CHINQUAPIN The Newsletter of the Southern appalachian Botanical Society Volume 22 (4) Winter 2014 Japanese Dodder, Cuscuta japonica By Lytton John Musselman, Old Dominion University (Fig. 3). Extensive damage to the host was evident. I noticed no other hosts although, like most dodders, the host range of C. ja- Readers of Chinquapin will be familiar with our most widely ponica is broad and there are reports of it causing economic loss on distributed and very conspicuous parasitic plant, field dodder, orna- Cuscuta campestris (sometimes considered to be conspecific with mentals C. pentagona). This species, like all our native dodders in the and fruit South is in the section Grammica of the genus Cuscuta . Species in trees. section Grammica have two separate styles and capitate stigmas and The produce stem tips with two types of branches—a coiling branch stems, that will wrap around and penetrate a suitable host, and a searching like branch that will continue growing and produce more searching those of branches. The section Cuscuta , which includes several introduced other weedy species, have linear stigmas and often very fine stems lacking species searching branches. The third section, Monogyna , has no native in the North American species, has fused styles and is characterized by section, especially thick stems (Figs. 1, 2). Molecular work has elucidated are very Figure 2. The stems are reddish and chlorophyll is evident in young relationships in the genus but is not presented here; traditional thick capsules, a feature of developing fruits in most dodder species.] sections are used for this discussion. (by dodder standards) and the fruits larger than in other sections. Only two species of Three or four seeds are produced per capsule. Indurate at maturity, the section Monogyna they need scarification to germinate. have been reported to How did this parasite enter the United States? Perhaps deliber- occur in the American ately, as the South. Cuscuta cassyt- seeds are an oides was introduced to important the Wilmington, North component Carolina area but did of some not persist. On the other Chinese hand, Japanese dodder, medicines. Cuscuta japonica was Within found in Pickens Coun- the United ty, South Carolina and States, fur- eradicated in the 1990s ther spread as a federally listed could be noxious weed. Later, C. by soil japonica was discovered contami- Figure 3. Japanese dodder seriously damaging live oak in Aran- Figure 1. Section of mature flower of C. in the Houston, Texas nated with sas National Wildlife Refuge. japonica from central Texas. The fused styles area in 2001, along with dodder are not evident in this section. The fimbriate another population in seed from nurseries. infrastaminal scales are prominent. central Texas. More Cuscuta japonica is a federally listed noxious weed and new infes- recently, there are reports of many deliberately introduced popula- tations should be reported to the Plant Protection and Quarantine tions in California where there is concern that it could infest citrus. (PPQ) service of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service I was surprised to find previously unreported, vigorous popula- (APHIS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It is native to the tions of Japanese dodder in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge Far East and, interestingly, apparently spread outside its range only in Aransas County, Texas parasitizing live oak ( Quercus virginiana ) in the United States. 26 Chinquapin 22 (4) The Newsletter of the Southern Appalachaian Botanical Society SABS Officers and Executive Council From !e Editor’s Desk: a seasonally appropriate article on Christmas For full addresses, see http://sabs.appstate.edu/about/officers Fern, and Lytton Musselman continues his series on parasitic plants with information Kathy Gould Mathews Joe Pollard, Newsletter Editor President (2014-2016) about the potentially invasive Japanese Dod- Western Carolina University I’m very glad to report that in this issue, der. Longtime SABS members Steph Jeffries (828) 227-3659 Alan Weakley resumes his “Taxonomic Ad- and Tom Wentworth have just published a [email protected] visory” series. I know that I find his reports fascinating book on hikes in southern Appa- very useful, and I hope that the rest of our lachian forests, and I’m pleased that we can Wendy Zomlefer membership does as well. While nomencla- publish an interview with them, explaining Past President (2014-2015) their goals in the book and some of the University of Georgia tural changes may at first seem to be a nui- (706) 583-0389 sance, they are an unavoidable consequence novel approaches that they have used. [email protected] of the progressive search for new knowledge And some really exciting news! SABS has and understanding that we call science. But finally joined the information revolution by Charles N. Horn for those who are not taxonomic specialists offering our members the ability to pay their Treasurer (2014-2018) themselves, it can be a real challenge to keep dues and vote for officers via the internet. Newberry College up with the latest findings. Alan does us This is technically the “Winter 2014” (803) 321-5257, fax (803) 321-5636 issue of the newsletter, though I realize that [email protected] all a big favor by pointing out some of the most important changes in the scientific you won’t receive it until 2015. One of my Michael E. Held, names of well-known plants of the South- New Year’s resolutions is to avoid being late Membership Secretary (2012-2015) east. In this issue he begins a two-part series with Chinquapin. Honest. I’ll try. I hope ev- Saint Peter’s University on southeastern vines. eryone has enjoyed the holiday season, and I (201) 761-6432 Also in this issue George Ellison gives us wish you a happy and productive 2015. [email protected] Susan Farmer Recording Secretary (2013-2016) Exploring Southern Appalachian Forests: Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College (229) 391-5126 An Interview with the Authors [email protected] Editor’s Note: The interview reproduced here is a conversation with long-time SABS mem- Brian Keener bers Stephanie B. Jeffries and Thomas R. Wentworth, authors of the new book Exploring Member at Large (2013-2015) University of West Alabama Southern Appalachian Forests: An Ecological Guide to 30 Great Hikes in the Carolinas, (205) 652-3796 Georgia, Tennessee, and Virginia (University of North Carolina Press, Fall 2014). The text [email protected] of this interview is available at www.ibiblio.org/uncp/media/jeffries/. Lisa Kelly Q: You take a holistic approach to the forest, Member at Large (2014-2016) showing readers how to look at the bigger picture University of North Carolina at Pembroke of the environment rather than just the hiking (910) 325-1470 [email protected] path. What made you choose this approach, and why is it important? Jay Bolin Steph: When we teach our two-week field course Member at Large (2014-2016) in the southern Appalachians, at the Highlands Bio- Catawba College logical Station, we jump right in and during that first (704) 637-4450 week, we are relentless—traveling to many stops each [email protected] day and constantly asking the students what they Christopher P. Randle see and what they think about what they see. Quite Editor-in-Chief of Castanea (2014-2017) honestly, we nearly break them. But in the second Sam Houston State University week, a funny thing happens. The students gradu- (936) 294-1401 ally assume the lead—making observations, asking [email protected] questions, probing current hypotheses, speculating. In short, they are thinking like ecologists and it is Joe Pollard dawning on them that science is really not about Chinquapin Editor (2012-2015) Department of Biology what we already know, but instead about discovery. Furman University The transformation in such a short time is incredi- ISBN 978-1-4696-1979-2, $45.00 hardcover. 3300 Poinsett Highway ble. We think that anyone can learn to do this, to see ISBN 978-1-4696-1820-3, $22.00 paperback. Greenville, SC 29613 the forest and the trees, so to speak. In doing so, your 336 pp., 14 drawings, 49 illus., 31 maps, 1 (864) 294-3244 connection with nature broadens immeasurably, table, glossary, bibl., index. http://uncpress. [email protected] unc.edu/books/11596.html Interview continued on Page 29 On the web at sabs.appstate.edu Chinquapin 22 (4) 27 Taxonomic Advisory! The Tangled Taxonomy of Southeastern United States Vines (part 1) By Alan S. Weakley, Director, University This invasive liana (native of eastern Asia) Lackeya multiflora (Torrey & A. Gray) of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU, is naturalized fairly extensively in eastern Fortunato, L.P. Queiroz, & G.P. Lewis, North Carolina Botanical Garden, Uni- North America, especially in the “BosWash” Cluster-pea (Fabaceae). versity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) urban/suburban corridor from northern Synonymy: = Dioclea multiflora (Torrey Virginia to eastern Massachusetts. Most & A. Gray) C. Mohr – most eastern North For this edition of “Taxonomic Adviso- North American references refer to it as American references; = Galactia mohlen- ry!” I’ve chosen to concentrate on recent Ampelopsis brevipedunculata , but the best brockii R.H. Maxwell – Maxwell (1979) changes in the systematics (and resulting recent evidence seems to suggest that it is at Lackeya multiflora grows in swamps, bot- name changes) of a few of our native and best a variety (as treated in the Flora of Chi- tomlands, and old fields in the southeastern introduced vines. However, this twining and na) or more likely just a form of Ampelopsis United States, especially the lower Missis- tendrilled taxonomic task is too terrible to glandulosa. sippi River embayment (“the Delta”) from tie up in one take, so look for a second part southern Illinois and western Kentucky in early 2015, with nickers, swallowworts, Nekemias arborea (Linnaeus) J.