54 THE MICHIGAN BOTANIST Vol. 55 NOTEWORTHY COLLECTIONS REPORTS OF FOUR RARE PLANTS IN MICHIGAN, INCLUDING TWO NON-NATIVE SPECIES Bradford S. Slaughter Michigan Natural Features Inventory Michigan State University Extension P.O. Box 13036 Lansing, MI 48901-3036
[email protected] Eurybia furcata (E. S. Burgess) G. L. Nesom Asteraceae Forked aster. Significance of the Report. The first reports from Michigan since 1934. Previous knowledge. Eurybia furcata (previously known as Aster furcatus E. S. Burgess) is a regional endemic aster of open forests, bluffs, riverbanks, and ledges in the midwestern United States, where it is known from Michigan, Wis- consin, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, and Arkansas (Swink and Wilhelm 1994; Kartesz 2013; NatureServe 2014). The species is of conservation concern in all of these states, with fewer than 100 populations documented rangewide. Because of its apparent rarity and the apparently limited number of genotypes, the species is considered globally vulnerable (G3) by NatureServe (2014). Discussion. Three populations of Eurybia furcata were documented in sum- mer 2014 along the Tittabawassee and Chippewa Rivers in Midland County. The species was previously known in Michigan from two collections, one from the south bank of the River Raisin in Monroe Co. (S. Alexander s.n., September 28, 1906, MICH) and one from the vicinity of a Boy Scout cabin on the Chippewa River in Midland County (R.R. Dreisbach 8359, September 3, 1934, MICH). Prior to this report, the 1934 collection was the last record of Eurybia furcata in the state, and the species is listed as critically imperiled (S1) and state threatened (Michigan Natural Features Inventory 2007).