Hamamelis Vernalis (Ozark Witch Hazel)—A Pollination Paradox
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September—October 2018 Newsletter of the Missouri Native Plant Society Volume 33 No.5 “… to promote the enjoyment, preservation, conservation, restoration, and study of the flora native to Missouri.” In this issue Hamamelis vernalis (Ozark Witch Hazel)—a Pollination Paradox ......................... 1 Chapter Events .............. 4 From the Editor .............. 5 Native Pollinators and Remnant Natural Communities ................. 6 Poetry Corner ................ 7 Winter Board Meeting ... 8 Chapter Updates ........... 9 Fall Field Trip, Sedalia, The deep red inner calyx, in addition to flowering after December, distinguishes Missouri ......................... 14 Hamamelis vernalis from H. virginiana (common witch hazel). Photo by the author. 2018 MONPS Annual Awards .......................... 18 Hamamelis vernalis (Ozark Witch AmazonSmile Donates to MONPS When You Hazel)—a Pollination Paradox Shop! ............................. 19 Ted C. MacRae New Members ............... 20 As I look outside my window, asters, goldenrods, and sunflowers are It’s Time to Pay Your exploding across the landscape. The grasslands of Missouri have become Dues .............................. 20 a shifting mosaic of tawny, amber, and gold, and its forests will soon morph to a riot of red, orange, and yellow. It’s an explosive “finale” that Join Us! Become a New portends a period of quiescence—the natural world sleeping quietly under Member or Renew ......... 21 a soft blanket of white snow, the cool yellow sun casting shadows long and SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2018 | PETAL PUSHER 1 sharp as it rides low in the deep blue sky. In this midst of winter, Key: flowers are the last thing that one thinks about encountering. Species present in state and native Yet, there is one group of plants that not only tolerates the Species present in county and not rare cold months for flowering, but specializes in them—witch hazels Species present in county and rare of the genus Hamamelis (family Hamamelidaceae). Only five Species not present in state species are known in the genus, two occurring in eastern Asia and three occurring in North America (Li et al. 2000). Of these, only one—H. virginiana (common or American witch hazel)—flowers as “early” as November, the other four delaying flowering completely until winter has fully gripped the landscape. We are fortunate here in Missouri to have not just one but two species of witch hazel—the aforementioned H. virginiana, and the much more restricted H. vernalis (Ozark witch hazel). While the former occurs broadly across eastern North America, the latter is restricted to the Ozark Highlands of Missouri, Arkansas, and eastern Oklahoma, growing along the rocky creeks and streams that dissect this ancient landform and displaying its amazing blooms only between the end of December and the beginning of March. For a long The range of Ozark witch hazel (Hamamelis. vernalis) (top map) compared to the range of American witch hazel (H. virginiana) (bottom map). Maps courtesy of Biota of North time, I’d hoped to encounter this America Program. (BONAP.ORG). plant in flower, and several years ago I finally got my wish while hiking the Mina Sauk Trail at Taum Sauk Mountain but, as mentioned above, can be easily distinguished State Park and seeing them growing below Mina by floral characters. In addition to blooming primarily Sauk Falls and below along Taum Sauk Creek. It was in late fall and early winter, H. virginiana has flowers the first weekend of March, so many of the plants nearly twice the size of H. vernalis that rarely show had already passed their peak bloom; however, I was any red on the inner calyx, contrasting with the orange fortunate to find several plants with flowers still in to deep red to deep yellow displayed by H. vernalis. good shape. Flowers of the latter can also be quite fragrant, having Despite its much wider distribution in North America, what has been described as a “vanilla” scent. It’s H. virginiana is apparently more restricted in Missouri difficult to explain why H. vernalis is restricted to the than H. vernalis, occurring alongside the latter in Ozark Highlands while H. virginiana occurs so much these same St. Francois Mountains. The two species more broadly in North America. The Ozarks are a are very similar by the characteristics of their foliage well-known refugium for a number of other plants 2 PETAL PUSHER and animals, especially Ice Age relicts; however, molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that H. vernalis actually evolved from and more recently than H. virginiana and, thus, is not a relict (Li et al. 2000). Sitting on a rhyolite ledge overlooking the creek, I wondered about the pollination biology of a plant that flowers exclusively during winter. It was a warm day—certainly an unusual occurrence during the period in which this plant flowers—and even still it was too early in the season for a