant taxa and 72 bryophytes were documented. 495 taxa are new to Lincoln County, and 3 are new to the state of Mississippi; 27 species are designated special concern by the Mississippi Natural Heritage Program, 13 are on the watch list and 14 are on the tracking list. Photographic records available on iNaturalist are used for some species as an alternative to physical vouchers. Plant communities present on the tract are discussed and briefly and qualitatively compared to General Land Office records, original county soil surveys, and historic descriptions of the region, with emphasis on the distribution of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.), now very rare on the tract. The number of county records highlights the need for more survey work and potentially underreported biological diversity and conservation value of the southwest region of Mississippi and other poorly collected areas of the Southeastern U.S.; this inventory may inform land management decisions on the tract and elsewhere in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP) ecoregion in eastern Arkansas has had >90% of its land area converted to agriculture and has historically been under-collected floristically, including the ecologically unique site, Pine City Natural Area (PCNA). Actively managed by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission, PCNA contains diverse loblolly pine-post oak flatwoods and some of the last known saline barrens in the MAP. Our inventory of the vascular flora in and around PCNA resulted in the documentation of 113 families, 308 genera, and 576 taxa (including infraspecific taxa); 482 (83.7%) are native, 9 (1.6%) are of state conservation concern, and 184 (31.9%) represent county records. The total taxa known for Monroe County, Arkansas, increased from 583 to 767. The most taxa-rich families included Poaceae (92 taxa), Asteraceae (65), Cyperaceae (48), and Fabaceae (42). In the surrounding ten-county region, 27 taxa (4.7%) documented at PCNA had not been vouchered, and 196 taxa (34.0%) are known from half or fewer surrounding MAP counties. We examined families in need of additional exploration in the MAP to better understand county-level floristic richness. The richest graminoid families, the Poaceae, Cyperaceae, and Juncaceae, are apparently the most understudied in the MAP, based on low relative numbers of herbarium specimens. The richness in the PCNA flora, in comparison to the broader MAP, demonstrates the need for continued floristic inventory in eastern Arkansas to locate areas of high conservation value in need of protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A descriptive survey of the vascular flora and plant habitats of Brush Creek Island, a 6.7-ha Ohio River island in Lewis County, Kentucky, was conducted during 1995–1996 and 2012. Brush Creek Island (BC), one of three Ohio River islands politically a part of Kentucky, is currently under private ownership and projected as a future part of the Ohio River Islands National Wildlife Refuge. Two major habitats in 2012 were Vegetated Unconsolidated Shoreline and Bottomland Hardwood Forest, a final sere of Late Old Field and Immature Bottomland Hardwood Forest. Two additional 1996 habitats, a seasonal Riverine Emergent Wetland and Late Old Field, were altered through fluvial action and secondary succession processes by 2012. An annotated list consists of 330 species in 220 genera from 82 families. Taxa are composed of one Monilophyte, four Magnoliids, 76 Monocots, and 249 Eudicots. Ninety-three taxa (28.2%) are non-native adventive or naturalized species. Forty-eight taxa (54%) are classified as Kentucky invasive plants. A total of 189 species (57.3%) are hydrophytes. Ninety-five native or non-native taxa (28.8%) are Lewis County distribution records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to collect and document the vascular plant species at the 2104-hectare J. N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida. Vascular plant species were collected at two-month intervals from May 2014 to October 2017 during which we identified 319 species in 251 genera in 93 families. The Poaceae (41 spp.), Fabaceae (30 spp.), and Asteraceae (33 spp.) were the largest families. The most species rich genera were Euphorbia (8 spp.), Cyperus, Tillandsia (7 spp.), and Ipomoea (6 spp.). Eighty species, 25 percent of the flora, were non-native. One rare species occurred at the study site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sanibel Island (Lee Co., Florida) manifests eight main categories and 12 subcategories of habitats, and individual plant taxa occupy habitat(s) from one or more of those categories. Documented, presently as growing wild/apparently wild on Sanibel Island are individuals of 119 families, 397 genera, 611 species (including two hybrids), and 621 infrageneric taxa of vascular plants. Of the 621 infrageneric taxa, 420 (67.6%) are native and 13 (2.1%) are endemic to Florida. We interpret the Island’s flora in terms of its history of severe natural and artificial disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of ongoing efforts to understand, document, and conserve the flora of southeastern North America, we propose two new species, the