2010 Spring Botanical Excursion, Part I

In April 2009, Justin Thomas and I took a botanical trip to Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia. Because seeing numerous species of Trillium was our goal, we dubbed our botanical excursion "Trillium Tromp 2009" (see posts here and here). Although we were only able to hunt down three species of Trillium, our trip was a huge success, as we saw various other interesting plants. This April, Justin and I were at it again, this time with Brad Slaughter and Doug Ladd joining us on our ramblings through Missouri and Arkansas. While this year's trip was not technically considered a Trillium Tromp by name, we did two better than during Trillium Tromp 2009, finding five species of Trillium (three new to me).


Brad drove down to my house from Michigan on 20 April 2010, and the two of us then headed to Missouri. Justin met us at Victoria Glade just southwest of St. Louis, where we saw Wood Wakerobin (Trillium viride), shown above.

The following day at a preserve in Shannon County, Missouri, we stumbled apon a familiar trillie, Toadshade (Trillium sessile), shown above.


On our way south to Arkansas on 22 April 2010, we stopped near Winona, Missouri to see Ozark Wakerobin (Trillium pusillum var. ozarkanum), pictured above.


At Magazine Mountain in Arkansas on 25 April 2010, we found Tapertip Wakerobin (Trillium viridescens), shown above. The characters used to distinguish this species from Wood Wakerobin are not very clear; I'm using the known ranges of the two species, more than anything else, to distinguish between the two.

The fifth species of Trillium that we observed on our trip was Bloody Butcher (Trillium recurvatum), not shown. We observed this species at several locations in Arkansas.

But enough of those trillies... let's get to the rest of the trip!

As I mentioned, we stopped at Victoria Glade on our way south. The plant richness on rocky, thin-soiled glades never ceases to amaze me. Our target at this location was the rare Fremont's Leatherflower (Clematis fremontii), known only from Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska.


As with most of our target plants on this trip, we were not disappointed.


Also common in the glade was Prairie Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium campestre), a species found throughout central North America from Manitoba to Texas.


A partial list of other plants we observed in the glade inlcudes Baptisia australis, Bouteloua curtipendula, Camassia scilloides, Carex crawei, Carex meadii, Castilleja coccinea, Dodecatheon meadia, Echinacea pallida, Eleocharis compressa, Glandularia canadensis, Nothoscordum bivalve, Rudbeckia missouriensis, Sorghastrum nutans, and Sporobolus neglectus.

Along an intermittent stream in moist woods surrounding the glade, we found both the blue (forma tricorne) and white (forma albiflora) color morphs of Dwarf Larkspur (Delphinium tricorne). You can see the white color morph in the background in the photo below.


Additional plants we saw in the wooded portion of the property include Arisaema dracontium, Asarum canadense, Carex blanda, Carex jamesii, Carex oligocarpa, Chaerophyllum procumbens, Erythronium albidum, Hybanthus concolor, Hydrastis canadensis, Ilex decidua, Lilium michiganense, Mertensia virginica, Phlox divaricata, Rhamnus caroliniana, Sanguinaria canadensis, Silene stellata, and Staphylea trifolia, among others.

The three of us spent 21 April 2010 botanizing in Missouri's Ozarks. Our first stop was at a Shannon County preserve, where we saw a mix of dolomite glade and woodlands.


Here, our target was White Lady's Slipper (Cypripedium candidum), as this site is one of just a few stations for this species in Missouri. The flowers seemed smaller than those on plants I've seen in Indiana prairies and fens.


Of course, we didn't just go for a single species, so we did plenty of botanizing before and after finding the lady slipper population. Scarlet Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja coccinea) was in bloom, with bracts ranging in color from red to orange to yellow from plant to plant.


Another attractive plant that was in bloom was Robin's Plantain (Erigeron pulchellus). This composite is generally found in dry conditions throughout the eastern half of North America.


Other plants we saw at this preserve include Actaea racemosa, Astragalus crassicarpus var. trichocalyx, Baptisia bracteata, Berchemia scandens, Carex digitalis, Carex hirsutella, Carex meadii, Carex planispicata, Carex umbellata, Castilleja coccinea, Celtis tenuifolia, Cypripedium parviflorum var. pubescens, Dichanthelium boscii, Dirca palustris, Echinacea pallida, Galium arkansanum, Gymnopogon ambiguus, Hypoxis hirsuta, Liatris cylindracea, Lithospermum canescens, Lonicera flava, Manfreda virginica, Minuartia patula, Pedicularis canadensis, Pellaea atropurpurea, Rhamnus lanceolata, Rudbeckia missouriensis, Scutellaria bushii, Silene virginica, Silphium asteriscus, Sorghastrum nutans, Taenidia integerrima, Thaspium trifoliatum, Vaccinium stamineum, Zizia aptera, and Zizea aurea, among many others.

