2014 Pennsylvania Rare Plant Forum - PowerPoint Presentation

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2014 Pennsylvania

Rare Plant Forum

4 April 2014

Penn State UniversitySlide2

 2014 PENNSYLVANIA RARE PLANT FORUM  AGENDA9:30

Welcome, introduction, general announcements 9:45 Announcements from the floor 10:00 Presentation: Pennsylvania Botany Symposium – Lisa Smith10:15 Presentation: DCNR

Regulation Package Update – Ellen Shultzabarger, Rebecca Bowen 10:45

Proposals 12:00 Lunch 12:30 Proposals  2:00 Wrap-up 2:30 AdjournSlide3
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2014 PA Botany SymposiumNovember 7 & 8, 2014The Penn Stater - State College, PAHalf-day workshops and full-day symposium

Sponsorship and Exhibitor OpportunitiesSlide5

A Consulting Botanists ToolboxApril 18, 2014Morris Arboretum - Philadelphia, PA

Plant surveys and documentation, preparing voucher specimensSlide6

For more information:www.pabotany.orgSlide7

Proposed Status ChangesSlide8

Proposed Status Changes for the 2014 Rare Plant Forum Meeting

Scientific Name

GLOBAL RANK

STATE RANK*

PA STATUS

PaBS STATUS

PROPOSAL

PROPOSED BY

Justification (summarized)

Juncus torreyi

G5

S3

PT

PR

N

Bowers

Not an appropriate target for conservation. Species has "weedy

tendencies;"

grows in lower quality sites; expanding range in Mid Atlantic

Stenanthium gramineum

G4G5

S3

N

PR

N

Martin

Too common. Species is common on edges; many new sites documented from recent inventory work

Stellaria borealis

G5

S1S2

N

TU

PT

McPherson

Historic occurrences evaluated; substantial field work since listing.

Primula meadia*

G5

S1

PE

PE

PE

Grund/Klotz/Loeffler

Taxonomy update

Primula

fassettii

**

GNR

S2

PT

PT

PT

Grund/Klotz/Loeffler

Taxonomy update + distinct from both P. meadia and the more western D. radicatum = P. pulchellum

Cuscuta coryli

G5?

SH

N

PT

PX

McPherson

Historic occurrences evaluated; no record since 1956

Astragalus canadensis

G5

S2

N

TU

PT

McPherson

Historic occurrences evaluated since listing; best fits PT

Hypericum pyramidatum

G4

SNR

N

N

TU (URF)

Grund

59 dots in the PA Atlas; only 12 recent observations

Cuscuta pentagona

G5

S2

N

PT

N

Grund

Not an appropriate target for conservation. Primarily a weed of fields; likely to persist in the state without protection.

Cynanchum laeve

G5

S1

PE

N (as of October 2013)

N

Grund

Not an appropriate target for conservation

. Weedy

vine; probably not native to PA. Slide9

Scientific Name

GLOBAL RANK

STATE RANK*

PA STATUS

PaBS

STATUS

PROPOSAL

PROPOSED BY

Justification (summarized)

Aplectrum hyemale

G5

S3

PR

PR

N Delist

Martin

Too common. 52 extant occurrences from 16 counties; large populations; many occurrences on protected lands.

Tipularia discolor

G4G5

S3

PR

PR

N Delist

Martin

Too common. 58 sites in 12 counties; many occurrences on public/protected lands

Helianthus hirsutus

G5

S2

N

TU

N Delist

Cusick

Not believed to be native to PA. Most specimens re-determined to other species. Ten correctly determined specimens at CM 1982 or older.

* Currently listed as Dodecatheon media (PE)

** Currently listed as Dodecatheon amethystinum (PT)Slide10

Aplectrum hyemale (Muhl. ex Willd.) Nutt.  Current Status in PA Regulations: PR

 Current Recommendation by PaBS: PR Status Proposed at 2014 RPF: N

 Proposed by: Scott Martin

Proposal Overview: Proposed for a change in conservation status from PR to N based on high population numbers and that it occurs in more extensive areas than previously known, many on protected lands. In addition, the species is expanding on lands previously deforested/grazed/disturbed and which are dominated by invasive plants and support large deer populations; therefore, the species seems able to thrive in forest conditions which are extensive across the southern half of the state on habitat with suitable substrates.Slide11