recognition of a usually synonymized variety, the acceptance of two species of Waltheria as being present in peninsular Florida, taxonomic acceptance of a sometimes deprecated species transferred with a new name into a different genus, and we clarify the distribution and ecology of a species. In Carex (Cyperaceae), we re-analyze infrataxa in Carex intumescens and recommend the recognition of two varieties, a taxonomic schema first proposed in 1893, but usually not followed in the 128 years since. In Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae), a careful assessment of south Florida material of Euphorbia subg. Chamaesyce sect. Anisophyllum subsect. Hypericifoliae reveals the need for taxonomic changes to best classify endemic representatives of this group, resulting in the naming of a new species, and a new name at species rank in Euphorbia for a taxon first named in Chamaesyce and sometimes subsequently treated at only varietal rank in Euphorbia. Chamaecrista deeringiana (Fabaceae, subfamily Caesalpinioideae) has been repeatedly misinterpreted to include two different and disjunct population systems with differing morphologies and habitats, which are here interpreted as separate species, one newly named and the other Chamaecrista deeringiana returned to its original and narrower interpretation as a south Florida endemic. Waltheria (Malvaceae) has sometimes been interpreted as being represented in Florida by a single taxon, Waltheria indica, but we disentangle the concepts of the widespread W. indica and the West Indian W. bahamensis and clarify that both are present in the southeastern United States. We reconsider the occurrence and habitat of Toxicoscordion nuttallii (Melanthiaceae) in three states in which it has been reported as a rare species, Mississippi, Missouri, and Louisiana, and remove it from the Mississippi flora as a garbled and false report. In Louisiana, its occurrence in calcareous prairie complexes limits its potential occurrence in the state to a specialized and rare habitat, but careful exploration of habitat remnants may result in the discovery of additional populations. Taxonomic studies and re-assessments of this kind are critical in laying the best scientific foundation for regulatory, policy, and land conservation decisions. This paper names or makes the case for the renewed acceptance of six species with range-wide conservation concern: one Critically Imperiled (G1 – Euphorbia ogdenii), one Imperiled (G2 – E. hammeri), and four Vulnerable (G3 – E. garberi, E. porteriana, Chamaecrista deeringiana, C. horizontalis). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris Mill.) ecosystems exhibit high species diversity and are major contributors to the extraordinary levels of regional biodiversity and endemism found in the North American Coastal Plain Province. These forests require frequent fire return intervals (every 2-3 years) to maintain this rich diversity. In 2009, a floristic inventory was conducted at the Lake Thoreau Environmental Center owned by the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. The Center is located on 106 ha with approximately half covered by a 100+ year old longleaf pine forest. When the 2009 survey was conducted, fire had been excluded for over 20 years resulting in a dense understory dominated by woody species throughout most of the forest. The 2009 survey recorded 282 vascular plant species. Prescribed fire was reintroduced in 2009 and reapplied again in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2018. A new survey was conducted in 2019 to assess the effects of prescribed fire on floristic diversity. The new survey found an additional 268 species bringing the total number of plants species to 550. This study highlights the changes in species diversity that occurs when fire is reintroduced into a previously fire-suppressed system and the need to monitor sensitive areas for changes in species composition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study documented the vascular flora of Crawford and Cherokee counties in southeastern Kansas. Each county experienced limited collecting in recent decades. A Pittsburg State University (PSU) student (Earl Sam Gibson) summarized the flora for Crawford County in 1963, but an extensive survey had never been done for Cherokee County. Fieldwork for the present study occurred mostly in 2014 and 2015. Based on approximately 6450 newly collected specimens, vouchers at PSU (including those of Gibson), and taxa documented by Biota of North America (BONAP) (Kartesz 2019), a total of 1420 unique taxa (species, subspecies and varieties) are reported for both counties combined, including 148 families, 591 genera, and 111 non-nominal infraspecific taxa. Of these, 1177 (82.9%) are native and 243 (17.1%) are non-native. A total of 44 state and 233 county records are documented. Included were 15 species of hybrid origin and 22 that are adventive from other parts of North America. Significant among the state records is the first published adventive occurrence of the genus Pinus in Kansas. Cherokee County has 1281 taxa (including 81 county records), whereas Crawford County includes 1139 taxa (and 152 county records). An important finding of