View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Texas A&M Repository FLORISTICS AND BIOGEOGRAPHY OF THE BRYOPHYTE FLORA IN THE BIG THICKET NATIONAL PRESERVE, SOUTHEAST TEXAS A Thesis by DALE ANTHONY KRUSE Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Chair of Committee, Stephan L. Hatch Committee Members, David M. Cairns William E. Rogers Paul G. Davison Head of Department, Kathleen Kavanagh August 2015 Major Subject: Ecosystem Science and Management Copyright 2015 Dale Anthony Kruse ABSTRACT The Big Thicket National Preserve in southeast Texas, U.S.A has been the subject of numerous vascular plant surveys. However, there has not been a comprehensive survey of non- vascular plants (bryophytes) since its founding in 1974. A survey of the bryophytes was conducted between 2008 and 2011. This specimen and literature based inventory documents a total of 166 species of mosses, liverworts, and hornworts in 55 families, 97 genera. This total represents a 41% increase over previously documented species in the preserve. Nine new tentative state records are listed. Dichotomous keys for the identification of all extant groups, genera, and species are included. The bryophyte flora of the Big Thicket National Preserve is primarily composed of Widespread (28%), Holarctic (26%), Eastern North American (21%), and Tropical (17%) species. ii DEDICATION In the first century B.C., Publilius Syrus in his Sententiae, espoused the view “a rolling stone gathers no moss.” However, in the ensuing 2000 or so years, it seems further research now suggests that in fact “moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone” (Don McLean, American Pie, 1971). The study of bryophytes in the “Lone Star State” has been intermittent at best, while vascular plants have taken a much greater prominence in our pursuit of botany. This thesis is dedicated to all of those who preceded me in the pursuit of these most interesting, but overlooked residents of our state. Borrowing a phrase from A.C. Crundwell “the trouble with mosses is that they are the wrong size, and there is no money in them” suggests (tongue in cheek) that they are of little value. I beg to differ, and as Bernard Goffinet and Jon Shaw so aptly expressed it “although the angiosperms are impressively diverse in numbers and structure, they are, we now know from phylogenetic insights into plant evolution, just glorified bryophytes.” Despite all of this trouble with mosses, each of my predecessors has contributed to the foundation upon which to stand, as I hope to advance bryology in Texas a bit further. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS During the course of this project I spent many, maybe too many, hours away from home. Therefore, my most sincere thank you, and deepest appreciation, goes to my wife Maggie, who steadfastly supported me in the pursuit of my obsession. To my parents Rodger and Lillie, who always taught me to never give up, and that anything worth having does not come easy. The completion of this degree and my accomplishements in life thus far, are based on these principals. My committee members, Stephan L. Hatch, William E. Rogers, David M. Cairns, and Paul G. Davison have all been very patient in this process, offered constructive criticism, and guidance along the way. The staff at the Big Thicket National Preserve provided assistance and logistical support while I was in the field. The Big Thicket Association generously made the Field Research Station my “home away from home” while I was making collections in the Big Thicket. A special thanks goes to Paul V. Roling who spent countless with me hours in the field collecting bryophytes, and even more hours making identifications as part of this inventory. His companionship and efforts were essential to this project. Over the years, as I collected specimens and data, three students (Jessica Dyer, Makell Garlick, Andrea Wiley) assisted me in getting voluminous amounts of specimen data from those tiny paper collecting bags, and countless label images, into digital files. Jene’t Ardoin graciously offered her time to create the figures in this thesis and helped with formatting some of the content. I would be remiss if I failed to acknowledge the outstanding financial support I received in the course of this project. The Western National Parks Association, in addition to the Big iv Thicket Association’s Thicket of Diversity, provided generous funding for three years of field work in the Big Thicket National Preserve. Without their organizational support, this project would have been impossible. In addition, the Frank W. Gould Award for Graduate Student Research in Plant Systematics provided much appreciated financial support for my formal education while completing this project. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................................................................... iv TABLE OF CONTENTS ............................................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF TABLES.......................................................................................................................... ix CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 1 What are Bryophytes .......................................................................... 1 Uses and Values of Bryophytes .......................................................... 3 Bryophyte Morphology ....................................................................... 4 Site Description ................................................................................... 7 CHAPTER II METHODS ................................................................................................... 13 Objectives ......................................................................................... 13 Field Collections ............................................................................... 13 Identification and Vouchering .......................................................... 14 Herbarium Search ............................................................................. 15 Identification Keys ............................................................................ 15 Biogeographic Affinities .................................................................. 16 CHAPTER III THE BRYOPHYTE FLORA ........................................................................ 17 Floristic Bryology in the Big Thicket Region ................................... 17 Taxonomic Analysis of the Bryophyte Flora .................................... 18 Checklist of the Bryophyte Flora ...................................................... 21 Rare and Endangered Species ........................................................... 28 Tentative State Records .................................................................... 30 Unit Inventory Status ........................................................................ 32 CHAPTER IV KEYS TO THE IDENTIFICATION OF BRYOPHYTES AND SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS ........................................................................... 33 Keys to Groups, Genera, Species, and Species Descriptions ......................... 36 Key to Groups of Bryophytes ........................................................... 36 Keys and Species Descriptions - Anthocerotophyta ......................... 37 vi Keys and Species Descriptions - Bryophyta ..................................... 41 Keys and Species Descriptions - Marchantiophyta......................... 131 Excluded Species ......................................................................................... 191 CHAPTER V BIOGEOGRAPHIC AFFINITIES OF THE BRYOPHYTE FLORA ......... 195 Biogeographic Elements .............................................................................. 196 East-West Transition in Liverwort Growth Forms ...................................... 201 Possible Origin of the Bryophyte Flora ....................................................... 202 CHAPTER VI CONCLUSION ............................................................................................ 206 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................ 208 APPENDIX A HISTORICAL CHECKLIST OF BIG THICKET BRYOPHYTES ............ 229 APPENDIX B BRYOPHYTE INVENTORY STATUS BY PRESERVE UNIT ............... 236 APPENDIX C BIOGEOGRAPHICAL ELEMENT ASSIGNMENT BY SPECIES .......... 244 APPENDIX D INDEX TO SPECIES DESCRIPTIONS ..................................................... 252 vii LIST OF FIGURES Page Figure 1 Location of the Big Thicket National Preserve ................................................ 9 Figure 2 Map of the Big Thicket National Preserve, Southeast Texas........................... 9 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Summary and Comparison of the Historical and Current Big Thicket National Preserve Bryophyte Flora ...............................................................