Estimated number of extant and historic occurrences and individuals in PA:There are 53 extant occurrences totaling at least 10,000 leaves (plants) in 16 counties (9,350) observed between 1977-2011. There are an additional 15 occurrences in the PNHP regarded as historic or “failed to find,” which have not been recently relocated. Slide12

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Extant occurrences in Pennsylvania, (since 1980)

Aplectrum hyemale. Slide15

Astragalus canadensis L. Current Status in PA Regulations: NCurrent Recommendation by

PaBS: TUStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: PE/PTProposed by: Jessica McPherson WPC/PNHP

Proposal Overview:

Astragalus canadensis was added to the list of species of special conservation concern in Pennsylvania in 1993 with a status of “U” and modified by the VPTC in 1998 as “UTF”, suggesting more field work was needed to determine the appropriate conservation status. Since then, a significant amount of field work has been conducted with only 6 occurrences documented in Pennsylvania since 1995. Estimated number of extant occurrences in PA: (6) 10 – 20 (40)Estimated number of extant individuals in PA: (39) 50 – 200 (1000)

ramets

Kitty Cohout

Freckman Herbarium, U-Wis.Slide16
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Historic and extant records of

A. canadensis (PNHP)Slide18

Documented

PNHP surveys in vicinity of historic occurrencesof A. canadensis. Data from PNHP field surveys.Slide19

Documented PNHP survey effort on calcareous habitat. Data from PNHP field surveys.Slide20

Cuscuta coryli Engelm. Current Status in PA Regulations: NCurrent Recommendation by

PaBS: PT Status Proposed at 2014 RPF: PXProposed by: Jessica McPherson, WPC/PNHPProposal

Overview:In 2009, the Rare Plant Forum considered several Cuscuta species as a group, and gave them all the rank of PT. The rationale for considering the species as a group is that they are ecologically similar, and similar levels of information and survey effort are available for the various species. However,

Cuscuta coryli has several distinguishing factors that merit independent consideration. Despite survey effort in its habitat, there are no recent records for the species; the most recent historic location was documented in 1956. Because there is not conclusive evidence the species has been extirpated in Pennsylvania, it should most appropriately be classified as Pennsylvania Historic; however, since no such category is available, extirpated is the most appropriate status given currently available information

.

S. Brinker

Michigan Flora WebsiteSlide21
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Cuscuta pentagona Engelm. (Cuscuta campestris Yuncher, misapplied)Current

Status in PA Regulations: NCurrent Recommendation by PaBS: PTStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: N

Proposed by: Steve Grund, WPC/PNHPProposal Overview:

This is a weedy species, similar to (and sometimes included in) C. campestris. It is an upland species, unlike most of our dodders, and can be a serious agricultural pest. It is not a “species which may become endangered throughout most or all of (its) natural range within this Commonwealth, if critical habitat is not maintained to prevent their further decline in this Commonwealth” nor is it “greatly exploited by man,” so it fails to meet the criteria for Pennsylvania Threatened.Slide24
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There are 37 occurrences in the PNHP database, with 26 considered historic and 11 populations observed since 1982. There are 15 collections at MOAR since 2000, all from ruderal habitats except one from a tidal marsh, also a disturbed habitat .Slide27

Cynanchum laeve (Michx.) Pers. (=Ampelamus albidus (Nutt.) Britt.)

Current Status in PA Regulations: PECurrent Recommendation by PaBS: NStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: NProposed by:

Steve Grund, WPC/PNHPProposal Overview:The VPTC acted to recommend a status of “N” at the 5 October 2013 meeting. The current proposal serves to give those attending the Rare Plant Forum an opportunity to comment on that change

.Slide28

This species is an herbaceous vine that in Pennsylvania occurs mostly in agricultural fields, but has also been observed in natural riparian habitats (Rare Plant Forum minutes from 2005, provided below). It appeared last year along a road by an industrial park in northern Washington County (Steven P. Grund 6573, CM), where the locality far outside its known range and ruderal

habitat strongly suggest that it is not native. The first known collection from Pennsylvania is a 1906 specimen collected at McCall’s Ferry in York County, a site about 15 miles upstream of the Maryland border on the Susquehanna where many non-native species were collected early on. It was not collected again in the state until 2004. It is considered native in Maryland by some

but not by Weakley (2011); the evidence is not convincing one way or the other, as it grows in some poor habitats, but there are collections from 1890, 1910, and in the 1940’s. Cynanchum laeve

is reported from Missouri as a problem weed of crop fields and gardens, where it can be difficult to eradicate .Slide29

