A PRELIMINARY INVENTORY OF THE VASCULAR AND NON-VASCULAR FLORA OF THE ___________ RANCH, WHARTON COUNTY, TEXAS, USA Principal Investigators Dale A. Kruse Curator, S. M. Tracy Herbarium, Texas A&M University Austin R. Kelly Herbarium Assistant, S. M. Tracy Herbarium, Texas A&M University Undergraduate Student Participants ___________ Additional Contributor ___________ OVERVIEW The following is a report of the findings from a plant survey of the ___________ Ranch, 9919 ___________, Wharton County, Texas. Wharton County is almost entirely within the Gulf Prairies and Marshes Ecoregion, with the exception of a small portion in the extreme western part of the county, which is in the Post Oak Savannah Ecoregion. The following description of the region is adapted from Hatch, et al. (1990). The Gulf Prairies and Marshes Ecoregion, covering approximately 500,000 acres, are a narrow strip of lowlands adjacent to the Gulf coast and barrier islands, which extend from Mexico to Louisiana. The Gulf Prairies include the nearly flat plain extending 30 to 80 miles inland from the Gulf Marshes. The Gulf Marshes are a low, wet, marshy coastal area, commonly covered with saline water, and range from sea level to a few feet in elevation. The Gulf Prairies are nearly level and virtually un-dissected plains having slow surface drainage and elevations from sea level to 250 feet. Soils of the Gulf Marshes are dark, poorly drained sandy loams and clays, and light neutral sands, typically showing little textural change with depth. The loamy and clayey soils are commonly saline and sodic. Prairie soils are dark, neutral to slightly acid clay loams and clays in the northeastern parts. Further south in the sub-humid Coastal Bend, the soils are less acidic. A narrow band of light acid sands and darker loamy to clayey soils stretches along the coast. Inland from the dark clayey soils is a narrow belt of lighter acid fine sandy loam soils with gray to brown, and red mottled subsoils. Soils of the river bottomlands and broad deltaic plains are reddish brown to dark gray, slightly acid to calcareous, loamy to clayey alluvial. The original vegetation types of the Gulf Prairie were tallgrass prairie and post oak savannah. However, trees and shrubs such as honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), oaks (Quercus), and acacia (Acacia) have increased and thicketized in many places. Characteristic oak species are live oak (Quercus virginiana) and post oak (Q. stellata). Typical acacias are huisache (Acacia smallii) and blackbrush (A. rigidula). Bushy sea-ox-eye (Borrichia frutescens), a dwarf shrub, is also typical. Principal climax grasses of the Gulf Prairie are Gulf cordgrass (Spartina spartinae), big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii var. gerardii), little bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium), indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans), eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides), gulf muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris), tanglehead (Heteropogon contortus), and many species of Panicum and Paspalum. Common increasers and invaders are yankeeweed (Eupatorium compositifolium), broomsedge bluestem (Andropogon virginicus), smutgrass (Sporobolus indicus), western ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya), tumblegrass (Schedonnardus paniculatus), threeawns (Aristida), and many annual forbs and grasses. Pricklypear (Opuntia) are common throughout the area. Characteristic forbs include asters (Aster), Indian paintbrush (Castilleja indivisa), poppy mallows (Callirhoe), phloxs (Phlox), bluebonnets (Lupinus), and evening primroses (Oenothera). The Gulf Marsh areas, being variously salty, support species of sedges (Carex and Cyperus), rushes (Juncus), bulrushes (Scirpus), several cordgrasses (Spartina), coastal saltgrass (Distichlis spicata var. spicata), common reed (Phragmites australis), marshmillet (Zizaniopsis miliacea), longtom (Paspalum lividum), seashore dropseed (Sporobolus virginicus), and knotroot bristlegrass (Setaria parviflora). Marshmillet and maidencane (Panicum hemitomon) are two of the most important grasses of the fresh-water marshes of the upper coast. Common aquatic forbs are smartweeds (Polygonum), docks (Rumex), bushy seedbox (Ludwigia alternifolia), green parrotfeather (Myriophyllum pinnatum), pennyworts (Hydrocotyle), water lilies (Nymphaea), narrowleaf cattail (Typha domingensis), spiderworts (Tradescantia), and duckweeds (Lemna). Common halophytic herbs and shrubs on salty sands are spikesedges (Eleocharis), fimbries (Fimbristylis), glassworts (Salicornia), sea-rockets (Cakile), maritime saltwort (Batis maritima), morningglories (Ipomoea), and bushy sea-ox-eye. METHODS Field Methods Three (3) multi-day visits were made to the property during the course of the survey. These visits were intended to maximize