Nothing New (Botanically) Under the Sun?
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Fall 2010 Nothing new (botanically) under the sun? One would think in this age of Blu-Ray technology, instant information access, and glob- al environmental awareness, that something as seemingly mundane as an understanding of the plant life of South Carolina would have been figured out by now. Well, that hasn’t hap- pened. South Carolina is a very “dynamic” state in terms of natural ecosystems, and enjoys a remarkable diversity of plant species. The list of known native species in the state is not a static one, as additional taxa are located and catalogued, most often from unusual or un- common natural habitats. The process of recognizing and describing plants new to science has had a long history in Lake Jocassee, but very recently, this state, at least as far back as this plant has shown up in ponds in 1788, and new species are still be- Lexington and Charleston Counties. ing described. To date, treatments with herbicides Non-native species, as a result have been effective in eliminat- of an array of environmental fac- ing this plant, but pesticides are tors and human manipulation, are expensive, and potentially danger- showing up increasingly as well. ous. Better strategies for avoiding Although such plants are not “na- problems with this plant, and other tive”, they still figure importantly aquatic weeds—the list is grow- into the contemporary plant life of ing!—would involve prevention a given region, and plenty of new rather thanLeptochloa treatment. panicoides imports have been recently docu- mented. Here are a few examples 2. , of plant species recently receiving “Amazon sprangletop”. Native to attentionNymphoides at the Herbarium. peltata wetlands of Brazil and Mesoamer- ica, this handsome grass occurs 1. , “yel- in the Mississippi River drainage, low floating heart”. This beautiful apparently naturally, from western aquatic species is native to South Illinois to the Gulf Coast. It was America, but has become popular recently collected (Autumn 2009) for home aquaria and water gar- A thriving population of yellow floating heart in alongNelson US 27097 601 near, 28056 the) Congaree dens. Unfortunately, when plants Lexington County. Close-up photo by Chris Gladis. River, where it grew prolificallyLepto - are discarded or “released” into (chloa . Neil Snow, creeks and ponds, they tend to an authority on the genus show their dark side, rapidly working at the Bishop Mu- multiplying as serious invasive pests. Small ponds may seum Herbarium in Hawaii, has confirmed the identity of be covered by thick growths of this species, which leads the SC plants. The presence of this grass in SC may not be to light diminution, among other things. We have speci- particularly surprising, and it should be monitored, espe- mens of yellow floating heart from several years ago in cially concerning any potential it may have as an agricul- tural weed. 1 Continued from page 1 Stachys 3. is a genus in the mint family, and has been the subject of study by John Nelson. It turns out that an unusual, previously unrecog- nized species has been collected from a total of two populations in SC, both in association with the lower Santee River, in Charleston and Georgetown Counties. The plants are distinctive in the genus, with velvety, soft pu- bescence, white corollas, and obtuse lower leaves. The name of this new species will be shortly forthcoming. As a new species, it will prove to be absolutely endemic to South Carolina, growing nowhere else in the world, Amazon sprangletop, newly reported from and one of the world’s rarest plants. Could this hedge-nettle be one of he world’s South Carolina. rarest plants? Ghosts of dueOclemena to a taxonomic acuminata revision of North Recently, Heritage Trust staff Collections Past American asters and is now known embarked on a survey expedition Shed New Light as Flora(Michaux) to the Blue Wall Preserve in search Greene or ‘whorled aster’. Oddly of several rare plant species. Man- on Previously enough, Weakley’s also had no aged by The Nature Conservancy, the record of this plant in South Carolina. Preserve harbors a variety of natural Undocumented Since no other published plant communities which include Species in South sources seemed to indicate that the several ‘narrow’ endemics (plants whorled aster had ever been docu- known only from a few areas in the Carolina mented to occur in South Carolina, world). The Preserve is also very inquiries were made to regional her- close to the abandoned Boy Scout baria including those at UNC Chapel Camp mentioned on the specimens Hill, Clemson and Furman University at Furman. Given the proximity of the During Heritage Trust survey to see if there were any unreported survey site to the known localities work, mystery plants are often col- specimens in their collections. of the historic whorled aster collec- lected for later identification at the While no SC specimen of the whorled tions, the survey team paused for a USC Herbarium. On one such collect- aster was found in the collections at close