Great Basin Plants part 2

Here are some of the common plants that we would see in Spring Valley. Of course there is a lot of Sagebrush and Greasewood. Some Saltbrush and Winterfat. But the Spiny Hopsage (Grayia spinosa) sure was attractive this time of year with its red bracts.

T
here is quite the diversity of Astragalus species out in the Great Basin. This one was fairly common and widely distributed throughout the area. It was fun to look at the different patterns on the pods. Some where all red, some green, and many in between.


One of the more common native grasses was Elymus elymoides, or Squirreltail. The scientific name always made me wonder. Of course it is an 'elymus-like elymus'.


This Eriogonum (ovalifolium) was one of the more common ones in the valley. It was very short, but the flowering heads were very showy. A rough count of Eriogonum species (Polygonaceae) in Nevada totals 82 species.




This was one of the highly-invasive species in the valley, Halogeton glomeratus or Saltlover. It thrived on disturbance, and would grow along two-tracks and in cattle-trampled areas, forming thick mats. Initially, careful attention had to be paid to tell this from fresh sprouts of Greasewood (Sarcobatus vermiculatus) and from young Tumbleweed (Salsola tragus). Halogeton has a spiny tip to the leaves.

Ozark and Ouachita Highlights

Some of you knew that Justin Thomas, Brad Slaughter, Doug Ladd, and I took a spring botany trip to the Ozarks and Ouachitas in late April 2010, and I'd promised that I would post photos both here and at Through Handlens and Binoculars. Below are some of the highlights from our trip.


Our journey certainly started out on the right foot as we visited Victoria Glade near St. Louis on our way to the Ozarks. The highlight at this location was Clematis fremontii, shown above. The genus name Clematis means "a climbing plant," however this species happens to be the only non-vine member of the genus that occurs in Missouri. This species was named in honor of the 19th century American explorer John Charles Fremont.


At Frog Hollow, a property owned in part by Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission Botanist Theo Witsell, we were delighted to see a couple of Cypripedium kentuckiense plants in bloom. This towering lady's slipper (up to 70 cm tall) dwarfs the other members of the genus that I've seen, and has the largest flower of any Cypripedium. The flowers are cream colored and the end of the "slipper" is blunt in shape.


Amsonia hubrichtii is nearly a Ouachita endemic, know from one Ozark county in Arkansas outside of the Ouachitas. It can be found growing on gravel bars and near creeks and streams. We saw three species of Amsonia on our journeys; this one was observed at Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area.


The identity of the species above, observed at Dry Lost Creek Glade in Bauxite Natural Areas, is still in question. It would key to Phemeranthus rugospermus, but Theo told us that this is a species new to science that is currently being described. There are several plant species that fit this bill in the Ouachitas. As Justin told us, the Ouachitas are geologically more similar to the Appalachians than they are to the Ozarks. It seems that the Ouachitas were once part of the Appalachian range, but the two ranges have since been geographically separated. This geographical and genetic separation has led to speciation occurring in the isolated Ouachitas. There are still many species new to science to be described in this part of the United States.


At Camp Road Shale Barrens, we saw Valerianella longiflora, shown above. The flowers of this cornsalad have a pinkish tinge and, as the Latin name implies, a long corolla tube. A species endemic to Arkansas and Olkahoma, Longtube Cornsalad grows in rocky glades and open woodlands. This was one of four species of Valerianella that we saw on our trip.


One of our target species in the open woodlands surrounding the Shut-in Mountain Fens in Shannon County, Missouri was Nemastylis geminiflora, pictured above. The flowers of this species open before noon and close before sundown. After leaving Shut-in Mountain, we stopped at a roadside glade and found more Prairie Pleatleaf, but the flowers had already closed as dusk was approaching. Nemastylis geminiflora is found in woodlands, prairies, glades, and pastures in the southern United States from Kansas and Texas to Tennessee and Alabama.


Justin and Brad had both seen Trillium pusillum var. ozarkanum before, but this was my first personal experience with this species. We found it near Winona, Missouri, growing more densely in the mowed roadside than in the surrounding forest. Ozark Wakerobin is only known to occur in five states: Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky. As seen in the photo, the flowers of this species are on pedicels, placing it in subgenus Trillium (the sessile-flowered species are placed in subgenus Phyllantherum).


Astragalus crassycarpus var. trichocalyx was one of my target species on the trip, and I wasn't disappointed when we found it. Groundplum Milkvetch is found in the central United States from Illinois to Texas. The first part of the common name refers to the edible fruit that look like plums. This member of the family Fabaceae grows in glades, prairies, and rocky open woods. We found Buffalo Pea, as it is also known, at Spurgeon Hollow in the lower Ozarks of Missouri.


Another Astragalus that was on my trip wish list was Astragalus distortus var. engelmannii, shown above. This diminutive milkvetch grows on limestone and shale glades in Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. We saw this species on shale barrens at Middle Fork Barrens Natural Area.