our study, along with those of other recent floristic studies, is that vascular plant distributions at the state and county levels in the U.S.A. are less well documented than probably assumed. This is especially true for weedy taxa occurring in highly agricultural and industrial counties, as well as taxa with small, inconspicuous flowers and inflorescences, and counties relatively distant from universities. Undocumented occurrences of such taxa may adversely affect interpretations and distribution patterns of abundance, as for example when modeling plant distributions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Documented presently as growing wild within the Holmes Avenue Tract (Highlands Co., Florida, U.S.A) are individuals of 106 families, 282 genera, 464 species, and 478 infrageneric taxa of vascular plants. Of the 478 infrageneric taxa documented presently, 386 (80.8%) are native and 36 (7.5%) are endemic to Florida. Herein, seven main kinds of habitats are recognized for the study area, and individual taxa inhabit one or more of those habitats. Twenty-four presently reported infrageneric taxa are listed as Endangered (18 taxa) or Threatened (6 taxa) in Florida. Based on Wunderlin et al. (2019), 36 species plus one variety are newly reported for Highlands County. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of ongoing efforts to understand and document the flora of the southeastern United States, we propose a number of taxonomic changes. In Trichostema, we name a new species, narrowly endemic to maritime grasslands in the Carolinas and warranting formal conservation status and action. In Dichanthelium (Poaceae), we continue the reassessment of taxa formerly recognized in Panicum and provide new combinations along with a new key to taxa in the Dichanthelium scabriusculum complex. In Paspalum (Poaceae), we address the controversial taxonomy of P. arundinaceum and P. pleostachyum and treat the two as conspecific, with P. arundinaceum the correct name. In Portulaca (Portulacaceae), we report the discovery of the Bahamian P. minuta as a native component of the North American flora, occurring in southern Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field studies at the Lawther - Deer Park Prairie Preserve, an area of approximately 21 ha (51 acres) of the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes vegetation area, have resulted in a description of the vegetation associations and an annotated checklist of the vascular flora. Six plant community associations occur on the property: (1) the Upper Texas Coast Ingleside Sandy Wet Prairie; (2) Eastern Gamagrass - Switchgrass - Yellow Indiangrass Herbaceous Vegetation; (3) Gulf Cordgrass Herbaceous Vegetation; (4) Texas Gulf Coast Live Oak - Sugarberry Forest; (5) Little Bluestem - Slender Bluestem - Big Bluestem Herbaceous Vegetation, and (6) Natural Depressional Ponds. The checklist includes 407 species belonging to 247 genera and 86 families. Forty-six species are non-native. The best-represented families (with species number following) are Poaceae (84), Asteraceae (68), Cyperaceae (33), and Fabaceae (19). West Gulf Coastal Plain (eastern Texas and western Louisiana) endemics include Helenium drummondii, Liatris acidota, Oenothera lindheimeri, and Rudbeckia texana. One Texas endemic, Chloris texensis, a Species of Greater Conservation Need, is present. Other noteworthy species are Andropogon capillipes, Digitaria texana, and Platanthera nivea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vascular plant species of Native American clam shell middens were sampled during the 2009-2013 growing seasons. The 15 middens selected in this study include Sewee midden north of Charleston, 6 at Hobcaw Barony in North Inlet-Winyah Bay Natural Research Preserve in North Inlet, and a cluster of 8 middens at Murrells Inlet, South Carolina. The vascular flora consists of 129 species within 114 genera in 48 families. The Poaceae (30 species), Asteraceae (12 species), and Fabaceae (12 species) are the largest families. Sporobolus (5 species) and Cyperus (3 species) are the largest genera in the flora. Species diversity was highest at the Sewee midden, and at the large Allston House midden on private property at Murrells Inlet. All middens in this study border on, or are islands within, salt marshes. Soil salinity and tidal flooding influence the distribution of salt marsh vascular plant species at South Carolina tidal marsh clam shell middens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Documented presently as growing wild within Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (Collier Co. and Lee Co., Florida, U.S.A) are individuals of 126 families, 401 genera, 756 species, and 773 infrageneric taxa of vascular plants. Those data, combined with records from previous workers, yield a total of 770 species and 787 infrageneric taxa documented for the Sanctuary. Of the 773 infrageneric taxa documented presently, 611 (79.0%) are native to Florida. Herein, seven main kinds of habitats are recognized for the study area, and individual taxa inhabit one or more of those habitats. Twenty-nine presently reported infrageneric taxa are listed as Endangered (16 taxa) or Threatened in Florida (13 