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Tapping the Underappreciated Plant Diversity of the Eastern United States

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Tapping the Underappreciated Plant Diversity of the Eastern United States tapping the underappreciated Plant Diversity of the Eastern united states Rick J. Lewandowski he romance and intrigue of plant discov- potential, Mt. Cuba Center, near Wilmington, ery and acquisition continues to entice Delaware, is among a handful of public gardens Tplant explorers, most often to remote and currently active and engaged in exploring and exotic places far away from the United States. promoting this rich flora. Though early explorers and botanists (including the Bartrams, the Michauxs, Nuttall, Torrey, Plant ExPloration with PurPosE Gray, and Harper) described the vast richness The forests of eastern North America are replete of eastern North America’s flora, its range of with a remarkable array of plant communi- diversity and adaptability continue to be under- ties, habitats, and plant species. Through the appreciated and understudied to this day. In vision and resources left by our founders, Mt. efforts to more fully document and explore its Cuba Center has dedicated significant energy D e T o N e R e WH T ep C ex I k WS o wand e l k J. IC y R B S o T o H All p The Dogwood Path forms an intimate canopy adjacent to Mt. Cuba Center’s meadow. It showcases many plants in sophisticated layers, from tall trees to low-growing wildflowers. Plant Exploration 3 Gorge rhododendron (Rhododendron minus) is one of the native species being documented, collected, and evaluated. The wild popu- lation seen here on Flag Mountain in Alabama is at home in the hot and humid southern end of its range on shady, dry, acidic slopes. to exploring habitats throughout the eastern United States in 11 states. over 1,150 docu- United States from pennsylvania and Delaware mented collections have been made, repre- through the Carolinas, Georgia, and Alabama. senting 619 taxa of herbaceous and woody Throughout these states we have discovered plants. Regular collaboration with numerous that there is an enormous reserve of genetic diver- partners—including other public gardens, uni- sity worthy of greater study and appreciation. versities, state and federal agencies, industry, plant exploration is an essential component conservation organizations, and private indi- of Mt. Cuba Center’s commitment to study viduals—has afforded us the opportunity to and assess the adaptability of native plants observe and sample plant diversity in a wide for horticultural use. In addition to enriching range of habitats. the gardens with documented, wild-collected, In addition to broad-based sampling of her- seed-grown plants from a range of provenances, baceous and woody taxa, Mt. Cuba Center’s detailed field data gathered from this effort field work in recent years has also focused on has provided us with a greater understanding sampling specific taxa in order to obtain broader of habitats, distribution, and plant associations. genetic diversity, obtain taxa from the edges of This documentation has potentially far-reaching their ranges or from disjunct populations, and implications for horticulture, landscape design, assess potential variation of selected plant spe- and conservation. cies for wider landscape use. Some of the highest During the past 11 years, Mt. Cuba Center priority woody plant taxa for targeted sampling staff members have conducted nearly 80 field currently include: Fothergilla gardenii, Fother- expeditions in the eastern and southeastern gilla major, Halesia carolina, Halesia diptera, the Copeland Family legacy MT. Cuba CenteR is the 589-acre former estate of Mr. and Mrs. lammot du pont Copeland. over a 65-year period, beginning in 1937, gardening became a consuming passion for the Copelands. During the formative years of their estate and garden, the Copelands engaged a number of design- ers including Thomas Sears, Marian Coffin, and Sethk elsey to assist in creating a series of formal and informal landscapes surrounding their home. These provided structure and a unique identity to their ever-expanding gardening interests. By the late 1970s Mr. and Mrs. Copeland had begun to refine their gardening interests, focusing more and more on native plants of the eastern United States. With passion, vision, and hands-on garden development, the Copelands and their staff, including their first director, Dr. Richardl ighty, created some of the mid-Atlantic region’s most attractive and diverse native plant gardens. In 2002, a year after Mrs. Copeland’s death at age 94 (predeceased by Mr. Copeland in 1983), Mt. Cuba Center officially became a private non-profit organization, with a mission to display, study, and promote the broader use of the flora of the eastern United States, with particular emphasis on the piedmont physiographic region. Today, a