Preliminary List of Species Native Within the Adirondack Park Listed Alphabetically by Common Name and Sorted by Habit v.1 Updated 10.23.2006 Purpose The purpose of this list is to provide an information resource to those wishing to plant or otherwise propagate plants native to the Adirondack Park. It could be used by an individual or a group developing a landscaping plan and wishing to use species native to the Park and a particular county. They could use the list as a source of native species and request nurserymen to provide plant materials from it. Although most of these species are not now available from commercial nurseries, it may be that if continued requests are made for them, the nursery industry would see fit to propagate the desired plants. Requesting and planting natives would reduce the call for non-native and potentially invasive species. It should be noted that some of these species will most likely never be sold commercially because of rarity or difficulty in propagation. The list is meant to being a living document with species added and deleted as additional information is collected and verified. Although it may be tempting, plants should never be harvested from the wild. In fact some of these plants are legally protected, and no harvesting can occur on State lands. Refer to the New York Natural Heritage Program website (http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/heritage/plants.htm) for a complete treatment of New York State protected plants and federal and State laws regarding rare plants. Source The source of this list is the New York Flora Atlas produced by the New York Flora Association and available online at http://atlas.nyflora.org . Nomenclature follows the New York Flora Atlas. The list was created by searching the digital atlas for those species native to Warren, Herkimer, Hamilton, Franklin, Essex, and Clinton counties (only those county whose land area falling totally or mainly within the Park were searched), adding those species noted by Kudish in Adirondack Upland Flora (1992) and by adding additional species the compiler knows to be present within the Park but for which voucher specimens may not exist. Note two things. First, only Hamilton and Essex counties fall totally within the boundaries of the Park, hence some of the species on this list may not actually be present in the Park but are found in that portion of a county outside the Park. More work needs to be done to determine if these species are truly present in the Park. Second, the New York Flora Atlas only includes those species where a voucher specimen is present. Some widespread species may not be noted as present in all counties because a voucher specimen has never been collected. The key to the county presence list is: E = Essex SL = St. Lawrence O = Oneida H = Hamilton W = Warren C = Clinton Wa = Washington L = Lewis F = Franklin He = Herkimer Fu = Fulton S = Saratoga “All” indicates that the species is recorded in all counties in the Park. “Except” means that the species is found in all the counties in the Park except those listed. Two species of note: Phalaris arundinacea, reed canary grass, is a native species but undesirable to plant due to its aggressive, invasive behavior, and Ptelea trifoliata ssp. trifoliata, wafer-ash, is native to NYS outside the Park but is naturalized, and seemingly non- invasive, in Warren County. The species are further described by their habit (Tree, Tree (small), Shrub, Herb, Vine, Graminoid, Aquatic), wetland indicator status (OBL, FACW, FAC, FACU), and NYS Heritage Program rarity rank. I used my subjective experience in determining whether a species was a small tree or a large shrub, and I included the clubmosses with Herbs though not typically thought of in this way. 1 Wetland Indicator Status The wetland indicator status was assigned using the National List of Plant Species That Occur in Wetlands: 1988, New York (Reed 1988). There were differences in nomenclature, especially at variety or subspecies levels. These were resolved by referring to Mitchell and Tucker (1997) and the New York Flora Atlas. Explanation of Wetland Indicator Status Categories OBL – Obligate species occur almost always (estimated probability >99%) under natural conditions in wetlands. FACW – Facultative wetland species usually occur in wetlands (estimated probability 67%-99%), but are occasionally found in nonwetlands. FAC – Facultative species are equally likely to occur in wetlands or nonwetlands (estimated probability 34%- 66%). FACU – Facultative upland species usually occur in nonwetlands (estimated probability 67%-99%), but are occasionally found in wetlands (estimated probability 1%-33%). The positive (+) and negative (-) signs are used to more s\pecifically define the frequency of occurrence in wetlands. The