inspection of a cluster of curi- ing expedition to a site near Caesar’s Clemson and the UNC, Furman had ous plants that stood next to a small Head known for a federally-endan- two! Correspondence with Joe Pol- stream crossing. Noting the strong gered lichen species, Heritage staff lard, Curator of the Ives Herbarium serrate leaf margins, prominent collected an odd looking aster. After at Furman, revealed that both speci- petioles and corymbiformOclemena clusters of the specimen was pressed and dried, mens were collected in the vicinity floweringacuminata. heads, it was evident that Herrick BrownManual set about of the the Vascular task of of an old Boy Scout Camp near the these were, as suspected, keyingFlora of out the the Carolinas species using the clas- North Carolina border. Interestingly, While herbarium speci- sic reference one of the specimens was collected mens played a vital role in locating by Radford,Aster by Wade Batson (our own Dr. B!) more populations of whorled aster in Ahlesacuminatus and Bell (1968). Surprisingly during his undergraduate studies at South Carolina, they did not foretell the specimenManual appeared to be Furman. The other specimen was the extent to which this species was Michaux, which accord- collected by Albert Radford (also as distributed. Along nearly the entire ing to the was not known an undergraduate), but ironicallyManual this stretch of the Palmetto Trail that then to occur in SouthFlora Carolina. of the The specimen was apparently forgotten runs through the Blue Wall Preserve, specimenSouthern and was Mid-Atlantic then keyed usingStates a during his work on the 1968 . several miles, visitors may witness working draft of the These important historic collections the beauty of whorled asters whose by alerted Heritage Trust staff to the occurrence in South Carolina is still Alan Weakley (2009), and while the possibility of locating more whorled poorly understood. specimen was determined to be the 2 aster populations in South Carolina. same species, its genus had changed Inter-Agency Partnerships them in making management deci- of Converse College. Unprocessed sions. specimens, our “works in progress” Play a Vital Role Heritage Trust staff will con- numberFlorascope about 10,000 specimens. tinue to document the occurrence of Over the last year, and since the last in Rare Species rare and threatened species. Future , we have mounted and ac- Conservation efforts will focus on properties held cessioned slightly more than 1,200 by the South Carolina Department of new sheets. Most of our new addi- Natural Resources. The Herbarium tions arise from field work in South and its Collections Database will play Carolina, notably by staff of the SC a significant role in supplying useful With support from the United Heritage Trust Program, as well as data to help direct field survey activi- States Fish and Wildlife Service from material sent to us on exchange ties. (USFWS), SC DNR HeritageEchinacea Trust stafflae- Herbarium by other herbaria. Thirteen loans recentlyvigata concluded a five-year survey have been made in this calendar year, of smooth coneflower ( Partnership with with a total of 651 specimens sent ) populations in South Caroli- to other researchers for study. Ap- na. Listed as Endangered by USFWS, South Carolina PRT proximately one-third of the Ravenel smooth coneflower is the eastern- Collection has been repaired and ac- most representative of a genus pre- cessioned, and is now available for dominantly found in the prairies of study and loan. On February 26, staff from the the American West. It is thought that As an example, we were fortu- A. C. Moore Herbarium attended the past forestry practices and urbaniza- nate recently to have the leading ex- second annual SC State Parks “All tion have been largely responsible pert on North American hawthorns, Taxa Biodiversity Inventory” (ATBI) for habitat degradation which has Dr. James Phipps at the UniversityCrataegus of Partners Meeting and will continue left this species with a tenuous exis- Western Ontario, borrow and anno- to serve in an advisory capacity with tence. One might not readily imagine tate a large majority of the particular respect to botanical in- prairie-like clearings on the hills of withinAnacardiaceae the Ravenel herbarium. Simi- ventories, associated data collection, upstate South Carolina, but in fact larly, we sent all of the specimens and database development. SC Parks, they are a natural phenomenon his- of (poison ivy and Recreation and Tourism (SCPRT) will torically maintained by wildfires pos- sumacs) for Dr. Susan Pell’s study be using Specify 6 to manage its data, sibly sparked from lightning strike or at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden’s with assistance from the herbarium. set by Native Americans. Soil chem- Herbarium. Making these specimens Specify 6 has proven to be a powerful istry may also play an important part available to other scientists would tool in collections management, and in maintaining these unique upland surely have pleased Ravenel, a gradu- can be of great benefit in facilitating communities.