The genus Lonicera often gets a bad rap, and generally for good reason. With so many non-native and invasive species of honeysuckle choking out our woods, it's easy to despise the entire group of species. However, there are also native and very attractive honeysuckles around, and we saw two of them, both vines, on our trip. Above is Lonicera flava, and below is Lonicera sempervirens, both observed at several of the sites we visited. It amazes me that these species are not more commonly used as native landscaping plants.


We also saw four species of Tradescantia, including the widespread Bluejacket (Tradescantia ohiensis, not shown).


The spiderwort above, Tradescantia longipes, was one of my targets on the trip, and we found it in bloom in dry woods at Spurgeon Hollow. Wild Crocus, as it is known, is endemic to Missouri and Arkansas. Unlike most other members of the genus, the leaves of this Tradescantia are basal.


The spiderwort that we observed most frequently on our excursion was Tradescantia ernestiana, pictured above. Ernest's Spiderwort is known from the southcentral United States, from Texas to Alabama. We found it growing most commonly in wooded situations, often on ledges and bluffs, but occasionally also in open habitats and on roadsides.


Another of my target species on this trip, shown above, was Tradescantia hirsuticaulis, and we found it in bloom at Frog Hollow. The hirsute stem for which it is named is one of the characters used to distinguish Hairystem Spiderwort from similar species. This species grows on glades and in open woods from Oklahoma to South Carolina.

If you're not bored yet and want to see more photos and hear more about our trip, click here and here.

October in Nashville

As most of you know, I was in Nashville, Tennessee in October for the Natural Areas Association annual conference. I showed a few photos from my conference field trip at Botany Slide Show, but I thought you might like to see some of the photos that I didn't show.

Nashville is located in what is known as the Central Basin of Tennessee. While this natural region is now at a lower elevation than the surrounding Highland Rim, before being eroded it was at a higher elevation in the form of a dome. Caves and sinkholes are very common throughout the area.

We first visited a limestone barren. I expected something similar to the dolomite glades of Missouri, but this community was very different. I now understand why these areas are sometimes called "pavement."



One of the plants I was hoping to see on the limestone barrens was the Federally Endangered Dalea foliosa. I've seen this prairie clover on dolomite prairies near Chicago, so I wanted to compare the habitat and associate species. Unfortunately, our guides had not located any Dalea foliosa this year in the places it had been seen in past years. They thought it might have been due to weather conditions. When they showed us the place it had been seen in past years, I was surprised at how shrubby it was. I'm wondering if this rarity hasn't been shaded out at the site we visited.

While we didn't find Dalea foliosa, we did see Dalea gattingeri (but it wasn't flowering). While this species is not Federally or State listed, it is restricted to the limestone barrens of the southeastern US.



Also on the limestone barrens, Theo Witsell and I came across the tiny Scutellaria parvula.... not rare, but often overlooked because of its size.



After the limestone barrens, we visited a couple of cedar glades. As seen in the photo below, the cedar glades have the obvious presence of more grasses and Juniperus virginiana. It's hard to believe, but these communities have apparently not been fire-maintained.



One of the plants we saw in the cedar glades was Grindelia lanceolata. The genus is named for the Latvian botanist David Hieronymus Grindel (how about that for a middle name, Dana and Justin??). This isn't an uncommon plant, but it was one I'd never seen. I'm surprised to see that it's known from Wisconsin, as it seems to have more of a southern distribution overall. It would be interesting to compare the few remaining cedar glades in Wisconsin to those in the southeastern US.



Along a roadside near a cedar glade we saw the State Threatened Silphium pinnatifidum, or S. terebinthinaceum v. pinnatifidum. I'd only read about this gem in the past. It grows in cedar glades in scattered counties within Tennessee (and in a band from Wisconsin to Georgia).



If you've actually read this far, you're in luck. The next two species that we saw in the cedar glades are rare in Tennessee, and one of the two is endangered in the US.

Astragalus tennesseensis is listed as Special Concern in Tennessee, but it's only known from a handful of counties in the state on cedar glades and limestone barrens. Unfortunately, it flowers in the spring, so we were only able to find the remains of some fruit.



Lastly, Echinacea tennesseensis, Federally Endangered; the first species from Tennessee ever to be designated as Federally Endangered. This species is only known from three counties within one watershed in the Central Basin of Tennessee, even though plenty of appropriate habitat is present in other watersheds nearby. Where it is present, it is abundant. At the first cedar glade, we only found it in fruit.



Rain had started to fall pretty steadily by the time we arrived at the next cedar glade. I decided I would leave my camera in the bus, as I assumed we wouldn't find anything else exciting in flower. After a 1/2 mile walk, we arrived in an opening full of Echinacea tennesseensis, and several were still in flower. I took a few photos with my cell phone, but decided it was worth a jog back to the bus in the rain to get my camera. Well worth the exercise...