taxa). For South Florida, 36 infrageneric taxa listed as Extirpated (3 taxa), as Historical (5 taxa), or as Critically Imperiled (28 taxa) were documented during this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of ongoing efforts to understand and document the flora of the southeastern United States, a number of taxonomic changes at generic, specific, and infraspecific rank are made. We also discuss and clarify the recommended taxonomy for other taxa (not requiring nomenclatural acts) and present a point of view about the practical and philosophic basis for making taxonomic changes in an allegedly well-understood flora. The genera (and families) affected are Endodeca (Aristolochiaceae), Erigeron, Pityopsis, and Solidago (Asteraceae), Tillandsia (Bromeliaceae), Carex (Cyperaceae), Baptisia and Indigofera (Fabaceae), Salvia and Scutellaria (Lamiaceae), Stenanthium (Melanthiaceae), Epidendrum (Orchidaceae), and Andropogon, Coleataenia, Dichanthelium, Digitaria, and Panicum (Poaceae). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Nature Conservancy Davis Mountains Preserve (DMP) is located 24.9 mi (40 km) northwest of Fort Davis, Texas, in the northeastern region of the Chihuahuan Desert and consists of some of the most complex topography of the Davis Mountains, including their summit, Mount Livermore, at 8378 ft (2554 m). The cool, temperate, "sky island" ecosystem caters to the requirements that are needed to accommodate a wide range of unique diversity, endemism, and vegetation patterns, including desert grasslands and montane savannahs. The current study began in May of 2011 and aimed to catalogue the entire vascular flora of the 18,360 acres of Nature Conservancy property south of Highway 118 and directly surrounding Mount Livermore. Previous botanical investigations are presented, as well as biogeographic relationships of the flora. The numbers from herbaria searches and from the recent field collections combine to a total of 2,153 voucher specimens, representing 483 species and infraspecies, 288 genera, and 87 families. The best-represented families are Asteraceae (89 species, 18.4% of the total flora), Poaceae (76 species, 15.7% of the total flora), and Fabaceae (21 species, 4.3% of the total flora). The current study represents a 25.44% increase in vouchered specimens and a 9.7% increase in known species from the study area's 18,360 acres and describes four endemic and fourteen non-native species (four invasive) on the property. The subsequent analysis of the results, compared to those of previous regional-flora catalogues, presents the flora of the DMP as one that is unique to the higher elevations and igneous substrates of western Texas and the northern Chihuahuan Desert. Multiple influences from overlapping and neighboring ecoregions, including the Great Plains, Madrean, and Sonoran provinces, are all seen to have varying degrees of authority in regards to the shaping of the modern-day vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the purpose of comparing the structure of vascular cylinders, and procambial and cambial variants of Serjania Miller and Urvillea Kunth species, we studied the stems of five species, in order to add to the structural knowledge of these genera belonging to the widely distributed Sapindaceae family. Stems of sampled species were collected at "Estação Ecológica do Caiuá," Diamante do Norte (PR), Brazil; and were analyzed using traditional anatomical techniques. We analyzed five species of two genera from the Paullinieae tribe: three species of Serjania (S. communis, S. fuscifolia, and S. meridionalis) and two of Urvillea (U. leavis and U. ulmacea); in which we describe the primary and secondary growths, the number of peripheral cylinders, the type of cylinders concerning its origin, the type of stem, and the origin of the cambial or tissue variant. Serjania stems exhibit the compound and corded types, while the cleft and mixed (cleft/corded) types have been recorded in Urvillea species. All species have peripheral vascular cylinders in which the stems of S. communis and S. fuscifolia form the procambial and cambial variants during primary growth, whereas the stems of S. meridionalis, U. leavis, and U. ulmacea develop the cambial variants during secondary growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of ongoing efforts to understand and document the flora of the southeastern United States, a number of taxonomic changes at generic, specific, and infraspecific rank are made. We also discuss and clarify the recommended taxonomy for other taxa (not requiring nomenclatural acts) and present a point of view about the practical and philosophic basis for making taxonomic changes in an allegedly well-understood flora. The genera (and families) affected are Allium (Alliaceae), Erigeron, Liatris, and Trilisa (Asteraceae), Calycanthus (Calycanthaceae), Gaylussacia (Ericaceae), Dalea and Mimosa (Fabaceae), Hydrophyllum (Hydrophyllaceae), Didymoglossum (Hymenophyllaceae), Monarda (Lamiaceae), Kosteletzkya and Sida (Malvaceae), Narthecium (Nartheciaceae), Agalinis, Melampyrum, and Orobanche/Aphyllon/Myzorrhiza (Orobanchaceae), Dichanthelium and Elymus (Poaceae), Clematis (Ranunculaceae), and Maianthemum (Ruscaceae). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vascular plant diversity of the volcanic South San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado (Archuleta and Conejos counties) was inventoried through collection of 1151 voucher specimens during portions of the summers of 2013, 2014 and 2016. A total of 744 species in 84 families were documented in the region across these and historical collections, indicating that nearly one-third of the Colorado flora can be found in these mountains. The most speciose plant families of the study area are the Asteraceae, Poaceae, and Cyperaceae, as is typical of temperate northern hemisphere climates. The most dominant floristic component of the area comprises species with a Western North American distribution, though circumboreal, widespread North American, and Southern Rocky Mountains endemic species also comprise large portions of the flora. The South San Juan Wilderness itself harbors a nearly pristine pre-Columbian flora, though wilderness boundaries currently exclude 170 native species living in the South San Juan Mountains. Ninety-five collections are novel to the study area, and 39 of these represent new county vouchers for either Archuleta or Conejos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Costa Rican vascular flora is well known and studied, but there are gaps of floristic knowledge in some areas and ecosystems that are poorly explored. The Costa Rican savannas, cover a small geographic extent and are almost unexplored floristically. The Sabanas Miravalles are located in the western flank of the Volcán Miravalles in the Cordillera de Guanacaste. As a result of a broad floristic inventory of this site, four species have been documented as new records for the Costa Rican vascular flora: Eriocaulon fuliginosum, Polygala pseudocoelosioides, Trimezia martinicensis, and Utricularia subulata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Botanist Cyrus G. Pringle collected plants in the western United States and northwestern Mexico between 1881 and 1884, and distributed his specimens as 'Flora of the Pacific Slope'. The majority of the vascular plant type collections resulting from that work have been discussed elsewhere. This note addresses type status for five additional names that were previously overlooked in Pringle's catalogue for Arizona and California. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wolfgang Wolf (1872-1950) was a German-born Benedictine monk and self-taught botanist who lived and worked at the St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama, U.S.A. Wolf studied and documented the plant life of the north central region of the state, amassed a personal herbarium of thousands of sheets and became particularly expert in the genera Talinum and Erythronium. A brief biography of Wolf is presented, highlighting his little-known correspondences between many prominent botanists during the first half of the twentieth century. Typification of the nine names he published then follows, including the designation of four type specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two innovations in the nomenclature of Mexican Malvaceae are proposed. First, Ayenia sidifolia is reestablished as the correct name for the species currently known as A. mexicana: this latter name was incorrectly proposed as a replacement name in Ayenia for Cybiostigma sidifolium. Second, the monotypic genus Veeresia endemic to Mexico is placed in synonymy under the Asian genus Reevesia, and the new combination Reevesia clarkii is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Garden Key, the site of Fort Jefferson, is an island that comprises 14.9 acres (6.44 hectares). Garden Key is located at 24.62° N latitude, 82.87° W longitude and is approximately 109 km west of Key West, Florida. This study was undertaken to prepare a complete inventory of the vascular flora of Fort Jefferson and Garden Key, including the taxa collected by previous investigators and those identified in the present study. The flora includes 144 species within 118 genera and 46 families. In numbers of species, the largest families in the flora are the Poaceae (27), Fabaceae (17) and Euphorbiaceae (10). The largest genera are Euphorbia (8), Cenchrus (4), and Sida (4). Five genera are represented by three species. Sixty-one non-native taxa composed 42% of the flora. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A descriptive vascular plant survey was conducted during the 2010-2015 growing seasons at Wickliffe Mounds State Historic Site (WMSHS), an 8.9-ha archaeological area at Wickliffe in southwestern Ballard County, Kentucky. WMSHS is the site of a Native American village and mound center from the Mississippian culture or Mississippian period circa A.D. 1000-1350. It is located on a loess bluff at the terminus of the Loess Bluff Hills of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain overlooking the Mississippi River near the confluence with the Ohio River. In 2004, Wickliffe Mounds, a Kentucky Archaeological Landmark, was incorporated as WMSHS by the Kentucky Department of Parks. Vascular plants were comprised of 342 species (258 herbaceous, 84 woody), 232 genera, and 94 families from four