Helianthus hirsutus RAF. Current Status in PA Regulations: N

Current Recommendation by PaBS: TUStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: NProposed by:

Allison Cusick CMNHProposal Overview:This proposal is to change the conservation status of

Helianthus hirsutus from TU (UTF) to N based on evidence that the species is adventive to Pennsylvania. More than 2/3 of the specimens in the herbarium at Carnegie Museum of Natural History (CM), collected between 1896 and 2008 were incorrectly identified as H. hirsutus. Only 10 specimens have been determined to be H. hirsutus, all from Allegheny County, and all from ruderal habitats (roadsides, waste areas, etc.). Furthermore,

Helianthus hirsutus

has not been documented from neighboring counties of states adjacent to Pennsylvania. The species has not been found in Delaware or New Jersey. It is considered non-native in New York state and the known stations are far north of Pennsylvania. Many of the Ohio and West Virginia specimens from counties near the Pennsylvania border were also misidentified. Slide30
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Hypericum pyramidatum Ait. (= H. ascyron L. ssp. pyrimidatum

(Ait.) N. Robson)Current Status in PA Regulations: NCurrent Recommendation by PaBS: N

Status Proposed at 2014 RPF: TU (URF)Proposed by: Steve Grund WPC/PNHP

Proposal Overview:Between damming of large streams and conversion of floodplain habitats to agriculture and other development, it is a near certainty that Hypericum pyramidatum has experienced significant decline. H. pyramidatum is tracked in most states and provinces in which it occurs. The number of estimated extant occurrences and size and condition of known sites suggests that

H. pyramidatum

could be given a conservation status of PR; however, more field work is needed to justify the PR classification. Slide33
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Estimated number of extant occurrences: (25) 40 – 80 (200)Estimated number of extant individuals: (100) 200 – 500 (5000) rametsSlide36

Juncus torreyi CovilleCurrent Status in PA Regulations: PTCurrent Recommendation by

PaBS: PRStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: NProposed by: Mark Bowers

Proposal Overview:By the numbers, it is PA Rare. However, as indicated in the habitat descriptions above, this species seems to do well in disturbed, lower quality habitats and is weedy in nature. Although this species grows in areas that may be subject to further disturbance and thus destroyed, new potential habitat is not only available through the presence of disturbed and degraded wetland areas, but is also being created through wetland restoration, replacement and storm water pond creation.

 Juncus torreyi appears to be secure and probably does not need our help. In spite of the low number of documented occurrences in Pennsylvania, I would like to propose that this species be moved to the Watch List.Slide37
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Estimated 10,000+ individuals (rough estimate since it is clonal). Slide40

Primula fassettii A.R. Mast & Reveal (=Dodecatheon amethystinum (Fassett

) Fassett) Current Status in PA Regulations: PT (as Dodecatheon amethystinum)Current Recommendation by PaBS

: NStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: PT 

Dodecatheon radicatum GreeneCurrent Status in PA Regulations: NCurrent Recommendation by PaBS: PTStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: N

Proposed by:

Steve Grund, WPC/PNHP, Larry Klotz, Shippensburg University, and Carol Loeffler,

Proposal

Overview

:

This is a simple proposal to update the taxonomy of our list to reflect the implications of recent studies and to be consistent with most recent manuals; the conservation status of the species appears to be appropriate. Slide41

Key to naturally occurring populations of Primula sect. Dodecatheon (shooting stars) in Pennsylvania. By Larry Klotz and Carol Loeffler, based on data from:

Klotz, L. and C. Loeffler. (2007). Morphological analysis of shooting star populations (Dodecatheon, Primulaceae) in Pennsylvania”. Castanea 72: 159-176. 1. scape length 1 - 5 dm (av. 3 dm), pedicels per scape 1- ca. 30 (av. 8), floral calyx lobe length 2 - 8 mm (av. 4 - 5 mm), capsule wall thickness < 0.1 - 0.3 mm (av. 0.1 mm); habitat: upland deciduous forests with slight to moderate slope; populations of the Potomac watershed ……………………………………………