decade later, well documented and botanically diverse gardens, horticultural research and introduction programs, as well as extensive education and public tour programs are beginning to fulfill the Copelands’ hopes for their beloved estate. The Copelands’ Colonial Revival home was completed in 1937 and today serves as the hub of administrative and education activi- ties at Mt. Cuba Center. In the foreground, a dense stand of native prickly-pear cactus (Opuntia humifusa) spills over a rocky ledge. Plant Exploration 5 Halesia tetraptera, Illicium floridanum, Kalmia latifolia, Leucothoe axillaris, Leucothoe fontanesiana, Rhododendron catawbiense, Rhododendron colemanii, Rhododendron minus, Rhododendron pruni- folium, Stewartia mala- codendron, Stewartia ovata, Viburnum acerifolium, and several deciduous Rhododen- dron species. somE ExamPlEs oF initiativEs CurrEntly underway: Sampling Stewartia Diversity Silky camellia (Stewartia mal- acodendron) and mountain camellia (Stewartia ovata) are attractive native North Ameri- can deciduous shrubs or small trees that have been underap- preciated for their horticultural value and as biological indica- tors of stable, botanically rich habitats. Both species have highly attractive, non-fragrant, white flowers that open daily over a one to three week period from mid May to late June, depending upon the region. The distribution of these two species is often discontinuous, Silky camellia (Stewartia malacodendron) flowering in mid June at Mt. Cuba with highly variable popula- Center is a show-stopper. tion sizes. Silky camellia is pri- marily found in the coastal plain and piedmont species overlaps, with plants of both species from Virginia to Florida and west as far as east- growing in close proximity to each other. ern Texas. Mountain camellia is naturally dis- In 1999, Mt. Cuba Center began targeted tributed in the piedmont and mountains from field work to document populations and collect Virginia to Georgia and Alabama, reaching its seeds of both species from across the breadth of western limit in southern kentucky and Ten- their ranges. More than 120 documented seed nessee; a few disjunct populations can be found collections of these two species from 7 states in the coastal plain of Virginia and North Caro- have since been made. lina. While there are pockets of large popula- The Stewartia Working Group (SWG) was tions, most populations are small and isolated, formed in 2007 as a collaboration to develop ex which is likely to have resulted in genetic iso- situ repositories for the extensive documented lation. North-central Alabama is one (possibly seed collections already made and to study, the only) place where the range of these two long-term, the variation in these two eastern 6 Arnoldia 68/4 These four images show variation in the filament color of Stewartia ovata flowers on separate plants. North American species. The SWG currently representing a broad range of native stewartia includes the Birmingham Botanical Garden, diversity in cultivation. Alabama; Mt. Cuba Center, Delaware; polly provenance-based collecting such as that Hill Arboretum, Massachusetts; Smithgall with Stewartia malacodendron and Stewar- Arboretum, Georgia; yew Dell Gardens, ken- tia ovata offers an important window into the tucky; and Heritage Seedlings nursery, oregon. variation of species and potential preservation Much of the success of the SWG is due to of genetic variation. It also affords emergent the knowledge, guidance, and assistance of opportunities to encourage research as well stewartia authority Jack Johnston. He has as selection of superior forms. Some other systematically identified countless stewartia important provenance-based collections of populations and guided the group to them in interest include Leucothoe axillaris (6 collec- order to observe and sample both silky camellia tions), Leucothoe fontanesiana (14 collections), and mountain camellia. As a result, a signifi- Rhododendron colemanii (8 collections), and cant portion of the range of these two species Rhododendron prunifolium (7 collections) to has already been sampled. Much remains to mention just a few. be learned, though, about the variation, habi- In many cases these taxa are represented tats, distribution, propagation, production, and in cultivation by few or no known wild- adaptability in cultivation of both species. even documented populations. Documented col- so, the SWG is making significant progress in lections in our public gardens are crucial for Plant Exploration 7 Stewartia ovata is frequently found in rich mesic woodlands of the upper Piedmont and mountains of the southeastern United States where it can become a small tree. The specimen seen here is growing in Georgia’s Warwoman Wildlife Management Area. expanding our appreciation of the variation in thoroughly explore the distribution of native these
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