ABSTRACT Hurricane Isabel (September 2003) was the largest, most damaging hurricane to hit Virginia in at least 70 years. Permanent plots established in a maturing upland hardwood forest in 2002 were resampled in 2004 to assess hurricane damage. Tree loss among stems ≥10 cm diameter breast high (dbh) varied from none in 7 of the 20 plots to 50% of stems and 83% of canopy cover in a plot hit by a local microburst. Loss was greater on ridges and other higher elevation sites, and downwind of expanses of water. Loss was significantly higher in trees ≥60 cm dbh. Loss in Quercus velutina (46.6%) was significantly higher, and in Fagus grandifolia (7.7%) and Acer rubrum (7.4%) loss was significantly lower than the overall loss rate (16.9%). The latter two species occurred mostly in the lower canopy and understory, where tree loss was generally lower. Among stems ≥2.5 cm dbh but <10 cm dbh, all loss was secondary damage from falling larger trees, but was significantly higher in Oxydendrum arboreum (36.4%) and sig...

Baum, David A. and Stacey D. Smith. 2012. Tree Thinking: An Introduction to Phylogenetic Biology. Roberts and Company Publishers, Greenwood Village, Colorado, 476 p. Hardcover, $75.00. ISBN 978-1-9362-2116-5.

Sphenoclea zeylanicais described and its phenology, habitat, and distribution documented in North America, based upon data from voucher specimens and original field observations. The species, an exotic native to Asia, has been in the United States since the mid-1800s, with the earliest records from Louisiana where it was most likely introduced as a contaminant of rice seed. Its distribution and spread are linked strongly with cultivation of rice, and we document its dispersal in the United States over the past 150 years with the postbellum expansion of rice agriculture in the Mississippi River Valley. Photographs and scanning electron micrographs illustrate structural details of inflorescence, flower, fruit, and seed.

Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (common reed), a perennial wetland grass, has been present in the United States along both Atlantic and Pacific coasts for hundreds of years (Orson 1999, Goman and Wells 2000). Phragmites was deemed rare in the 1800s (Saltonstall 2002) and according to Ward (2010), its distribution was discontinuous in portions of the Midwest, southern Canada, and California, and sporadic along the Gulf Coast from Florida to Texas throughout the 1800s. Also, during that time it was considered absent from Virginia to Georgia inclusive, and inland portions of Alabama and Mississippi (Ward 2010). The abundance and distribution of Phragmites has dramatically increased over the last century (Ward 2010) with the most significant increases along the Atlantic coast (Saltonstall 2002). The rapid expansion was primarily due to the introduction of a European strain in the late 1700s or early 1800s via one or more coastal ports along the Atlantic Coast (Saltonstall 2002). It is highly competitive, aggressive, and virtually indist inguishable morphologically from the native strains, resulting in cryptic invasions (Carlton 1996, Saltonstall 2002) going undetected for decades in various locations around the country. The European strain's spread was likely facilitated by construction of railroads, major roadways (Saltonstall 2002), and changes to hydrologie regimes and/or nutrient availability (Saltonstall 2002, King et al. 2007). Currently, it dominates and effeetively displaees native Phragmites in

Trillium (Melanthiaceae) is a highly diverse genus in the Southeast and includes many local endemics. Previous studies on Trillium in eastern North America identified significant genetic structure associated with limited seed dispersal and historical landscape barriers. In this study, genetic structure was examined in Trillium cuneatum and T. stamineum across Mississippi and western Alabama to look for further evidence that landscape features influence genetic structure at local scales. DNA sequence variation in the trnL intron and trnL-trnF intergenic region was examined across 12 populations of T. cuneatum and six populations of T. stamineum. Samples of Trillium ludovicianum and Trillium foetidissimum were included for comparison. Five and four haplotypes were discovered in T. cuneatum and T. stamineum, respectively, but most populations were fixed for a single haplotype. Haplotypes from T. cuneatum in southwestern Mississippi were also present in congeneric species. Significant geographic structure was found in both species, and divergent haplotypes found on either side of the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers suggest barriers to gene flow in the study area. Strong population differentiation suggests that seed dispersal is limited in both species. Given the strong degree of genetic structure detected in both species and their preference of mesic forests, it is expected that both species will continue to diverge at local scales.

