DICHANTHELIUM SCOPARIUM AND MUHLENBERGIA GLABRIFLORIS: NEW TO THE FLORA OF OHIO

2004·2.7 MB·English

by  Richard L Gardner

DICHANTHELIUMSCOPARIUMANDMUHLENBERGIA
GLABRIFLORIS:NEWTOTHEFLORAOFOHIO
RichardL.Gardner JarmesS.McCormac
TheNatureConservancy,OhioChapter OhioDepartrventofNaturalResources
6375RiversideDrive,Suite50 DivisionofNaturalAreasandPreserves
Dublin.Ohio43017,U.SA. 1889FountainSquare,F-I
Email:rgardner@tncorg Columbus,Ohio43224,U.S.A.
David Minney
TheNatureConservancy,OhioChapter
6375RiversideDrive,Suite50
Dublin,Ohio43017,U.S.A.
ABSTRACT
TwonativegrassesarereportednewtoOhio'sflora,Dlchanlhchumscoparhun(LamJGouldand
ekm\^bda^\\-emnehnertgd\iast'^rliabhurtiifolnorpiasttSecrrni.bTn,heByotwhersepteocuiensdasthalorcealaitiseismilelsasrtchoaanst4a,5lkpmhtamparatndanMdismsiasnsiaprpeia
knownlorsouthernspeciesreachingtheirnorihernlimit.
RHSLIMEN
DosgramineasnativassecitancomonuevasparalafloradeOhio.Diclunit/u'Iium.scDpiiriiifn(l.am.J
GouldandiVfi(lilcn)iergia,t;(cifin71(iri.sSjtibn.Ambasespeciescompartenonpatrondedistribucibn
enunallanuracosteraydesembocadtiradelMississippi.Seenconlraronenlocalidadesamcnosde
4.5km)'enunareaconocidadeespeciesmeridionalesquealcanzanaliisulimitenorte.
In 2001,MinneycollectedDichantheliumscopaiium,velvetpantcgrass(Syn.
Panicumscoparium Lam.)inJacksonCounty,Ohio,aspeciespreviouslynot
reportedlorOhioCCooperrideretal.2001;FloraofNorthAmericaCommittee
(FNA)1993).Theauthorsrevisitedthesitein2002tocollectecologicaldata
andadditionalvoucherspecimens.Dichantheliumscopariumisadistinctive,
large,andeasilyidentifiedspeciesmagenusnotoriousforconfoundingbota-
nists.Floweringculmscanbeupto1.3minheight(Fernald1950),andarecov-
eredwithsoft,long-spreadinghairswiththeexceptionofaglabrous,viscid
bandbeloweachnode.
DistributionofthisgrassfollowsacoastalplainandMississippiembayment
pattern(Fig.1).ItrangesfromMassachusettssouthprimarilyalongthecoastal
plaintoFlorida,westalongtheGulfCoasttoTexas,andnorthintheinterior,
primarilyintheMississippiRiverValleyanditstributariestosoutheastern
Kansas,southernIllinois,andKentucky.Habitatsforthisspeciesarevariously
reportedas"wetsoiF(Gleason&Cronquist1991),"ditchesandlowwoods"(Rad-
fordet.al 1968),"dampthickets,swalesandshores"(Fernald1950),"seepage
bogsassociatedwiththelongleafpinesystem"([Alabama]AlSchotz,pers.
SIDA21(1):465-471.2004
466 BRiT.ORG/SIDA21(1)
Fig.1.MapshowingtheNorthAmericandistributionofDkhantheliumscopariumadaptedfromFloraofNorthAmerica
Committee(1993).
comm.2003),i^nd"bottomlandanduplandprairies,sandprairies,ledgesof
bluffs,glades,marginsofsinkdioleponds,fens,andopeningsofmesicupland
torests,usuallyonacidicandespeciallysandysubstrates;alsoroadsides,rail-
roads,andfallowfields(Yatskievych1999)."Thewetlandindicatorstatus,as
aFsAsiCgWned(FbacyutlhteatUi.vSe.WFeits)h,&meWailndilnigfethSaetrvtihceep(lRaenetdu1s9u8a8l)lyfoorctchuerseamstewrentlU.aSn.diss
(estimatedprobability67%-99%),butisoccasionallyfoundinnon-wetlands.
