RARE AND NOTEWORTHY VASCULAR PLANTS FROM THE FORT CAMPBELL MILITARY RESERVATION, KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE

6 Pages·1996·3.1 MB·English

by  Edward W Chester

AND NOTEWORTHY
FROM
RARE VASCULAR PLANTS
THE FORT CAMPBELL MILITARY RESERVATION,
KENTUCKY AND
TENNESSEE
(DoD)
ent of Defense installations scattered
many undocumented
on
million acres. Biological diversity of these sites
is
because the installations have been (are) off-limits to unauthorized person-
The
and However,
nel for a multitude of reasons, including safety security.
DoD
Nature Conservancy and are cooperating to identify, study, manage,
DoD
many
and and on
restore biologically culturally significant resources
Campbell
lands (Nickens 1993), including the Fort Military Reservation
(FCMR)
south-central Kentucky and northwestern central Tennessee.
in
FCMR
The
occupies 105,000 with approximately two-thirds of
acres,
&
(Montgomery and
the area in Tennessee Stewart counties) one-third in
&
Kentucky (Christian Tngg counties). The Reservation was created in
now
1942 from a region that was mostly agricultural and includes a city-
like cantonment area with a variable population of about 30,000, extensive
fields-forests used for various kinds of military exercises and training but
with several inaccessible impact and live-fire areas, and a federal railroad
km
right-of-way extending 20.8 to Hopkinsville, Kentucky.
FCMR
two Highland
Physiographically, cuts across subsections of the
Rim Low
Section of the Interior Plateaus Physiographic Province as de-
by Quarterman and Powell The Pennyroyal Plain Subsec-
scribed (1978).
tion, occupying the central part of the Reservation, a level-rolling karstic
is
landscape mostly coincident with the historic "Big Barrens" Region of
Kentucky and Tennessee. The remainder (western and eastern ends) within
is
Rim
the dissected Western Highland Subsection. Drainage by tributar-
is
122-
Cumberland above range from
of the River; elevations sea level
ies
During 102 trips from 15 March 1993-31 October 1994, and 10 trips
we
from August-October 1995, botanically surveyed accessible areas of
FCMR,
especially seeking taxa listed as elements of concern by one or both
Commission
(Kentucky Nature
states and\or federally State Preserves 1992,
Department Environment
herein updated the 1995 Tennessee of
to
list;
and Conservation 1993, herein updated to the 1994 U.S. Fish and
list;
Wildlife Service 1993). The Kentucky portion of the Reservation was the
EWC
LEM,
responsibility of while the Tennessee portion was that of and
BEW.
David Campbell was the Tennessee Nature Conservancy Project
FCMR
Manager and
coordinated the study. In addition to field studies,
specimens were sought Nomenclature Wofford
in regional herbaria. follows
and Krai (1993); distribution data cited are from Gleason and Cronquist
(1991) unless otherwise noted.
Taxa
Listed
Twenty-one
state listed species, including three candidates for federal
listing, were found during field surveys. Table gives these species, their
1
FCMR
county and Vouchers
distribution, listed rankings. for these taxa
EKU, TENN, VDB.
more APSC,
one
are at or Fourteen of the 21 spe-
of:
of limited occurrence and thus elements Kentucky Ten-
cies are listed in or
Most
nessee because these states are peripheral to their range. of these spe-
cies are abundant elsewhere {Prenanthes barbata and Tomanthera aurkulata,
throughout
rare their ranges, are exceptions).
shown when
Floristic affinities of the 14 extraneous taxa are they are
FCMR.
grouped The
according
to their distributional locus in relation to
FCMR
extent of populations parenthetically noted. Seven taxa have west-
is
ern-northwestern
distributions: Aster paludosus ssp. hemisphericus (infrequent
at one site), Hieracium longipilum (abundant at several sites), Muhlenbergia
glabrifloris (large stands at several sites), Prenanthes aspera (a few plants at
one site), Rudbeckia subtomentosa (abundant at several sites), Silphium
lacintatum (abundant at several and Tomanthera (abundant
sites), aiiricidata
at several sites). Six southern taxa include Carex alata (abundant at one
Gymnopogon ambiguus few plants Mains
site), (a at six sites), angustifolia (a
few trees at one site), Oenothera linifolia (abundant in the Tennessee portion,
Kentucky), and
rare in Prenanthes barbata (scattered individuals), Scleria
(abundant one
ciltata at site). Populus grandtdentata (several trees at one
FCMR
northern
site) a species.
is
The