ABSTRACT The Little River National Wildlife Refuge (6,070 ha) is located on the west Gulf Coastal Plain in southeastern Oklahoma, a region of high plant diversity for the state. An inventory of the refuge yielded 708 taxa of vascular plants in 688 species, 410 genera, and 128 families. The largest families were the Asteraceae (n = 88 taxa), Poaceae (n = 76), Cyperaceae (n = 49), and Fabaceae (n = 44). Sixty-seven nonnative taxa were collected, representing 9.5% of the flora. Sixty-two taxa were present that are tracked by the Oklahoma Natural Heritage Inventory, including the Oklahoma endemic, Leavenworthia aurea var. aurea. In addition, we report the first Oklahoma collection of Polygonum glabrum.

The Perdido River Forever Wild Tract (PRFWT) is a contiguous 7,365-ha property that was acquired through multiple purchases by the State of Alabama's Forever Wild Program in December 2006. The PRFWT lies 48 km east-northeast of Mobile, Alabama, 56 km northwest of Pensacola, Florida, and is bound on the east by the Perdido River. The site is managed by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as a nature preserve and wildlife management/recreational area. An intensive floristic study of this area was conducted from October 2007 through June 2012. A total of 721 taxa (713 different species, including five hybrids) from 371 genera and 122 families were collected with 95 taxa representing county records. One state record species was also collected. Asteraceae was the most collected family, with 127 species. Poaceae, Fabaceae, and Cyperaceae were the next largest families with 74, 54, and 39 species, respectively. Quercus was the largest genus represented with 15 species. Eighty-four nonnative species were collected during the surveys. Plant collections were deposited at the Alabama Natural Heritage Section Herbarium (ALNHS) and Anniston Museum of Natural History/Jacksonville State University Herbarium (JSU), with replicates and duplicates deposited at the University of Alabama Herbarium (UNA), Auburn University Herbarium (AUA), and Troy University Herbarium (TROY).

ABSTRACT Byrsonima lucida (Mill.) DC is the only member of the tropical plant family Malpighiaceae native to North America, and is considered a threatened species by the state of Florida. In order to better conserve the remaining natural populations of B. lucida, we studied the breeding system of this species in natural and garden settings. We carried out floral biology and breeding system experiments over three flowering seasons from 2009–2012. We found that stigmas were receptive mostly during the first 2 d of flowering, but not in the final day. Self-pollination yielded few fruits and pollinator exclusion yielded no fruit set, indicating self-incompatibility and pollinator dependence in this species. Obligate outcrossing and complete dependence on a specialist bee pollinator make B. lucida's small, fragmented populations vulnerable to extinction. Conservation measures should include protecting its specialized bee pollinator.

Trillium tennesseense is described as a newly discovered member of Trillium subgen. Phyllantherum. The new species resembles the recently described T. oostingii but differs from it by having a shorter ovary, relatively longer staminal filaments and stigmas, and crested-undulate stigmatic surfaces. A chromosome count of 2n = 10 was obtained for it, which agrees with other members of the genus and subgenus. Sequence data from the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer and the plastid trnH-psbA spacer regions provided further evidence of the distinctiveness of T. tennesseense. A phylogeny estimate based on these markers is presented for T. subgen. Phyllantherum which agrees well with the major species groups that have been previously recognized in the subgenus. Trillium tennesseense and T. oostingii were placed in the molecular-based phylogeny in a clade with T. lancifolium and T. recurvatum, two species that formed a previously recognized species group. Trillium tennesseense is currently known only from three locations, all occurring on the Sevier Shale formation on the northwest slope of the southeastern extension of Bays Mountain in Hamblen and Hawkins Counties, Tennessee. Based on its rarity, T. tennesseense should be considered as globally rare and in need of protection.

Sorrie, Bruce A. 2011. A Field Guide to Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Softcover, $25.00. ISBN 978-0-8078-7186-7.