TheOhiopopulationoccursonpermanentlysaturatedsoilassociatedwith
aseepageoutflow,andDichanthtiiumscopanumlargelydefinesthelimitsof
themoistsoifs.ithasformedadensecolonynearlyexcludingotherplantsin
someareasoftheseepagemeadow.Whilethissiteisintheright-of-wayfora
highway,wedon'tconsideritintroducedtothissite,eitherintentionallyaspart
ofroadsideplantings,orunintentionallybypassingtrafficorsomeotherfac-
torassociatedwiththeroadway.Ofcourse,thespreadofplantsintonewre-
gionsviaroadwaysisawell-documentedphenomenon(Reznicek&rCatling
1987).ThegeneraDichanthcUumandPanicuminOhioarenotknownfornon-
natives,though.InthemostrecentlistingofOhioflora(Coopernderet.al2001),
GARDNERETAL.,NEWNATIVEGRASSESFORTHEOHIOFLORA 467
thereare36specieslistedforthesegenera,andonlyoneisnotindigenous,Pani-
cummiliaceumL.However,P.miliaccum^ormillet,doesnotpersistinthewild
inOhio,andisinostoftenseencoininguparoundbirdfeederswheretheseed
hasfallentotheground.ItshouldbenotedthatDichantheliumscopariumis
reportedinMichiganbytheUSDAPLANTSDatabase,butthereisnoknown
specimenfromMichiganandthereportmaybebasedonasynonymyerror
([Michigan]Rezmcek,pers.comm.2003).Anditw^asnotdiscoveredatanother
northernmostpointmitsrange—southernIllinois—until1967(Mohlenbrock
1973),althoughitisconsiderednativethere.Thespecieswasdiscoveredinsouth-
w^esternIndianain1982([Indiana]Homoya,pers.comm.2003)andagainin
1998insoutheasternhidiana(Hedgeetal.1999).Anotherpanicgrass,Pamcum
verrucosumMuhl,,whichhasasimilarcoastalplaindistribution,isfoundin
southernOhiomAdams,AthensandPikecounties.ItgrowsinadjacentPike
CountyonroadsidebanksalongtheAppalachianHighway.Thisspeciesiscur-
rentlylistedasthreatenedinOhio(OhioDivisionofNaturalAreas&Preserves
2002).
AlthoughtheDichanthehumscopanumsiteisalongahighway,thefloris-
ticcompositionissimilartopartsofTheNatureConservancy's(TNC)Glade
WetlandPreserve,w^hichisamosaicoflow,poorlydrainedwetlandsinter-
spersedwithhigherknollsthatsupportuplandspecies.Thepreserveisabout4
kmeastoftheD.scopariumsite(Fig.2).Planttaxaoccurringatbothsitesinclude
Agalinispurpurea(L.)Pennell,AsckpiashirtcUa(Pennell)Woodson,Asdepias
incarnataL.,CarexanncctcnsBickn.vanxanthocarpa(Bickn.)Wieg.,Carex
complanataTorn&Hook.,CarexseopanaSchk.,Eleocharistenuis(Willd.)
Schultesvarverrucosa(Svenson)SvcnsonJuncusanthelatus(Wiegand)R.E.
Brooks,JuncushiflorusElliott,Jiouu.shrachycarpusEngelm.,Lysimachia
quadrijlora Sims,Panicumanceps Michx., Panicum microcarpon Muhl.,
PycnanthemumtenuijolhimSchraderR/ivnchosporaccipitenata(Michx.)Vahl,
Sahatiaangularis(L.)Vursh..StuteUariaintegrijoliaL.,-dndSorghastrumnutans
(L.)Nash.AnothersignificantspeciesattheD.scopariumsitethatisnotatGlade
WetlandPreserveisthestateendangeredSelenapaucijloraMuhl.exWilld.
Voucherspecimens:OHIO.JacksonCo.:dominantm15inX10inpatch;scatteredmostlyinditch
forabout150malonghighway;seepagezone,opengrassland,NandadjacenttoAppalachianHigh-
way(St.Rt.32);2.5miEofthePike/JacksonCountyline.5Jul2001.Minneys.n.(MICH);onelarge
colony,co\'eringseveraldozensc|uareteet.inprairiedikeopeningonroadbank,alongseepageout-
flow,NsideofOHRt.32.justEofjet.withC-23,sect.8;BeaverQuad;SciotoTwp.,16Jul2002.MlConmic
7,296,Minney&GardneriCLM,KE.MICH.MU.OSJ
In2002,MinneycollectedMuhlenbcrgiaglabriflorisScribn.(clay-panmuhly),
anotherspeciesnotreportedlorOhio(Cooperrideretal.2001;FNA1993).In
GleasonandCronquist(1991)andFernald(1950)thespecificepithetisspelled
M.glahriflorabutwefollowScribnersoriginalspelling,M.glabrifloris(FNA
2003).ThisspecieshasasimilardistributionasD.scoparium,however,itisun-
468 BRIT.ORG/SIDA21(1)
'7 *=-7r**^>«C'}
7 IN*^,-,-
.^-r'
' £ 1 \ > * ./ ,
^/n'/1t«n:il6/2S5r-ni0i»ii>0.^i I.f1T.1I't•iiiif?t-ran.l//.ll?ff/fiiri/n1 ^-rt^1 A1 /. (OT.)cixck(uulNrcraWetinutcrleeaCnodnsPerrc\s'eanntcy
Fig.2.MapshowingthelocationsofDichantheliumscopariumandMuhlenbergiaglabriflorisinproximitytoeachother
andTheNatureConservancy'sGladeWetlandPreserve,PikeCounty,Ohio.