Our next stop on 21 April 2010 was the fens at Shut-in Mountain.


At the fen and in the surrounding woodland, we saw Calopogon tuberosus, Carex albolutescens, Carex buxbaumii, Carex crawei, Carex leptalea, Carex sterilis, Carex suberecta, Carex tetanica, Castilleja coccinea, Nemastylis geminiflora, Parnassia grandifolia, Pedicularis lanceolata, Rhynchospora capillacea, Rudbeckia fulgida, Solidago buckleyi, Zizia aptera, and many, many others.

On 22 April 2010, we left Salem, Missouri and drove to Arkansas, where we met up with Doug Ladd and Theo Witsell. Theo was our guide for the next couple of days, taking us to various preserves and giving us directions to various others.


Our first stop was at Dry Lost Creek Glade in Bauxite Natural Areas. As the name implies, this property was historically mined for bauxite for the production of aluminum; however, remnants of the glade and woodland complex present prior to settlement still exist.


At this preserve, Fringed Bluestar (Amsonia ciliata) was one of our highlights. This species is known from the southeastern and southcentral United States.


Fuzzy Phacelia (Phacelia hirsuta) was also observed in abundance at this site, particularly in scrubby areas and woodlands.


Some of the other plants we saw at Dry Lost Creek Glade include Aesculus pavia, Aristolochia reticulata, Asclepias hirtella, Callitriche heterophylla, Carex bushii, Carex flaccosperma, Carex glaucodea, Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Clinopodium glabellum, Dichanthelium laxiflorum, Dichanthelium scoparium, Drosera brevifolia, Hypericum pseudomaculatum, Isoetes butleri, Isolepis pseudosetacea, Juncus scirpoides, Lotus unifoliolatus, Melica mutica, Muhlenbergia capillaris, Packera tomentosa, Piptochaetium avenaceum, Scutellaria parvula var. australis, Tridens chapmanii, Trifolium carolinianum, Ulmus alata, Vicia minutiflora, and Zanthoxylum clava-herculis.

I've posted some additional photos from our trip here on Get Your Botany On! If you haven't already read Part II of my report, click here.

Huzzah Highlights

While in Missouri last week visiting Justin, Dana, and Eli Thomas, we took advantage of a beautiful early spring day and visited the Huzzah River at Fish Trap Preserve of the Ozark Regional Land Trust. In addition to simply wanting to get some fresh air, we also had the goal of searching for a newly described species of leatherwood, Ozark Leatherwood (Dirca decipiens), an early flowering shrub currently known only from Kansas, Arkansas, and Missouri. Justin knew that there was leatherwood in the floodplain of the Huzzah River at this location, but he hadn't seen the population since the new species had been described. We easily located a large population of leatherwood (the largest population Justin or I had ever seen), but unfortunately it all turned out to be Eastern Leatherwood (Dirca palustris).


According to a paper by Aaron Floden, Mark Mayfield, and Carolyn Ferguson, there are several differences between the more common Eastern Leatherwood and the newly described (and as yet, rare) Ozark Leatherwood. The inflorescences of Eastern Leatherwood are on elongating peduncles, whereas those of Ozark Leatherwood are essentially sessile. The upper surfaces of the bracts of Eastern Leatherwood usually are covered by dark brown pubescence; those of Ozark Leatherwood are covered by white to light tan pubescence. The calyx in Eastern Leatherwood is unlobed (with erose, crenulate, or undulate margins), whereas the calyx in Ozark Leatherwood is four lobed (with entire to crenate margins). The leaves of Eastern Leatherwood are usually glabrous, whereas the leaves and twigs of Ozark Leatherwood are always pubescent. Finally, the fruit of Eastern Leatherwood are hairless at the tip, whereas those of Ozark Leatherwood have trichomes present at the tip. It has also been noted that Ozark Leatherwood is most often found on north-facing bluffs and slopes, often with oaks and junipers; Eastern Leatherwood is a species of low woods and floodplains.

Although we struck out on the new leatherwood, the day was still quite productive. We had little trouble finding another of our targets, Powder Gun Moss (Diphyscium foliosum). Also, several ephemerals, including Cut-leaved Toothwort (Cardamine concatenata), Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica), Harbinger of Spring (Erigenia bulbosa), and False Rue Anemone (Enemion biternatum) were in bloom. We also had a decent day in terms of herps (at least for a bunch of botanists).


The photos directly above and below show a Little Brown Skink (Scincella lateralis). I first noticed this skink when I saw a tail slithering through the vegetation and thought I had seen a snake. This common species, which is one of the smallest reptiles in North America, spends most of its time in the leaf litter. It is interesting to note that Little Brown Skinks can apparently see with their eyes closed, as they have transparent disks in their lower eyelids.