positive sign indicates that the species is more frequently found in wetlands, and the negative sign indicates that the species is less frequently found in wetlands. Species without a wetland indicator status have either not been assessed or have been determined to be obligate upland species that occur almost always (estimated probability >99%) under natural conditions in nonwetlands. Rarity Ranking The rarity ranking was assigned using the New York Flora Atlas which includes the New York State Natural Heritage Program (http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/dfwmr/heritage/plants.htm) rarity rankings. These rarity ranks are maintained by NatureServe (www.natureserve.org) and are used by Natural Heritage programs in every state. They are not linked to any legal penalties but provide information used for determining state and federal legal status of rare plants. Explanation of Heritage Ranks and Codes Each taxon has a global and state rank. The global rank reflects the rarity of the species throughout the world and the state rank reflects the rarity within New York State. GLOBAL RANK G1 = Critically imperiled throughout its range due to extreme rarity (5 or fewer sites or very few remaining individuals) or extremely vulnerable to extinction due to biological factors. G2 = Imperiled throughout its range due to rarity (6 - 20 sites or few remaining individuals) or highly vulnerable to extinction due to biological factors. G3 = Either very rare and local throughout its range (21 - 100 sites), with a restricted range (but possibly locally abundant), or vulnerable to extinction due to biological factors. G4 = Apparently secure throughout its range (but possibly rare in parts). G5 = Demonstrably secure throughout its range (but possibly rare in parts). GH = No extant sites known but it may be rediscovered. GX = Species believed extinct. 2 TU & T? = Status of the subspecies or variety unknown. STATE RANK S1 = Critically imperiled in New York State because of extreme rarity (5 or fewer sites or very few remaining individuals) or extremely vulnerable to extirpation from New York State due to biological or human factors. S2 = Imperiled in New York State because of rarity (6 - 20 sites or few remaining individuals) or highly vulnerable to extirpation from New York State due to biological or human factors. S3 = Rare in New York State (usually 21 - 35 extant sites). S4 = Apparently secure in New York State. S5 = Demonstrably secure in New York State. SH = Historical. No existing sites known in New York State in the last 20-30 years but it may be rediscovered. SX = Apparently extirpated from New York State, very low probability of rediscovery. SR = Reported from the state, but existence has not been documented. SU = Status uncertain because of the cryptic nature of the plant. TAXON RANK The T-ranks are defined in the same way as the Global ranks, but the T-rank only refers to the rarity of the subspecific taxon, not the rarity of the species as a whole. If a species has a subspecific name that is the same as the species name it means there is also another subspecies of that species which we do not consider rare in New York or it does not occur in New York. DOUBLE RANKS (i.e., S1S2, S2S3, S1S3) The first rank indicates rarity based upon current documentation. The second rank indicates the probable rarity after all historical records and likely habitat have been checked. Double ranks denote species that need additional field surveys. A "Q" indicates a question exists whether or not the taxon is a good taxonomic entity. A "?" indicates that an identification question exists about known occurrences. It also indicates the rank presumably corresponds to actual occurrences even though the information has not yet been documented in heritage files or historical records. It serves to flag species that need more field studies or specimen identification. Contact and Questions Corrections and additions will be made as discovered and the list will be updated. The list has also been alphabetized by “Common Name” and is available at the Agency’s website. All corrections to or comments and questions about this list including additional species or other information should be directed to: Daniel M. Spada Supervisor, Natural Resource Analysis NYS Adirondack Park Agency Box 99 Ray Brook, New York 12977 518.891.4050 3 Trees and Small Trees Common Name Scientific Name Family Habit Wetland Rarity County Indicator Rank Presence Status Amelanchier, Running Amelanchier stolonifera Rosaceae Tree S5G5 Except F, H, Fu, (small) He Ash, Black Fraxinus nigra Oleaceae Tree FACW S5** Except C, O, S, Fu Ash, Green Fraxinus pennsylvanica Oleaceae Tree FACW S5G5 SL, O, L, W, E, S, Wa Ash, White Fraxinus americana Oleaceae Tree FACU S5G5 All Aspen, Bigtooth Populus