A Natural Areas Inventory of the - Kansas Natural Heritage Inventory ...

4.1. INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 4. PLANTS
Caleb A. Morse
R. L. McGregor Herbarium
Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research Center
2045 Constant Avenue
Lawrence, KS 66047-3729
cmorse@ku.edu
Botanical studies on FLMR during the 1995–1996 field seasons consisted of five primary
objectives: 1) compile a list of protected and rare species of plants, 2) plan and conduct surveys
for those species, 3) document all findings of threatened and endangered species, 4) compile a
comprehensive report detailing all occurrences of protected and rare species and describing
exceptional biological natural areas on the installation, and 5) assist in the formulation of
management recommendations based on survey results. In addition, surveys were carried out in
order to gather baseline data about vascular plants and bryophytes on the installation.
No federal-listed vascular plant species were discovered on the installation during the 1995–1996
field seasons. However, at least one population of each of 11 state-rare vascular plants was
documented. These were Aster lateriflorus (L.) Britton var. lateriflorus (Asteraceae; white
woodland aster), Blephilia hirsuta (Pursh) Benth. (Lamiaceae; hairy wood-mint), Brachyelytrum
erectum (Schreb.) P. Beauv. (Poaceae; upright shorthusk), Bromus nottowayanus Fernald
(Poaceae; Nottoway brome), Hydrophyllum appendiculatum Michx. (Hydrophyllaceae;
notchbract waterleaf), Lithospermum latifolium Michx. (Boraginaceae; American gromwell),
Osmorhiza claytonii (Michx.) C.B. Clarke (Apiaceae; hairy sweet-cicely), Packera glabella
(Poir.) C. Jeffrey (Asteraceae; floodplain ragwort, reported as Senecio glabellus Poir.),
Ranunculus recurvatus Poir. var. recurvatus (Ranunculaceae; eastern hooked buttercup, reported
as Ranunculus recurvatus), Stachys pilosa Nutt. var. arenicola (Britton) G.A. Mulligan & D.B.
Munro (Lamiaceae; marsh hedge-nettle, reported as Stachys palustris L. subsp. pilosa (Nutt.)
Epling.), and Uvularia grandiflora Sm. (Liliaceae; large-flower bellwort). Floristic work on
FLMR surveys confirmed 99 families (88% of the total number known from Leavenworth
County), 313 genera (77%), 532 species (68%), and 535 taxa (67%) of vascular plants and 17
families, 31 genera, and 42 species of bryophytes. Seven species of vascular plants and one
species of bryophyte were documented in Kansas for the first time. Preliminary evaluation was
made for several species of exotic vascular plants documented on FLMR, with an assessment of
the potential threats posed by each species to natural communities on the installation.
During the 1995–1996 field seasons, emphasis was placed on identification of outstanding
terrestrial natural areas supporting protected and rare species. In contrast, during the 2003 field
season, fieldwork was directed towards refining knowledge of the vascular plant flora of FLMR,
and documenting the persistence and extent of populations of the state-rare vascular plant species
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