Little Brown Skinks are known from much of the eastern United States (New Jersey to Kansas, south to Florida and Texas), as well as from northern Mexico.


We also turned over numerous logs and rocks and found several of the salamander species shown directly above and below, which I believe is a Southern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon serratus). Like many other salamanders, this species spends much of its time under debris in moist woods. It is primarily nocturnal.


According to the Animal Diversity Web (http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Plethodon_serratus.html), Southern Red-backed Salamanders are found in four disjunct populations: the Salem plateau of southeast Missouri, the Ouachita Mountains in southeast Oklahoma and west central Arkansas, the Piedmont Plateau and Blue Ridge Mountains of northwest Georgia, Alabama, Tennesee, and North Carolina, and in isolated locations in central Louisiana.

Thanks to Justin and Dana for introducing us to this preserve. You can't go wrong with a hike on a spring day, as there is always so much to see.

A Trip to Kaintuck Hollow

On our recent trip to Missouri, we spent the better part of a beautiful spring day at Kaintuck Hollow in Mark Twain National Forest. Below are a few photos of the fauna we saw... I could use a little help identifying a couple of these.

As soon as we got out of the car, I heard rustling of leaves and found a Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans v. blanchardi). In northern Indiana, cricket frogs have become pretty uncommon in the past quarter of a century; as you go farther south in the state, their metallic "gick-gick-gick" calls frequent the spring and summer air. The couple of times I have seen these inch-long frogs in the past, they have had an obvious green stripe down the center of their backs, like the one shown in my post here. Cricket frogs often have this colored stripe; sometimes it is red, yellow, or brown, but sometimes it is absent. You'll notice the warty texture to the skin, another helpful identification character. The feature to look for to obtain a positive ID, however, is the dark triangle between the eyes on the top of the head.

It wasn't long before I noticed another hop and commotion in the leaf litter, but this time the culprit was a russet-colored grasshopper. What a beautiful and well camouflaged creature! Thanks to Ted MacRae of Beetles in the Bush for identifying this as a Mischievous Bird Grasshopper (Schistocerca damnifica).

A bit later, while we were botanizing in an oak-hickory woodland, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. After flipping over a few leaves, I found this approximately 1 inch long beetle. Thanks again to Ted MacRae for identifying this as a Ground Beetle (Carabus sylvosus).

Finally, we were lucky enough to see one of the Show-Me State's most unique mammals, the Missouri endemic Ozark Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys thomasii). This species bears little resemblance to the Northern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys sabrinus) or Southern Flying Squirrel (Glaucomys volans), and in fact, unlike its relatives, is diurnal. Like its relatives, the Ozark Flying Squirrel shows an affinity towards lichens, acorns, and flowers.

Missouri Botanical Garden Trip

Wow... I have some serious catching up to do! Last week, on Tuesday night, Lindsay and I, along with Tony Troche, drove to St. Louis to visit the Missouri Botanical Garden. Tony and I were going to the Garden to visit the herbarium in the Monsanto and Lehman buildings. We met up with Justin and Dana Thomas and their son Eli early on Wedensday morning, and spent the next three days scouring through specimens in the herbarium. Lindsay spent a little time at the herbarium but mostly spent time with her friends Jenny and Frank and their daughter Allison. They visited the St. Louis Zoo and walked through the Garden, and Lindsay has lots of great photos that I'm trying to convince her to share on this blog (any help would be appreciated!).


While in the herbarium, Dana looked at the Zizia-Thaspium complex (and took care of Eli), Justin looked at a few sedges (Carex) and a variety of mosses (and took care of Eli), Tony spent a lot of time on rushes (Juncus), and I looked at a variety of groups, including a few asters (Symphyotrichum/Aster), sunflowers (Helianthus), mountain mints (Pycnanthemum), and sedges (Carex). One of the highlights was Tony coming across a specimen of roundhead rush (Juncus validus), collected years ago in Butler County, Missouri, that was incorrectly identified and filed away as whiteroot rush (Juncus brachycarpus). Without Tony's sharp eye, this rare rush would still be unknown from Butler County!


Special thanks to George and Kay Yatskievych and Mary McNamara for setting us up with excellent accomodations and workspace at the Garden.


On Friday afternoon, we left the Garden and drove to Salem, Missouri to spend the weekend with Justin, Dana, and Eli. We took a few botanizing trips, and I'll share results in future posts here and at Get Your Botany On!. On the way to Salem, we stopped to eat at a great barbeque restaurant in Cuba, Missouri...

Happy spring!