Anthriscus caucalis M.Bieb.

Anthriscus caucalis M.Bieb. View in CoL ( Apiaceae ) was found growing in a vacant lot near Pavonia Yard, an active railroad junction in Camden ( U.S.A. New Jersey. Camden Co.: Camden, vacant lot near Pavonia Yard, 14 Jun 2021, Schmidt et al. 490, CHRB). While this appears to be a waif population, it is possible that this plant could continue to spread along the railroad line so further monitoring of this population is needed to determine its potential establishment.

MISCELLANEOUS FAMILIES

Noteworthy collections from Mississippi and Alabama

Primary author:John C. Kees

Ten notable records are discussed as part of continuing efforts to document the flora of the inner East Gulf Coastal Plain of south Mississippi and Alabama. Seven taxa are reported new to the flora of Mississippi, most located during surveys of prairie openings, barrens, glades, woodlands, and rich forests associated with calcareous substrates of the Jackson Prairie and related Oligocene limestones; three significantly rare taxa are reported for new counties, ecoregions, or physiographic provinces. Voucher specimens are deposited in the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science ( MMNS), Austin Peay State University ( APSC), and University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill (NCU) herbaria. Detailed locality information is excluded, as all of the native taxa are significantly rare in the state and on unprotected land (many unlikely to persist without changes in management). The habitat, rarity, and distribution within the state of each taxon are discussed .

Baptisia aberrans (Larisey) Weakley ( Fabaceae ). ALABAMA: Choctaw Co.: J.C. Kees 1286 (NCU). This is the first report of B. aberrans for the Coastal Plain. Plants occur in Choctaw County on roadsides over calcareous clay soils which formerly supported open Jackson Prairie and woodlands, now converted to improved pasture. Surveys did not locate any plants in nearby remnant prairie openings—it is possible that this species, along with a number of other relatively mesophytic “prairie” indicators, preferred relatively mesic soils which supported open oak woodlands, savannahs, or “black prairies” (now more-or-less collapsed; see Hilgard 1860 and soil surveys), presumably maintained by fire, and not the extreme edaphic conditions of remaining prairie patches. Plants were collected within a few miles of the state line, and more extensive examples of these communities existed, at least historically, in adjacent Mississippi —thorough searches for roadside remnants may yield additional occurrences.

Clematis pitcheri Torr. & A. Gray var. pitcheri ( Ranunculaceae ). MISSISSIPPI: Newton Co.: J.C. Kees 483 (APSC, NCU), Rankin Co.: J.C.Kees 1200 (NCU). Previous reports of C. pitcheri from Mississippi likely represent recently described species in the C. reticulata-flaccida complex (D. Estes pers. comm.); these appear to be the first two verified reports of C. pitcheri from the state, and possibly the only known populations east of the Mississippi River and south of the Interior Low Plateau. At both sites C. pitcheri is associated with calcareous woodlands over outcrops of the Jackson formation. In Rankin County, it occurs in oak-hickory-cedar woodlands transitional between alluvial bottomland forest and an isolated group of open calcareous prairies, probably formerly more open, associated with Carex cherokeensis , Echinacea purpurea , Carya myristiciformis , Quercus shumardii , and Camassia scilloides ; the Newton County population is in a state highway right-of-way bisecting calcareous brownwater terrace forest. Most of the Rankin County mosaic, except the prairie opening where C. pitcheri occurs, has been converted to agricultural uses; the Newton County population is subject to frequent mowing and may not survive continued herbicide application.

Coreopsis grandiflora Hogg ex Sweet var. inclinata J.R.Allison ( Asteraceae ). MISSISSIPPI:Wayne Co.: J.C.Kees 1334 (NCU), J.C. Kees 1412 (NCU). Coreopsis grandiflora Hogg ex Sweet var. inclinata is known only from dolomite glades in Bibb County, Alabama. The dominant Coreopsis in the Oligocene limestone glades and barrens of Wayne County, Mississippi, seems to most closely fit var. inclinata morphologically and is placed there provisionally, but may actually represent an undescribed species. Wayne County limestone barren Coreopsis plants bloom in early May; var. inclinata in the Bibb glades blooms in late summer. Like Rhynchospora thornei , its future is uncertain as remaining glades are unprotected and continue to be cleared for log landing grounds and wildlife food plots and degraded by Off Road Vehicle (ORV) activity and cogongrass ( Imperata cylindrica ).