lot of insect activity. I watched one of the nearby plants to see what insects came to the flowers, and for a time all I Hamamelis vernalis (Ozark witch hazel) still blooming in early March, 2010, along Taum Sauk Creek, Iron Co., Missouri. Photo by the author. saw were a couple of European honey bees—clearly the plant did not evolve in association with this exotic and attracted frequent insect visitors.” Apparently no now ubiquitous insect. I continued watching, and surveys focusing on potential pollinators during the at last I saw a native insect visiting the flowers—a January/February peak bloom period of H. vernalis large species of hover fly (family Syrphidae), perhaps have been conducted, and while it doesn’t surprise something in the genus Helophilus, and shortly me at all to see a host of flies and maybe bees afterwards another fly of apparently the same popping up on these flowers during the occasional species visited another plant. Flies in general are warm days of late winter, I remain intrigued about why famous for appearing during warm days in winter, peak flowering occurs much earlier than that—while and I wondered if the unusually extended bloom the landscape is still in the dead of winter! period of this species is intended to take advantage References: of those few, unpredictable days during winter when temperatures are sufficient for flies to become active. Anderson, G. & J. Hill. 2002. Many to flower, few to Unfortunately, the literature contains only scant fruit: the reproductive biology of Hamamelis virginiana information on witch hazel pollination biology. (Hamamelidaceae). American Journal of Botany Anderson & Hill (2002) were interested in why H. 89(1):67–78. virginiana flowers so late during fall and found quite a few insects, especially flies—chiefly fungus gnats Bradford J. L. & D. L. Marsh. 1977. Comparative (family Sciaridae) in the genus Bradysia (same genus studies of the witch hazels Hamamelis virginiana as commonly infests house plant pots), but also and H. vernalis. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of bees, beetles, etc. visiting the flowers and carrying Science 31(10):29–31. pollen. Their only reference to H. vernalis, however, was a citation of an earlier study by Bradford & Li, J., A. L. Bogle, A. S. Klein & M. J. Donoghue. Marsh (1977), which was conducted during late 2000. Phylogeny and biogeography of Hamamelis November through December and encompassed (Hamamelidaceae). Harvard Papers in Botany 5(1): a brief and unusual period of overlapping flowering 171–178. by H. virginiana and H. vernalis. That study revealed a strong pollinator preference for flowers of the former, but they said nothing more specific about the pollinators of H. vernalis other than its “flowers SEPTEMBER—OCTOBER 2018 | PETAL PUSHER 3 Chapter Events Hawthorn Paradoxa 10-18, 11-16: Chapter Lunches, 11:30 a.m. Oct. 20: Seed Exchange Walkabout, 1:00-4:00 p.m. Chapter lunches are held on the third Thursday of each There will be a Seed Exchange/Show-&-Tell/ month just south of Broadway Street in downtown Walkabout at Bray CA. Columbia at Uprise Bakery inside the lobby of the RagTag Theatre, 10 Hitt Street, Columbia, Missouri. Bring seeds for sharing and/or your favorite books, tools, tips, and suggestions/requests for next year’s 11-12: Bimonthly Chapter Meeting, 6:00 p.m. activities. Chapter meetings are held on odd-numbered months Paradoxa schedules meetings/walkabouts at a variety on the second Monday at the Unitarian Church, 2615 of locations in the Rolla area. Watch our chapter page Shepard Boulevard, Columbia, Missouri. Newcomers on the monativeplants.org website for updates, or and friends are welcome to attend. email us at [email protected] and ask to be added to our email list, as dates and locations See www.columbianativeplants.org for updated may change. Workdays for the Bray CA Botanical postings of newsletters and activity details. Collection and Herbarium Project are generally held on the first and third Thursdays of the month. Osage Plains Perennis 10-22: Chapter Meeting Watch for announcements by e-mail, the MONPS Regular chapter meeting at the CDC building in Facebook page, and the MONPS website. Clinton plus sometimes field trip opportunities pop up. Please contact Elizabeth Middleton, Bernie Henehan, Dan Henehan or Casey Burks for further information Saint Louis or to be added to the Osage Plains distribution list. 10-24: Photo Sharing Chapter Meeting, 7:30 p.m. Ozarks This will be our annual meeting where chapter members are invited to share their photographs from 10-16: Monthly Meeting the past field season. PowerPoint presentations, digital images, and even old-fashioned slides are Our October meeting will feature “Native Plants, welcome (if we can still find the projector). Pollinators & Other Critters”: A slideshow of diverse native life taken in Kingfisher Farm fields of warm Chapter meetings are held on the fourth Wednesday season grasses and forbs, by Gail Rowley, Ozark of the month at the Sunset Hills Community Center, Stream Photography.