Flora Of State Research Articles

An Analytical Study of Flora Diversity and Avifauana Distribution and Sustainable Ecotourism Potential Ofsakponba Forest Reserve Edo State Nigeria

Purpose: The goal of this study, which was conducted in Nigeria's Sakponba Forest Reserve, was to gather baseline data on the prevalence of bird species and the richness of the state's flora in order to guide future ecotourism planning and management in the area
 Methodology: The study area was divided into three compartments, Untouched forest (UDF), Mangrove forest (MGF), and Degraded forest (DGF) made up the study area. The range and richness of bird species in the research area were studied using a line transect approach. 20 transects were distributed at random among the 200 m blocks that made up each of the 60 transect lines, each of which measured 1000 m. The diversity of plant species was calculated using the square approach. Each sampling compartment's 25 by 25 m2 quadrant sample plot is randomly selected, and all trees with a basal area of at least 10 cm and a height of at least one meter are tallied using the algorithm starts count (TEC). 15 plots, each measuring 25 by 25 m2, were created by choosing a random 16 quadrants in each of the five sample containers.
 Results: The result of the research study revealed that the area is home to a large range of plants and birds species. In total, the research area contained fifty-five (55) plant species from thirty-seven (37) families and one hundred and seventy-seven (177) bird species from forty-two (42) families. Pycnonotideae has the most species (12), followed by Estrildideae with 11 species, in terms of the family breakdown of the bird species. According to the distribution of bird species, the research area's UDF compartment has a 47% overall proportion, followed by the MGF compartment at 35%, and the DGF compartment with 18%.Pyto-sociological specifications of the tree species in the study area, Ceiba pentandra, a member of the family Bombacaceae, has the highest mean height MT (23) and diameter at breast height DBH (129), while Rhizophora harrisonii, a member of the family Rhizophoraceae, has the highest frequency of occurrence of (15). Family makeup of the plant species in the research region, Fabaceae has the most species with 5, followed by Poaceae with (4).
 Unique contribution to Theory, Policy and Practice: Studying bird species in mangrove forests can provide valuable insights into the ecology and conservation of these important ecosystems, and contribute to our knowledge of biodiversity and ecological relationships in general. The research location is predominantly a transitional zone between rain forest and mangrove forest. This serves as a point of entry for other investigators and promotes bird species preservation

Three Non-Native Vascular Plant Species New to the Flora of Alabama

Three species of non-native vascular plants are reported here as new to Alabama. Persicaria capitata (Buch.-Ham. ex D. Don) H. Gross, Pistacia chinensis Bunge, and Sedum diffusum S. Watson are all species cultivated as ornamentals, and likely represent escapes from nearby plantings. Recent collections of three non-native species in Alabama represent the first documented examples of these taxa as naturalized elements of the state's flora. In each case, the taxon was not included in the most recent statewide comprehensive publications including the Annotated Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Alabama (Kral et al. 2011) and the Alabama Plant Atlas (Keener et al. 2021). Additionally, Weakley (2020) did not include Alabama within the known distributions for each of them, and searches of BONAP (Kartesz 2020) and SERNEC (2021) failed to locate any additional non-cultivated specimens from Alabama.

La familia Nyctaginaceae (Caryophyllales) en Aguascalientes, México

Antecedentes y Objetivos: La familia Nyctaginaceae se distribuye en regiones cálidas del mundo, principalmente en el suroeste de Norteamérica y está integrada por aproximadamente 31 géneros y 405 especies. Para México se reportan 18 géneros y alrededor de 110 especies. El objetivo del presente estudio fue realizar el tratamiento taxonómico y documentar las especies de Nyctaginaceae presentes en el estado de Aguascalientes.Métodos: Se realizaron colectas de agosto 2012 a junio 2015 en distintos sitios del estado de Aguascalientes, en los que fueron registradas las coordenadas geográficas y el tipo de vegetación. El material colectado fue identificado por medio de claves taxonómicas y cotejado con material de herbario. Para el tratamiento taxonómico se elaboraron descripciones para familia, géneros y especies, claves dicotómicas para su identificación y mapas de distribución con base en los datos tomados en campo y de los ejemplares de herbario consultados. Resultados clave: En Aguascalientes la familia Nyctaginaceae está representada por seis géneros y 15 especies, dos de ellas nuevos registros para la flora del estado: Commicarpus scandens y Pisonella arborescens. El género con mayor número de especies es Mirabilis con seis, seguido por Boerhavia con cuatro y Allionia con dos.Conclusiones: Dentro del estado, la mayor cantidad de especies de Nyctaginaceae se encuentra en los municipios Asientos y Tepezalá, en matorral xerófilo. El presente estudio contribuye al conocimiento de la flora de Aguascalientes y de la familia Nyctaginaceae en México.

An Overlooked 1853 List of Iowa Plants by a Pseudonymous Botanist: Who Was “Flores”?

Abstract The Iowa Farmer and Horticulturist was an agricultural and horticultural journal that began publication in 1853 at Burlington, Iowa. An article serialized in its second, third, fourth, and seventh issues listed 252 native plants of horticultural merit that grew in the vicinity; for 79 of the species, it was the first report for Iowa. The author of this article was identified only by the pseudonym “Flores.” The article evinces numerous similarities of topic and phraseology with an address delivered to the Southern Iowa Horticultural Society in October 1852 by Dr. John Henry Rauch (1828–1894). The previous year, Rauch had published the first checklist of the state's flora at the behest of the Iowa State Medical and Chirurgical Society, and it is suggested that he was the author of the 1853 article as well.