plant communities. A total of 121 non-native taxa (35.38%) were documented. Taxonomic distribution was Monilophytes (5), Acrogymnosperms (4), Magnoliids (5), Monocots (68), and Eudicots (260). A total of 173 species (50.58%) were Ballard County distribution records. Five rare taxa documented were Aesculus pavia, Phacelia ranunculacea, Ranunculus harveyi, Symphyotrichum divaricatum, and Trepocarpus aethusae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vascular plant survey of Enchanted Rock State Natural Area, Gillespie and Llano counties, Texas, was conducted from 1984 through 1994 and 2014 through 2015. The property sits near the southern border of the Llano Uplift, a primarily granite region. A total of 450 additional taxa were documented during the course of this study, bringing the total for the park to 948 taxa. Poaceae and Asteraceae were the most frequently encountered families with 137 and 113 total taxa, respectively. Cyperus (24 taxa), Juncus (17 taxa), Euphorbia (16 taxa), Eleocharis (13 taxa), and Eragrostis (13 taxa) were the most frequent genera. Twenty-eight taxa are considered rare at the state or global level, including 22 state-tracked taxa. Non-native taxa comprise 12.4% of the total flora with 118 taxa, 88 of which are new additions during the course of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Documented presently as growing wild within Collier-Seminole State Park and immediately adjacent lands (Collier Co., Florida, U.S.A.) are individuals of 141 families, 399 genera, 677 species, two hybrids, and 690 infrageneric taxa of vascular plants. Those data, combined with records from previous workers, yield a total of 701 species and 714 infrageneric taxa documented for the study area. Of the 690 infrageneric taxa documented presently, 564 (81.7%) are native to Florida. Herein, eight main kinds of habitats are recognized for the study area, and individual taxa inhabit one or more of these habitats. Thirty-three presently reported infrageneric taxa are listed as Endangered (14 taxa) or Threatened in Florida (19 taxa). For South Florida, 14 infrageneric taxa listed as Critically Imperiled, and three infrageneric taxa listed as Historical were documented during this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eighty-five taxa have been added to the flora of Florida since the last edition of the Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida. This report summarizes details of their occurrences in Florida. To our knowledge, 62 are reported here for the first time for the native and naturalized flora of Florida. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Euphorbia cryptorubra sp. nov. is described here as a new species. It is a glabrous annual belonging to subgenus Chamaesyce Raf. section Anisophyllum Roeper. It is currently known from two locations, one southeast of the Quitman Mountains, Texas, U.S.A. and the other near Ojinaga, Chihuahua, Mexico. Specimens of the new species are most similar to those of E. theriaca L.C. Wheeler, E. simulans (L.C. Wheeler) Warnock & M.C. Johnst., and E. golondrina L.C. Wheeler due to their similarities in habit, vestiture, leaf margins, stipules, styles, and some general seed characters but can be differentiated by leaf shape and specific seed characters. Specimens of E. cryptorubra key to E. golondrina in Manual of the Vascular Plants of Texas, but differ in their smoother seed coats, shorter, mostly oblong-oval leaf blades, habitat, and distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An examination of previously unaccessioned and overlooked specimens has added 16 species to the vascular flora of the 3800 ha Rocky Fork Tract in northeastern Tennessee. One species was deleted because of a prior misidentification for a net gain of 15 species and a total of 764 species. One species, Solidago lancifolia (Torr. ex A. Gray) Chapm., is listed as Endangered in Tennessee. All additions except two, represent county records. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Follets Island Conservation Initiative is a 179 ha parcel on Follets Island in Brazoria County, Texas. Field work from May 2013 through May 2015 produced a checklist of 130 species of vascular plants representing 41 families and 105 genera from a flora that is 98% native (species) and a protected refuge for fourteen species of conservation interest. The Follets Island site is representative of a strand prairie, a term used to describe the Gulf-shoreline extent of coastal prairie in southeast Texas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A vascular plant reconnaissance was conducted at the Hancock Biological Station (HBS) of Murray State University during the summers of 2012-2015. The HBS a 37.5-ha tract of mainly upland oak-hickory forest, is located 23 km from Murray, Kentucky, in northeastern Calloway County within the Jackson Purchase Region. In 2007, a floristic study of HBS reported 573 specific and infraspecific taxa in 334 genera from 121 families. Twenty-one additional taxa (12 native, 9 non-native) have been documented from incidental collections. Thirteen taxa were new Calloway County distribution records including five Kentucky-listed invasive species. Ulmus alata was also