common throughout most ol its range and is listed as rare in 7 states
(NatureServc2003).Itranges1romthecoastalplainolVu-giniaandNorthCaro-
lina,andIromAlabamatoeasternTexasnorthtoMissouri,southernIllinois,
southwesternIndianaandwesternKentucky(i^ig.3).TheOhiositeisdisjunct,
astheclosestlocalesareinIndianaandKentuck)',about500kmaway.
h4iihlcnbcrv^iiiglahrifloiishaswell-developed rhizomesand flowering
culmsuptoImlongwithtnultiplelateralpanicles.Itstronglyresemblesacotn-
monmuhlyinOhio'sIlora,Muhlci]hc}y^uijiviidosciCPoir)Fern.,however,the
lemmaiscompletelyglabrouscomparedtothebeardedlemmaofM.fwndosa.
Habitatsrangefrom"bottomlandforests,mesicuplandforests,bottomlandand
uplandprairies,andmarginsofglades;alsorailroads"inMissouri(Yatskievitch
199Q)and"nToistwoodlands"in Illinois(Mohlenbrock 1973).Glcasonand
CronquistU^Qljlistitshabitatas"mostlyinshadeon lowgrcmndin hea\'y
clay."TheOhiopopulationislocatedjustnorthofTNCsGladeWetlandPre-
serve(Fig.2).ThepopulationislocatedonclaysoilsinapinoakflatwoodsCFig.
4),ahabitatsimilartositesreportedIromotherpartsofitsrange.
VbuclicrS|ierinien:OHIO.PikeCo.:pinoak-s\\,unpwhiteoal<lorcaiincla\-soilsoltheprc-glacial
TeaysRiverValley,vvoocllotabout5acresinsize;0.^iniNolthenitei"seciionoltheApi^ahuhi.m
Highway(Rt.32)andthePike-|acl<sonCountyLine,1Oct;2002.Minitcva.n.lOSj.
Theregioiiwherethesetwospecieswerediscoveredisnotedforunusualplant
communitiesthatsupportmanyrarespecies,includingsoutherniloi'aatthe
northernlimitsoftheirranges(Beatley1959;Spooner1982).Someexampieso\
GARDNERETAL.,NEWNATIVEGRASSESFORTHEOHIOFLORA 469
Fig.3.MapshowingtheNorthAmericandistributionofMuhlenbergiaglabriflorisadaptedfromFloraofNorthAmerica
Committee(1993).
southernplantsthatarewithin')kmoftheGladeWetlandPreserveareGratiola
viscidulaPenned,Magnolia macrophyllaMichx.,Panicumlaxijlorum Lam.,
PolygalacuriissiiA.Gray,andTriadenumwalteri(S.G.Gmehn)Gleason.Asthe
OhiopopulationsofDichanlhcliumscoparmmandMuhknhcrguigiahrifloyis
occurinappropriatehabitatmnativeplantcommunities,andtheirdistribu-
tionmirrorsthatol othersnnilarlydistributedsouthernspecies,Vv'econsider
bothasnativetoOhio.ThesespecieslikelymigratedintosouthernOhiovia
thesameroutefromtheMississippiRiverValleyintotheOhioRiverValley.
Similarhabitatswillbeexploredintheregionforadditionallocalitiesofthese
twospecies.
ACKNOWLEDGK'IFNTS
WethankAlSchotz,DeborahWhite,Mikefiomoya,JohnPearson,ChrisFrye,
DavidSnyderandBillCarrofAlabama,Kentucky,Indiana,Iowa,Maryland,
Newjersey.andTexasfieritagePrograms,respectively,fordistributionandhabi-
tatinformation.WealsothankAllisonCusickandMadeenKromerforreview-
ingeariydraftsofthispaper,andDanielBooneforbringingtoourattentionthe
Indianapopulationsof Dichanthelium.scopcrrium.WearegratefultoAnton
470 BRIT.ORG/SIDA21(1)
f-KA.MuhlenbergiaglabriflorisviaiioundinthispinoakflatwoodslocatedadjacenttoTheNatureConservancy'sGlade
WetlandPreserve,PikeCounty,Ohio(PhotographbyGaryMcFadden).
ReznicekoftheU.ofMichiganforinformingusonthestatusofD.icopariumin
Michigan.MichaelLelongprovidedhelpfulinformationonD.scopariumna-
tionwidedistribution.ThankstoTheNatureConservancyandtheOhioDivi-
siono(NaturalAreasandPreservesforsupportingourresearch.
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