Tennessee Naturalist Program Forbs, Ferns, Mosses, and More Herbaceous Plants and Fungi of Tennessee Enhanced Study Guide 1/2019 Tennessee Naturalist Program www.tnnaturalist.org Inspiring the desire to learn and share Tennessee’s nature These study guides are designed to reflect and reinforce the Tennessee Naturalist Program’s course curriculum outline, developed and approved by the TNP Board of Directors, for use by TNP instructors to plan and organize classroom discussion and fieldwork components and by students as a meaningful resource to review and enhance class instrucNon. This guide was compiled specifically for the Tennessee Naturalist Program and reviewed by experts in these disciplines. It contains copyrighted work from other authors and publishers, used here by permission. No part of this document may be reproduced or shared without consent of the Tennessee Naturalist Program and appropriate copyright holders. Unless otherwise noted, all photographs are by Margie Hunter. 2 Forbs, Ferns, Mosses, and More Herbaceous Plants and Fungi of Tennessee Objecves -- Examine fungi (mushrooms and lichens) and plants (mostly herbaceous plants, including nonvascular and spore-producing vascular plants). Learn the structure behind taxonomic classificaNon, nomenclature, and organism morphology for family, genus, and species idenNficaNon via dichotomous keys. Understand the mechanisms behind invasive pest species and their ecological disrupNons. Time -- Minimum 4 hours -- 2 classroom, 2 field. Suggested Materials (* recommended but not required, ** TNP flash drive) • Fern Finder, Anne Hallowell and Barbara Hallowell * • Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians, Dennis Horn and Tavia Cathcart * • A Field Guide for the IdenEficaEon of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests, James H. Miller, Erwin B. Chambliss, and Nancy J. Loewenstein (U.S. Forest Service Pub. GTR-SRS-119) ** • “Invasive ExoNc Pest Plants in Tennessee – 2009” (TN-EPPC) ** • “Tennessee’s NaNve Plant AlternaNves to ExoNc Invasives” (TN-EPPC) ** • Forbs, Ferns, Fungi, and More Enhanced Study Guide, TNP ** Expected Outcomes -- Students will gain a basic understanding of 1. fungi and lichens, general ecology and idenNficaNon 2. plant kingdom organizaNon and evoluNonary history 3. classificaNon and nomenclature 4. nonvascular mosses, liverworts, and hornworts, general ecology and idenNficaNon 5. pteridophytes, general ecology and idenNficaNon 6. spermatophytes: gymnosperms, angiosperms, monocots, and dicots 7. flowering plant morphology (flower/foliage) and family characterisNcs 8. dichotomous keys and their use 9. invasive pest species, their characterisNcs, mechanics of invasion, disrupNons 3 Plants and Fungi Curriculum Outline I. Fungi -- Kingdom Eumycota (Mycology) A. Roles and relaNonships 1. heterotrophs 2. relaNonships 3. decomposers 4. mycorrhizae a. endomycorrhizae b. ectomycorrhizae c. other associaNons 5. fungus anatomy B. Phyla 1. Ascomycota (sac fungi) 2. Basidiomycota (club fungi) 3. other phyla and slime molds C. ReproducNon and spore dispersal D. IdenNficaNon 1. general fruiNng body forms 2. field idenNficaNon characterisNcs II. Lichens A. SymbioNc relaNonship 1. mycobionts (fungi) 2. photobionts (algae) B. Common forms 1. crustose 2. foliose 3. fruNcose 4. squamulose C. Ecological roles and uses 1. soil formaNon 2. bioindicator 3. wildlife 4. cultural uses D. IdenNficaNon 4 III. Plants -- Kingdom Plantae (Botany) A. Plant funcNon and phylogeneNc evoluNon 1. photosynthesis -- autotrophs 2. species divergence – vascular Nssue, seeds, flowers 3. sexual reproducNon B. ClassificaNon 1. Kingdom, Phylum or Division, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species 2. nomenclature 3. species, genus, and family (common traits) C. Nonvascular plants 1. ecology of bryophytes 2. hornworts (Anthocerotophyta) 3. liverworts (MarchanNophyta or HepaNcophyta) 4. mosses (Bryophyta) D. Vascular plants 1. Ferns (Pteridophyta) a. fern allies (clubmosses) b. true ferns c. fern life cycle d. fern idenNficaNon 2. Spermatophyta a. gymnosperms -- the conifers (Coniferophyta) b. angiosperms -- the flowering plants (Magnoliophyta) i. monocotyledon (Liliopsida) ii. dicotyledon (Magnoliopsida) c. reproducNon d. plant morphology 3. Habitat, role in idenNficaNon 4. Plant ecology and uses IV. Dichotomous Keys A. Guidelines for use 5 V. Invasive Pest Species A. Movement of species from naNve range B. Mechanics of invasion 1. loss of checks and balances -- compeNNon, climate, predaNon C. Non-naNve invasive species definiNon D. DisrupNons to naNve biological systems E. Invasive plant characterisNcs F. Scope and impact VI. Management A. Natural areas B. Invasive plants C. What you can do VII. Resources VIII. Review QuesNons Appendix A: Common mosses, liverworts, and