documented as a new host tree for Phoradendron leucarpum ssp. leucarpum in Calloway County. The documented native and exotic f lora of HBS presently consists of 594 taxa, 345 genera, and 126 families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field studies at the Candy Abshier Wildlife Management Area, an area of approximately 83 ha (207 acres) of the Gulf Coast Prairies and Marshes vegetation area, have resulted in a description of the vegetation associations and an annotated checklist of the vascular flora. The following four associations occur on the property: (1) the newly described Upper Texas Coast Ingleside Sandy Wet Prairie; (2) Gulf Cordgrass Herbaceous Vegetation; (3) Texas Gulf Coast Live Oak - Sugarberry Forest; and (4) natural depressional ponds. A total of 363 species belonging to 220 genera and 84 families were recorded. A total of 24 exotic plant species were recorded. The families with the largest number of species were Poaceae (63), Cyperaceae (48), Asteraceae (43), Fabaceae (14), and Juncaceae (12). Rhynchospora chapmanii and Euthamia caroliniana were recorded as new to the Texas flora. Three Texas endemic plants were present: Thurovia triflora, Liatris bracteata, and Tradescantia subacaulis, the former two being tracked as rare plants. Other noteworthy species included Andropogon capillipes, Asclepias longifolia, Juncus elliottii, Ludwigia hirtella, Pinguicula pumila, Rhynchospora latifolia, Rhynchospora plumosa, Sabatia gentianoides, and Xyris stricta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field detection of changes in occurrence, distribution, or abundance of alpine plant species is predicated on knowledge of which species are in specific locations. The alpine zone of the Southern Rocky Mountain Region has been systematically inventoried by the staff and floristics graduate students from the Rocky Mountain Herbarium over the last 27 years. It is centered on the mountain ranges of Colorado and extends north to the Medicine Bow Mountains in southeast Wyoming and south into the Sangre de Cristo Range in north central New Mexico. It also includes the La Sal Mountains of Utah and the San Francisco Peaks in northern Arizona. The alpine meadow and treeline ecotone flora of the Southern Rocky Mountains includes 609 unique taxa of vascular plants comprising 581 species. The richest families are Asteraceae (104 species), Poaceae (58 species), Cyperaceae (57 species), and Brassicaceae (42 species). The central Colorado subregion is the most taxon rich (499) with richness tapering off to the north, southeast, and southwest. Non-endemic alpine zone taxa occur more frequently elsewhere in the Rocky Mountain Cordillera Floristic Region (515) than in the Madrean (373), Circumboreal (226), or North American Atlantic Floristic Regions (120). Levels of endemism within the flora of the alpine zone in the Southern Rocky Mountains range from single mountains (7) to the flora as a whole (59) including 25 taxa endemic to both the Southern Rockies and to its alpine zone. This checklist is based on vouchered specimens and should be most useful to botanists and land managers determining what taxa are likely to occur within their area of interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This represents the second of two papers covering the floristic diversity of North Central New Mexico. It reports on results from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, as well as adjacent lands administered by the State of New Mexico, the Bureau of Land Management, the Picuris and Taos Indian Reservations, and some other private lands. The first paper covered the Jemez and Tusas ranges on the west side of the Rio Grande. For the sake of continuity, the two papers are treated as self-contained companion works. The goal is to enumerate results of the most intensive floristic inventory ever conducted in New Mexico. Here we report on 15,298 numbered collections of vascular plants from an area covering over 1.3 million acres (526,000 ha) (the sum of the entire area covering more than 3.7 million acres (1.5 million ha) is 35,857 new collections). A total of 1226 unique taxa, including 144 infraspecies and 8 hybrids, are documented from 9 8 families. Of these, 129 are exotics (12 are designated as noxious in New Mexico), 18 are species of conservation concern, 23 represent first reports or their confirmation for New Mexico, and finally 12 are endemic to New Mexico. Based on verified material from the University of New Mexico herbarium, 121 additional unique taxa are included in the Annotated Checklist; thus the grand total is 1347. