The 2023 field season has come to an end. I realize that this is my first post here and I have not yet explained what I am doing, but I'll get to that in future posts! For now, what is really important is that I am constructing site inventories for vascular plant species at 46 field sites along the Wabash River in southwestern Indiana. This region has many rare habitats, such as prairies, fens, and flatwoods, that contain many rare species. Let's take a look at some of these cool plants! Perideridia americana, or Wild Dill, is a species in the carrot family that has distinct leaves that are heavily dissected. The white flowers themselves resemble many other native carrot species, including Honewort and Spotted Hemlock. However, this species is much rarer than these other carrot species, with the Indiana Department of Natural Resources listing it as a critically imperiled plant species in Indiana (S1 ranking). Furthermore, NatureServe and the federal government has this species listed as widespread but with long-term concerns (G4 ranking). Considering both of these statuses, this new population at a new site for this species in Posey County was a nice find, and personally I really enjoyed seeing this plant for the first time. This is a kind of wonky looking plant in Indiana forests, but it is indeed native and is actually fairly rare. Manfreda virginica, or American Aloe, is an Indiana state watch list species, meaning that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources tracks occurrences but does not actively monitor populations of this species. The reason I include it here is because it is another component of the rare flatwood ecosystem that the Wild Dill is found in, and these two plants were actually found just a few feet apart from one another. These flatwoods are historically open, savanna-like systems that get flooded in the winter and spring but become dry and hot in the summer, providing habitat for interesting wetland and prairie like species. However, over time it seems that fire suppression is causing the forest canopy to increase, closing gaps prairie species rely on, and random events, like floods, are harming these species as well. Several species have already been completely eliminated, or extirpated, from this habitat type in Posey County, and it was thought that American Aloe was one of these since it had not been documented there since the 1980's. However, this was one of two American Aloe plants I located this year, and it was one of the very few times I started jumping up and down in the field! Unfortunately, despite the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' best efforts to manage this ecosystem, I think that this plant will still be extirpated from these sites in a few years, and I may even be the last person to see this species in this habitat naturally. However, the hope is that there are more individuals out there, and that these individuals will respond to increased burning and forest thinning in the future. This idea is supported by how hard it is to spot these plants when they aren't blooming (see the photo below!). I only have time and space for one more plant in the blog post. Instead of not talking about all the other awesome plants and adventures from this year, I'll have to make another highlight post! But first, let's cover one more plant. Solidago buckleyi, or Buckley's Goldenrod, like Wild Dill, is an Indiana S1 species that is critically imperiled here. It is also a G4 species limited to the five states of Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri. Here in Indiana it is only known from a single population, also in the flatwoods of Posey County, a habitat that mimics its usual glade ecosystem. I was fortunate to be able to tag along with the Indiana state botanist, Scott Namestnik, who showed me this population at one of my sites. It was originally found by our previous state botanist who is now retired, Dr. Michael Homoya. Goldenrods have a special place in my botanist heart, and it is always great to see a new one for me, especially one that is so interesting and rare!
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Author: Richard HullI am a plant biologist currently based out of Bloomington, Indiana, where I am a PhD student in the Knox Lab at Indiana University. ArchivesCategories |