hornworts Appendix B: Botanical LaNn pronunciaNon guide 6 I. Fungi -- Kingdom Eumycota Roles and Rela0onships The study of fungi is mycology, myco- from the Greek mukes or mykes meaning “fungus.” Fungi are heterotrophs, organisms that cannot manufacture their own food and therefore, must feed on other organisms. They receive needed nutriNon in two primary ways -- as decomposers of nonliving organic maler and through symbioNc relaNonships with other living organisms, both as harmful parasites and as mutualisNc partners. At one Nme, fungi were included in the plant kingdom. Beler understanding of these unique organisms demonstrated the need for a separate kingdom. Certain characterisNcs of fungi appear more closely related to animals than plants. They have chiNn in cell walls like insects rather than the cellulose of plants, and they store food as glycogen like animals rather than starch like plants. Earthstar (Geastrum sp.), saprotrophic Decomposers A large number of fungi are saprotrophs, feeding on dead organic maler, and serve a criNcal role as decomposers in ecosystems. Fungi must digest their food before ingesNng it. They excrete enzymes to break down complex organic molecules for absorpNon through fungal cell walls. This funcNon plays an important role in releasing and cycling nutrients through the enNre system. 7 As a whole, fungi can break down virtually any organic substance. Bacteria do most of the work decomposing animals, but there are fungi capable of breaking down components such as collagen and keraNn. Fungi are essenNal, however, in the decomposiNon of plant material. They are able to break down the toughest organic compounds, including lignin, a complex polymer in the cells of woody plants that enables transport of fluids and provides structural support. Fungi possessing enzymes to degrade both cellulose and lignin are termed “white-rot” fungi. The residual Nssue is fibrous and pale in color. Those that only break down cellulose are referred to as “brown-rot,” leaving brown, blocky fragments that disintegrate. Certain species target foliage decomposiNon, their spores omen alaching to leaves before they fall. There are fungi quite specific to a parNcular organic substrate, such as the husks of walnuts and hickories or the fruit cones of magnolias. AquaNc fungi are important to the well being of stream fauna. Autumn leaves and spring runoff load streams with plant material, that need to be ‘condiNoned’ by organisms, including fungi, to make these organic materials more palatable. In addiNon, the fungi mycelia and spores are considered nutriNous food. Animal waste (dung) is largely plant material that has not been digested. Dung-loving or coprophilous fungi play an important role here too. Spores of these fungi are released in a manner to maximize placement for consumpNon by herbivores, as the spores of many species will only germinate amer passing through an animal’s digesNve tract. Yellow Patches (Amanita flavaconia), mycorrhizal 8 Symbio0c Rela0onships In symbioNc relaNonships with plants, fungi may be parasites, harming but usually not killing other organisms, or mycorrhizal partners in mutually beneficial relaNonships. As parasites, fungal smuts and rusts that infect plants cause harm in various ways, including interrupNon of primary processes, e.g., sexual funcNon of a flower in the case of smuts. Some parasiNc fungi are pathogenic, alacking living Nssue to play a roll, direct or indirect, in the organism’s death, such as white-rot fungus Honey Mushroom (Armillaria) in trees, Chytrid fungus in amphibians, and “insect destroyer” fungi (Entomophthora) with flies and other invertebrates. There are even fungi that parasiNze other fungi -- Witches’ Buler (Tremella mesenterica) and Lobster Mushroom (Hypomyces lacfluorum). On the other hand, mutualisNc associaNons between plant roots and fungi are extremely important to the health of a majority of plants and the ecosystems they support. Fungi forming these mutualisNc associaNons are called mycorrhizae (“fungus root”). The benefits to the plant are many. First and most obvious, fungi hyphae absorb water and soil nutrients for the plant -- calcium, copper, magnesium, molybdenum, zinc, potassium, and parNcularly phosphorus, a limiNng nutrient in many soils. Hyphae are able exploit a far greater volume of soil for these essenNal elements than plant roots alone. Fungi are also able to store some of these mineral nutrients (again, parNcularly phosphorus) and make them available for plants during periods of acNve growth or nutrient deficiency. Mycorrhizal associaNons help plants in deficient soils grow beler -- soils that are less ferNle, have wider pH variances, or are polluted. Plants are beler able to survive transplant shock, withstand environmental stresses like drought, and resist soil-borne