Altitudinal zonation of liverworts in the Atlantic Forest, Southeastern Brazil

An analysis of liverwort diversity in Rio de Janeiro state has been done, with the objective to elucidate the richness and floristic composition of the different formations of the Atlantic Forest, and the influence of the altitudinal gradient on the liverworts. For this, data from literature, herbarium, floristic inventories and data bank of the state's flora were combined. The liverwort flora is composed of 360 taxa distributed among 102 genera and 31 families, emphasizing the importance of the remaining part of Rio de Janeiro's tropical rainforest for the conservation of the liverwort diversity in Brazil. In the state's remaining tropical rainforests 50% of the liverwort flora of the country and 72% of that of the Atlantic Forest are found. The flora is not uniform, presenting differences in species richness and floristic composition in different formations of the state's Atlantic Forest, in addition to a floristic gradient along the altitudinal gradient. The Montane formation has higher species richness (238), number of exclusive taxa (63) and endemics (27), followed by the Upper Montane formation (173, 58 and 21, respectively). Lejeuneaceae stands out as the richest family in all formations, whereas other families are exclusive to certain formations. As is true for mosses, several liverworts appear as diagnostic features of altitudinal belts in Atlantic Forest, corroborating the use of bryophytes as indicators of altitudinal zonation in tropical rainforests.

ADDITIONS TO THE FLORA OF CONNECTICUT

Since the publication of the Connecticut checklist by Dowhan (1979), new state records have continued to appear. These were summarized by Mehrhoff (1995), including some made by Tucker (1987,1991). Although geographically distant, the flora of Connecti cut has continued to hold my attention since the publication of a flora of the southeastern part of the state (Tucker 1995). Over the past decade, I have made several collections that are new records for the state flora. These new records are reported in this paper, as well as a 1970 collection of Coronilla scorpioides that was never added to the state's flora. All are non-native, either persisting or possibly naturalized species, and are enumerated below by family.

Alien vascular plants in Massachusetts

The non-native vascular flora of Massachusetts is listed with earliest and latest dates of occurrence. Each entry is annotated to indicate which taxa have become established members of the flora and which have not. Specimen data were compiled from over 25 herbaria, supplemented by reports from early floristic publications. A total of 1317 non-native taxa are documented; 737 are treated as established members of the state's flora (29% of the flora); 23 taxa persist at or near former human habitations (1%); 559 taxa are treated as non-established waifs (22%). The current figure of 30% alien taxa is similar to other New England states and is a significant reduction from the 45% tallied in the 1999 state flora. A revised statistical summary of the state's vascular flora is provided.

A Guide to the Seaweeds of Florida

AbstractA review of Florida seaweeds indicates a highly diverse flora within a large coastal zone (over 700 km) spanning more than 7° of latitude, containing tropical, subtropical, and temperate communities. Surprisingly, there have been relatively few detailed floristic studies of Florida seaweeds, except for the Florida Keys and on the east coast. The patterns are a reflection of the early predominance of winter visitors and lack of resident phycologists. The seaweeds of the west coast of Florida were virtually ignored until the 1950s. We estimate that the state's seaweed flora consists of at least 670 taxa including 219 green, 97 brown, 349 red algae, and at least 3 species of Vaucheria. Such a compilation is significantly higher than the numbers of taxa recorded for Florida by Taylor (1960), as well as those for North Carolina (i.e. Schneider & Searles, 1991), and Caribbean reefs (Littler & Littler, 2000). The majority of Florida seaweeds have tropical/Caribbean affinities, although a significant temperate component also occurs, presumably reflecting the influence of the northern floras of the Gulf of Mexico and south‐eastern coast of the US. The tropical nature of the state's flora is supported by the R/P and R + C/P indices of Feldman (1937) and Cheney (1997) with these ratios being 3.6 and 5.8, respectively. Florida's seaweed diversity is enhanced by the extensive salt marsh and seagrass communities of the west coast, plus the coral reef habitats of the Florida Keys. The present review summarizes several important historical studies, conspicuous geographic patterns, the type of communities, and the structure of a guide to the seaweeds of Florida. The guide will also serve as a historical reference for possible anthropogenic impacts in the future.

The Desert and Other Transmontane Plant Communities of Southern California

Transmontane southern California, less than one-quarter of the state's area, has a rich, specialized flora and vegetation due to most varied topography, substrata, and climate. Of the perhaps 5075 species in 145 vascular plant (129 angiospermous) families indigenous in California more than 2100 species in 123 families, more than two-fifths of the state's flora, are represented in transmontane southern California. About 935 species, of which 868 are in the south, 180 of the state's 880 indigenous genera, and 18 families are exclusively or effectively transmontane. A table lists the number of indigenous species of various transmontane ranges and other areas. Numerous, diverse habitats have led to the recognition of 32 different plant communities and 10 subcommunities, or 42 of the 88 recognized for the state by the author. A table lists the communities arranged in a hierarchy according to decreasing altitude from alpine through subalpine, montane, and transition to desert and alkaline scrub communities. These are each discussed briefly with comments on distribution, dominant or otherwise characteristic plants, and outstanding environmental features of the habitats occupied. Many communities are illustrated.