Primula meadia (syn. Dodecatheon meadia), eastern shooting star *

 1’. scape length < 1 - 4 dm (av. ca. 1.5 dm), pedicels per scape 1 – ca. 12 (av. 3), floral calyx lobe length 1 - 5 mm (av. 2 - 3 mm), capsule wall thickness < 0.1 - 0.1 mm (av. 0.05 mm); habitat: ledges and crevices of mostly steep north-facing limestone rock outcrops and sometimes also the adjoining steep slopes; populations of the Susquehanna watershed……………………………………...….Primula fassettii (syn. Dodecatheon

amethystinum

), amethyst shooting star

* The populations classified as

Primula

meadia

in Pennsylvania are morphologically intermediate between

P.

fassettii

and the remainder of

P. meadia

. Slide42

Primula meadia  (L.) A.R. Mast & Reveal Current Status in PA Regulations: NCurrent Recommendation by

PaBS: NStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: PE Dodecatheon media L. Current Status in PA Regulations:

PECurrent Recommendation by PaBS: PEStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: N

 Proposed by: Steve Grund, WPC/PNHP, Larry Klotz, Shippensburg University, and Carol Loeffler, Proposal Overview: This is a simple proposal to update the taxonomy of our list to reflect the implications of recent studies and to be consistent with most recent manuals; the conservation status of the species appears to be appropriate. FSlide43

Stellaria borealis BigelowCurrent Status in PA Regulations: NCurrent Recommendation by PaBS

: TUStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: PTProposed by: Jessica McPherson WPC/PNHP Proposal

Overview: Stellaria borealis was first added to the list of species of special conservation concern in Pennsylvania in 1995 with a status of “U” and modified by the VPTC in 1998 as “UTF,” noting the need for more field work to determine the species’ status. Since 1998, a significant amount of field work has been conducted with only 17 occurrences documented in Pennsylvania since 1982. While there is still some habitat that has not been surveyed, the low rate of success in locating the plant while surveying apparently suitable habitat, either

de novo or in the vicinity of historics, indicates that not very many more locations are likely to be found. ID appears to have been confirmed for most known extant and historic locations. The estimated number of extant sites is consistent with status guidelines for Pennsylvania Threatened.Slide44

Stellaria borealis ssp. borealis

Stellaria borealisSlide45
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Stenanthium gramineum (Ker Gawl.) MorongCurrent Status in PA Regulations: N

Current Recommendation by PaBS: PRStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: NProposed by: Scott Martin

 Proposal Overview: The proposal is to change the conservation status of Stenanthium gramineum

from PR to N because it is too common. Recent inventory activity suggests that it is more common than previously known. It is often found in disturbed conditions (strip-mined soils, active pastures) and moist edge habitats. Current PABS recommendation was accepted in 2001, after many years of debate at Rare Plant Forum meetings (dating to 1997, first proposed as URF). Recent inventory work in Butler County (PNHP 2011) resulted in many new occurrences.Slide48
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36 extant occurrences in 8 counties (Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Clarion, Clearfield, Indiana, and Venango) as of February 2014, up from 4 extant sites in two counties (Butler and Clearfield) in 2004 (PNHP data,

NatureServe. There are an additional 63 historic occurrences with the earliest occurrence record dated 1859 from Clarion County, PA. Slide51

Documented occurrences of

S. gramineum since 1980.Slide52
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Tipularia discolor (Pursh) Nutt.Current Status in PA Regulations: PR

Current Recommendation by PaBS: PRStatus Proposed at 2014 RPF: NProposed by: Scott Martin

Proposal Overview: This species is proposed for a change in conservation status from PR to N based on the large number of populations. The species is known from 58 sites, across 12 counties, and with at least one third found on protected lands. Habitat does not need to of high quality; however, species is usually found in a relatively mature forest. Slide55
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There are 58 sites (observations since 1980) in 12 counties totaling at least 1,730 leaves-plants (some observers counted leaves [genets] while others counted estimated

ramets) Slide58

Figure 2. Extant occurrences in Pennsylvania,

Tipularia discolor (PNHP Data)

.