Combined Report Field Assessments to Assist with Plant Status Updates and Plant Conservation Status Updates II
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Combined Report Field Assessments to Assist with Plant Status Updates and Plant Conservation Status Updates II Prepared For: Wild Resources Conservation Program Grants #013486 and #14513. Prepared By: Western Pennsylvania Conservancy / Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program In partnership with: Cleveland Museum of Natural History Carnegie Museum of Natural History Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania March 17, 2017 1 2 Table of Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Methods ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 Results ........................................................................................................................................................... 6 Table 1. Summary of work completed for each taxon.............................................................................. 8 Species Accounts ..................................................................................................................................... 14 Small-leaved White-snakeroot – Ageratina aromatica (L.) Spach ...................................................... 15 Amelanchier spp. (Tim Block, due December 15h 2016) .................................................................... 17 Toothcup – Ammannia coccinea L. ..................................................................................................... 21 Whorled Milkweed – Asclepias verticillata L. ..................................................................................... 23 Screw-stem — Bartonia paniculata (Michx.) Muhl. ........................................................................... 26 Spike Sedge – Carex ormostachya Wieg. ............................................................................................ 30 Short’s Sedge – Carex shortiana Dewey ............................................................................................. 33 Indian-paintbrush – Castilleja coccinea Mutis .................................................................................... 35 Short’s Slender Chervil – Chaerophyllum procumbens (L.) Crantz var. shortii Torr. & Gray .............. 37 Strawberry Goosefoot – Chenopodium capitatum (L.) Asch. ............................................................. 39 Smartweed Dodder – Cuscuta polygonorum Englemann ................................................................... 41 Laurentian Bladder Fern – Cystopteris laurentiana (Weath.) Blasdell ............................................... 45 Heller’s Witchgrass – Dichanthelium oligosanthes (Schult.) Gould .................................................... 47 Log Fern – Dryopteris celsa (W.Palmer) Small .................................................................................... 50 Clinton’s Fern – Dryopteris clintoniana (D.C. Eaton) Dowell .............................................................. 52 Schweinitz’s Water-weed – Elodea schweinitzii (J.E. Planchon) Caspary ........................................... 55 Slender Wheat Grass – Elymus trachycaulus (Link) Gould ex Shinners .............................................. 57 White Trout-lily – Erythronium albidum Nutt. .................................................................................... 59 Godfrey’s Eupatorium – Eupatorium godfreyanum Cronquist ........................................................... 61 Threepetal Bedstraw – Galium trifidum L. .......................................................................................... 63 Canada Hawkweed – Hieracium umbellatum L. ................................................................................. 65 Virginia Sweetspire, Virginia-willow, Tassel-white – Itea virginica L. ................................................. 67 Grass Rush – Juncus biflorus Elliott ..................................................................................................... 69 Fetter-bush — Leucothoe racemosa (L.) Gray ................................................................................... 72 Red Mulberry – Morus rubra Linneaus ............................................................................................... 74 Sourwood – Oxydendrum arboretum (L.) DC. ..................................................................................... 80 Stiff Cowbane – Oxypolis rigidior (L.) Raf. ........................................................................................... 82 Yellow-fringed Orchid — Platanthera ciliaris (L.) Lindl. ...................................................................... 84 Bog Bluegrass – Poa paludigena Fern & Wieg. ................................................................................... 87 3 Racemed Milkwort – Polygala polygama Walter ............................................................................... 91 Lion’s Foot – Prenanthes serpentaria Pursh ....................................................................................... 93 Swamp chestnut oak – Quercus michauxii Nuttall.............................................................................. 95 Water-plantain Spearwort – Ranunculus ambigens S. Wats. ............................................................. 97 Long-stalked Crowfoot – Ranunculus hederaceus L. .......................................................................... 99 Swamp Currant — Ribes lacustre (Pers.) Poir. .................................................................................. 101 Meadow Rose – Rosa blanda Aiton .................................................................................................. 104 Bristly Blackberry – Rubus setosus Bigelow ...................................................................................... 106 Blue Willow – Salix myricoides Muhl. ............................................................................................... 109 Bog Willow — Salix pedicellaris Pursh .............................................................................................. 112 Blue-eyed Grass – Sisyrinchium montanum Greene ......................................................................... 115 Purple Meadow-rue – Thalictrum dasycarpum Fisch. & Avé-Lall ..................................................... 117 Nodding Trillium — Trillium cernuum L. ........................................................................................... 119 Declined Trillium – Trillium flexipes Raf. ........................................................................................... 122 Appalachian Blue Violet – Viola appalachiensis Henry ..................................................................... 127 Netted Chain Fern – Woodwardia areolata (L.) T.Moore ................................................................. 130 Appendix A: Annotated Species List ......................................................................................................... 132 Appendix B: PNHP Field Surveys 2014-2016 for All Plant Status Update Projects Taxa........................... 138 4 Introduction The purpose of these projects is to provide improved documentation of proposed legal status for plant taxa identified as high priority by DCNR. The official status of plants in Pennsylvania as approved by legislative action under Chapter 45 of the Pennsylvania Code has not been updated since 1992. However, the Vascular Plant Technical Committee (VPTC) of the Pennsylvania Biological Survey (PABS) has been updating the status of Pennsylvania’s rarest species for the entire period of time the act has been in effect. DCNR has reviewed the numerous species whose status has been proposed to change by the VPTC, and identified some which require additional work to document and justify the proposed status. A list of 56 high priority taxa was provided at the start of the 2014 WRCP project Plant Status Updates Collaborative, and work on these taxa has continued through the 2015 WRCP project Plant Status Updates II. These taxa require some combination of additional fieldwork and / or documentation of existing knowledge about the status of the species, and some cases are also complicated by taxonomic problems or questions around the native status of Pennsylvania populations. The Plant Status Updates projects brought together major institutions with botanical expertise in Pennsylvania to evaluate these taxa and determine how best to resolve any information gaps. Project partners were the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program, Morris Arboretum at the University of Pennsylvania, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, and the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Methods Expert Review of Taxa The list of taxa provided by DCNR was initially reviewed by a group of experts from the partner institutions including Dr. Timothy Block (Morris Arboretum), Jim Bissell (Cleveland MNH), Steven P. Grund (PNHP), John Kunsman (PNHP), Jessica McPherson (PNHP), Dr. Cynthia Morton (Carnegie MNH), and Loree Speedy (Carnegie MNH). The group briefly summarized the state of existing knowledge for each taxon, and decided whether additional fieldwork was needed to assign legal status and provide appropriate justification. The taxa that needed additional fieldwork were each assigned a lead investigator to coordinate work and write summary justifications. Review of Historical Records PNHP provided all investigators