remaining seven species are basically intraneous in distribution.
(abundant two
Phacelia ranunculacea at sites) has three centers of distribu-
tion, Atlantic Coastal Plain of Virginia and Maryland, the Piedmont of
North Embayment
Carolina, and the Mississippi and adjacent provinces of
several states; it is locally abundant but occurrences are scattered to rare
&
(Chuang
Constance
1977). Silphium pinnatifidum Elliott terebinthinaceum
[S.
A
pinnatifidum Gray} (abundant found
Jacq. var. (Ell.) at several sites)
is
&
Alabama,
only in Georgia, Kentucky, and Tennessee (Fisher Speer 1978)
Sum
17(1;
White walnut
(Jugla
CONEfloWER
(Ast
JSH (Cyperaceae)
and infrequent to rare throughout range. Carex decomposita (numerous
is its
clumps at one site) and Platanthera peramoena (several small populations)
much
range over of eastern U.S., but are infrequent to rare in occurrence.
Juglam and numerous one wide-
cinerea (five trees juveniles at site) also
is
now
ranging in eastern U.S., but in general decline and extirpated from
is
&
(Anderson LaMadeleine Rink
several areas 1978; 1990). Lastly, Hydrastis
and Panax
canadensis (several large populations) quinquefolius (several small
populations), are wide-ranging but primarily because of of habi-
rare, loss
and commercial
tat exploitation.
Records
State
Two
new known
non-native taxa to the of Tennessee were found.
flora
Nymphoides
peltata (Gmel.) Kuntze (Yellow Floating-heart, Meny-
anthaceae) a rooted, floating-leaved aquatic native southern Europe
to
is
and Asia Minor. It was introduced into this country for cultivation in gar-
den become much
but
pools, has sporadically naturalized over of eastern
However,
U.S. has not been reported for states south of Virginia or east of
it
&
Louisiana, Arkansas, and Missouri (Godfrey Wooten This
1981). report,
based on an extensive population in a Reservation pond, adds not only the
known
species but also the genus and family to the Tennessee
flora.
Ju
Gomez
Richardia
brasiliensis (Moq.) (without vernacular, Rubiaceae)
is a diffuse, pilose annual or perennial native to South America. It has be-
come
a naturalized weed, primarily on the Coastal Plain from Texas
to
FCMR
and northward
Florida to Virginia. plants were in sandy soil of a
disturbed where
field rareness indicates that either a recent introduc-
it is
become
tion or is slow to naturalized in the area.
Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. ex Steud. (Reed-grass, Poaceae) is
much
often weedy and occurs over of the U.S. except for several southern
from Henry County, northern west
Previous Tennessee reports are
states.
(DeSelm
Tennessee 1994).
et
al.
TENNESSEE. Montgomery beaver-formed marsh of
Voucher specimen: Co.: at jet
&
FCMR, Aug
Jordan Springs Road and Oriental Village Road, 28 1993, Wofford Chester
TENN,
VDB).
' 2996 (APSC,
1
from
Psoralea onobrychis (Nutt.) Rydb. (Scurf-pea, Fabaceae) ranges
West
Ohio and Kentucky Iowa and Missouri, and also found in Vir-
to is
from one
Tennessee, and South Carolma. Isely (1990) reported
ginia, it
county each North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia, and from two
in
NC
from and
counties in Tennessee, noting that "material seen for reports
FCMR
TN
The
represented only by collections from the last century."
is
collection from a dense stand of several hundred plants along a roadside-
is
N
TENNESSEE. Montgomery on Ghost Corp
Voucher specimen: Co.: barrens side of
TENN,
FCMR, 12985 (APSC,
one mile E of Palmyra Road, 2 Jul 1993, Chester
Trail
Chapter
was funded by Tennessee of the
This research (1993-1994) the
Management
Program.
Nature Conservancy through the Legacy Resource
FCMR
Eu-
Numerous people provided significant assistance, especially
at
FCMR who
Land Condition Trend Analysis,
gene Zirkle, Coordinator for
made
studies possible in 1995.
—
Edward W. Department Biology, Austin Peay State University,
Chester, of
TN
The
37044, U.S.A.; B. Eugene Wofford, Department of Botany,
Clarksville,
TN, Landon McKinney,
Knoxville, 37996, U.S.A.; E.
University Tennessee,
of
KY
801
Nature Commission, Schenkel Lane, Frankfort,
Kentucky State Preserves
The Nature
David Conser-
40601, U.S.A.; Campbell, Tennessee Field
Office,
TN
30 Vantage Way, Suite 250, Nashville, 37215, U.S.A.
vancy,
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u!fndE.W.C An
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F.colog,u U Set v,ces D,\,s ,on. NashvMile, Tennessee.
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lis
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