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vascular flora of Fort Moultrie and Fort Sumter, Charleston County, South Carolina, were sampled in 1990, one growing season after Hurricane Hugo, and during the 2 0 0 8 - 1 0 growing seasons. The flora at Fort Moultrie consisted of 303 taxa, while 77 taxa were identified at Fort Sumter. The Asteraceae and Poaceae were the largest families in the flora at both sites. Cyperus (9 taxa at Fort Moultrie, 3 taxa at Fort Sumter) was the largest genus in the flora. The annotated checklist includes the locality and habitat in which each species occurs, the years the taxa were observed, frequency of occurrence, and pertinent synonyms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Galveston Island State Park is located near the center of Galveston Island in Galveston County, Texas, U.S.A. The 789.1 ha park lies within the Western Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion. A floristic survey was conducted from July 2011 through November 2013, and vouchered specimens at TEX collected in the early 70s by R.J. Fleetwood verified, with the goal of assembling an annotated checklist of vascular plants. This resulted in a checklist of 317 species of vascular plants representing 68 families and 221 genera. The largest families were Poaceae (65 spp), Asteraceae (36 spp), Fabaceae (25 spp.), Cyperaceae (24 spp.), and Amaranthaceae (11 spp.). Non-native species account for 16.4% of the total flora. Seven species in six different families are of conservation interest in that they are endemic to the ecoregion. Lists of species characteristic of readily recognizable habitat types are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals of ninety-nine families, 302 genera, 417 species, and 421 infrageneric taxa of vascular plants grow wild in Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammock Botanical State Park and on immediately adjacent lands (Key Largo, Monroe Co., Florida). Three hundred (71.3%) of the 421 infrageneric taxa are native to Florida. Herein, eight main kinds of habitats are recognized within the study area, and individual taxa inhabit one or more of these habitats. Fifty-nine presently reported species are listed as Endangered (38 species) or Threatened in Florida (21 species). For South Florida, one species listed as Extirpated and eight species listed as Critically Imperiled were documented during this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined a tallgrass prairie-wetland complex of the Black Squirrel Creek drainage in south-central Colorado to compare the current grassland composition to its documentation by Robert Livingston in the early 1940s. Livingston considered these grasslands as probable Pleistocene relicts analogous to Midwestern tallgrass prairie with respect to dominant grasses and forbs. Using Livingston's methodology, we assessed an area near his original plots to determine whether the dominant grass species had changed in their contributions to cover or frequency. We found an almost identical suite of species to those documented in the 1940s, with modest differences in frequency and relative contribution to cover by the key grasses. We also characterized wetland habitats occurring within the grassland matrix, documented the vascular flora of mesic and hydric habitats, and analyzed the extent to which they contain species of conservation concern, Midwest prairie elements, or montane species typically occurring regionally at higher elevations. The tallgrass communities here differ from others in Colorado and the Midwest in having a lower abundance of Andropogon gerardii, and being dominated by Sporobolus heterolepis along with xeric species like Bouteloua gracilis and Calamovilfa longifolia, and montane species like Muhlenbergia montana. Although the structure of the extant vegetation remains similar to what existed in the 1940s and continues to be supported by ample groundwater, these grasslands are now reduced in extent. The vegetation mosaic of tallgrass prairie and wetlands holds a rich flora with numerous elements of phytogeographic and conservation interest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A plant collecting excursion by boat on a ca. 50 km stretch of the Red River straddling the Arkansas-Louisiana state line yielded several interesting botanical discoveries. The second record of Loeflingia squarrosa from Arkansas was documented. Collections of Dalea lanata and Heliotropium convolvulaceum were made from both states. These collections extend the ranges of these taxa several hundred river-km downstream on the Red River. Our collections of D. lanata and H. convolvulaceum in Louisiana represent the first records of these species for that state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of the flora and plant endemism of the halophytic communities of the Valle de Janos, Chihuahua, was carried out. Documentation of the flora and endemic species was conducted by collecting plants throughout the area during a two-year period. The vascular plant diversity accounts for 57 families, 198 genera, and 328 taxa including infraspecific categories. Asteraceae (40 genera, 55 species), Poaceae (29, 60), Fabaceae (14, 28), and Euphorbiaceae (6, 22) are the most representative families in genera and species, respectively. Euphorbia (14 species), Dalea (8), Bouteloua (8), and Opuntia (7) are the most diversified genera. Fifteen of the species recorded are restricted to the Chihuahuan Desert; three of them are endemic to the State of Chihuahua, and only one species, Dalea janosensis, is restricted to the Valle de Janos halophytic communities. All species comprise five biological forms, and according to their origin, 96.5% of the genera and 92.1% of the species are authouchtonous; the rest of them are exotic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]