University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 7-29-2005 A Vascular Plant Inventory and Description of the Twelve Plant Community Types Found in the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area, Hillsborough County, Florida Anne Candace Schmidt University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons Scholar Commons Citation Schmidt, Anne Candace, "A Vascular Plant Inventory and Description of the Twelve Plant Community Types Found in the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area, Hillsborough County, Florida" (2005). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/855 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Vascular Plant Inventory and Description of the Twelve Plant Community Types Found in the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area, Hillsborough County, Florida by Anne Candace Schmidt A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science Department of Biology College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Co-Major Professor: Richard P. Wunderlin, Ph.D. Co-Major Professor: Frederick B. Essig, Ph.D. Gordon A. Fox, Ph.D. Date of Approval: July 29, 2005 Keywords: floristic survey, natural plant communities, conservation, management, anthropogenic perturbations © Copyright 2005, Anne Candace Schmidt Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................................iii List of Figures................................................................................................................................. iv Abstract........................................................................................................................................... vi Introduction...................................................................................................................................... 1 Site Overview .................................................................................................................................. 2 Physical Location................................................................................................................. 2 Early Inhabitants .................................................................................................................. 4 Historical Land Uses and History of Land Acquisition....................................................... 6 Climate................................................................................................................................. 8 Geology................................................................................................................................ 9 Topography, Hydrology, and Soils...................................................................................... 9 Methods ......................................................................................................................................... 12 Field Collections ................................................................................................................ 12 Delineation and Characterization of Plant Communities................................................... 12 Data Organization .............................................................................................................. 14 Results and Discussion .................................................................................................................. 15 Floristics............................................................................................................................. 15 Plant Communities............................................................................................................. 18 Riverine Community............................................................................................. 22 Blackwater Stream ................................................................................... 22 Palustrine Communities ........................................................................................ 28 Floodplain Swamp ................................................................................... 28 i Floodplain Forest ..................................................................................... 33 Floodplain Marsh ..................................................................................... 36 Hydric Hammock..................................................................................... 39 Seepage Slope .......................................................................................... 44 Wet Flatwoods ......................................................................................... 50 Terrestrial Communities ....................................................................................... 55 Mesic Flatwoods ...................................................................................... 56 Scrubby Flatwoods................................................................................... 62 Sandhill .................................................................................................... 66 Xeric Hammock ....................................................................................... 74 Ruderal/Developed................................................................................... 81 Annotated List of the Vascular Flora............................................................................................. 84 Pteridophytes (Ferns and Fern Allies) ............................................................................... 85 Gymnosperms .................................................................................................................... 86 Angiosperms (Monocotyledons)........................................................................................ 86 Angiosperms (Dicotyledons) ............................................................................................. 93 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................... 108 Literature Cited ............................................................................................................................ 109 Appendices................................................................................................................................... 112 Appendix A: Summary of Research Activities on the Ecological Research Area.......... 113 Appendix B: Dates of controlled burns at the USF eco area ......................................... 118 ii List of Tables Table 1. University of South Florida Ecological Research Area floristic synopsis...................... 15 Table 2. Vascular plant taxa endemic to Florida occurring in the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area ............................................................................................... 16 Table 3. Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council listed invasive vascular plant taxa found in the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area .................................................. 17 Table 4. New records of vascular plant taxa for Hillsborough County found in the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area.................................................................... 17 Table 5. University of South Florida Ecological Research Area vascular plant taxa listed as endangered, threatened, or commercially exploited by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services ........................................................................... 18 Table 6. Areas of the twelve plant communities found in the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area ............................................................................................... 19 iii List of Figures Figure 1. Map of Florida showing the location of the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area (USF Eco Area) in Hillsborough County ................................................ 2 Figure 2. A color infrared aerial of the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area.... 3 Figure 3. Old pilings are the only signs left from the 880 foot bridge that had provided access to Buck Island across the swamp during the Works Progress Administration 1937 archaeological survey and excavations of Buck Island.................................................... 5 Figure 4. 1938 USDA/SCS Hillsborough County Soils Survey aerial photograph........................ 6 Figure 5. National Wetland Inventory map of the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area showing the NWI wetland type classification ....................................... 10 Figure 6. Soil type classification in the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area from the 1989 USDA/SCS Hillsborough County Soil Survey ...................................... 11 Figure 7. Historic and recent aerial photographs of the University of South Florida Ecological Research Area ................................................................................................................ 13 Figure 8.