collections (and therefore species diversity) by anticipating changes in the flora based on the temporal (seasonal) fluctuations in the vegetative community composition. Field collection trips were made during the spring (13-15 April), summer (8-10 June), and fall (15-16 November) of 2018. Collections, or observations, were completed in each of the designated Focus Areas (1-8) as set forth in the original agreement, and each Focus Area was visited at least once during each trip. Whereas the goal of this inventory was to compile a “species list” for the property, each species was collected only once, even if the species was present in multiple Focus Areas, or habitats. Although each Focus Area was sampled repeatedly, many additional species were observed between focus areas (along roadways and other non-focus areas). These “opportunistic collections” were added to the overall inventory and contributed a significant component to the overall diversity of the property. At each of the sites inventoried, species were visually selected based on a qualitative sampling of the different habitat types and ecotones present. Herbarium Methods Field collections were returned to the S.M. Tracy Herbarium for identification, and subsequently processed for deposit in the permanent collection. Identifications were completed to the lowest taxonomic level possible using current literature sources, and verified using reference specimens contained in the herbarium. Nomenclature follows USDA (2019) for all vascular plants and algae; mosses follow FNA (2007, 2014); liverworts follow Stotler and Crandall-Stotler (2017). RESULTS The currently documented flora of the ___________ Ranch comprises 283 species, represented by 248 vouchers and 35 observations. The sampled flora is distributed across 5 major plant groups and encompasses 82 families and 200 genera (Table 1). Annuals represent ca. 25% of the flora, perennials dominate at ca. 75% (calculations based on the exclusion of the non-vascular flora) (Table 2). The flora is overwhelmingly native 82%, exotic (introduced) species represent the remaining 18% (calculations based on the exclusion of the non-vascular flora) (Table 3). The vast majority (94%) of the flora is represented by vascular plants and ferns, with the mosses representing the next largest group. The largest families, of vascular plants, are the Poaceae (grasses) with 50 species, Cyperaceae (sedges) with 28 species, Asteraceae (sunflowers) with 20 species, and Juncaceae (rushes) with 7 species. This taxonomic distribution is typical and as expected for a site, located in the coastal plain (prairie) of Texas, which has been heavily impacted by decades of agriculture and commercial development. Additional sampling of the property over a longer period of time, and at different times, would reasonably increase the total numbers of species, especially in the Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Brassicaceae (mustard), Lamiaceae (mint), and possibly Caryophyllaceae (pink) families. This continued sampling should also make noticeable contributions to the Poaceae and Cyperaceae families as well. Many of the species in these families tend to be somewhat “weedy” and are very likely present, but not sampled at the times the property was visited. One species, Cyperus rotundus L. (Cyperaceae) or nutsedge, was not located on the property. While this is surprising, this also a positive sign since it is a very aggressive weed in many cropping systems. A notable collection was Rhychospora indianolensis Small (Cyperaceae) or Indianola beakrush, collected along the riparian border in Focus Area 6, and also observed in the “potholes” along the roadway to FA 6. R. indianolensis is an infrequently collected species that is distributed along the coastal plain from northern South America to eastern Texas. Marsilea vestita Hook. & Grev. ssp. vestita (Marsileaceae) or hooked pepperwort, is an aquatic fern collected in FA 3. Although not rare, it is nonetheless an interesting, infrequently collected, species. Algae, bryophytes, and lichens (although technically not plants) were not included in the original scope of work. These non-vascular plants are routinely omitted in such surveys, however in many sites they can contribute greatly to the overall diversity of a flora. While the moss and liverwort diversity is expected to be lower in the Gulf Coastal Plain, when compared to sites such as the East Texas Piney Woods, a higher number of species would have been expected. The lower diversity of these groups is very likely the result of limited collections (collection effort) and seasonal fluctuations in the flora. Seasonal fluctuation in abiotic conditions (most notably moisture) are a dominant driving factor in the presence of these groups. Continued sampling of the property should reasonably yield a 30-40% increase in the bryophyte