December 2012 Number 1 - Utah Native Plant Society

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Utah Native Plant Society An Annotated List of the Endemic Species of Arizona Andrew Salywon, Wendy Hodgson, Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ; Todd Ontl, Desert Botanical Garden and Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA; and Martin Wojciechowski, School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ Abstract: In the Flora of Arizona, Kearney and Peebles (1964) estimated that roughly 5% (ca.164 spp.) of the flora is endemic to the state, and identified southern Arizona as harboring nearly double the number of endemic species compared to other parts of the state. However, no list of endemic taxa was provided. Therefore, in order to make meaningful comparisons of the endemic diversity with other states and to identify “hotspots” of endemicity within Arizona, we are compiling and annotating a list of the endemic plant taxa in Arizona. The annotations include taxonomic synonomy, publication and typification information in addition to distributional, ecological and evolutionary relationship data. Our working list is composed of ca. 250 taxa from 43 families and identifies the northern portion of the state (namely the Arizona Strip and the Grand Canyon) as harboring the highest percentage of endemics, in contrast to Kearney and Peebles analyses. It is hoped that insights into the relationships between geographical patterns and biological processes that can be gained from the list, including comparisons of the timing and mode of evolution of different groups. For example, Astragalus, Perityle, Agave, Eriogonum and Penstemon have been identified as the genera with the most endemic species. Not surprisingly these genera are composed of mostly annuals to short-lived perennials, with the exception of Agave, and are in groups that have undergone rapid and recent diversification in the Quaternary. In contrast, the woody endemics Berberis harrisoniana, Rhus kearneyi ssp. kearneyi, Sophora arizonica (= Calia) & Purshia subintegra are most likely of Tertiary origin and relictual. 16
Calochortiana December 2012 Number 1 Southwestern Ciénegas: Rare Habitats for Endangered Wetland Plants Robert Sivinski, New Mexico Forestry Division, Santa Fe, NM, retired Abstract. Ciénega refugia for rare plants are medium to low elevation wet meadows characterized by stable springs and seeps in arid regions. Ciénega soils are usually alkaline and highly organic. Several southwestern plant species are confined to these habitats, making ciénega biotic communities distinct from other riverine or lentic wetlands in the region. A comprehensive inventory of southwestern ciénegas has not been completed; however, these habitats are clearly rare and diminishing in extent. Groundwater depletion, erosion, conversion to agriculture or aquaculture, abusive grazing, and exotic weeds threaten most remaining ciénega habitats and the rare species confined to them. Government and non-profit conservation agencies are attempting to restore and preserve a few remnant pieces of previously large ciénegas in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. Healthy ciénega habitats require active and continuous management at great effort and expense, especially for weed control. DEFINITION AND DESCRIPTION ‘Ciénega’ is Spanish for a swamp, bog, or marsh. It is also spelled ‘ciénaga’ throughout much of the Spanish-speaking world – especially South America and the Caribbean. The ‘ciénega’ spelling is prevalent in the American southwest and often used in northern México. The origin of the word ‘ciénega’ is thought to be a contraction of the Spanish words ‘cien aguas’ meaning ‘a hundred waters or fountains’ (Crosswhite 1985). This is an allusion to springs, seeps and wet ground over a large area instead of a single pool, slough, or stream channel. Ciénegas gained acceptance as distinct climax communities of ecological significance when Hendrickson and Minckley (1985) made a thorough assessment of the ciénegas of southeastern Arizona. They defined the ciénega climax community as mid-elevation (1,000-2,000 m) freshwater wetlands with permanently saturated, highly organic, reducing soils occupied by a lowgrowing herbaceous cover of mostly sedges and rushes. Few woody plants occur in the ciénega flora and often only as riparian tree species around the drier margins. Ciénegas occur in arid landscapes with high rates of evaporation, so the soils at the drying wetland margins usually have surface crusts of alkali or salts that are the deposited dissolved solids of evaporated or transpired soil solutions. Ciénega biotic communities of the southwestern United States and northern México are almost always features of springs and spring seeps (Brown 1982, Hendrickson and Minckley 1985, Dinerstein et al. 2000). Not all springs support ciénegas, but almost all ciénegas are supported by springs. These arid-land springs arise where stable aquifers intercept the ground surface in artesian basins or along geologic faults and fractures. They are generally not associated with fluctuating alluvial aquifers in channels that are flood-scoured, so are more likely to be found in the upper reaches of small drainages near geologic faults and igneous extrusions, in karst topography, and on gentle slopes where waterbearing strata have been exposed by river erosion or scarps. Size of individual ciénegas varies greatly from less than one acre to several hundred acres and is an expression of spring flow and topography. Ciénega vegetation is usually highly productive and dense. A list of plant species for southeastern Arizona ciénegas was assembled by Hendrickson and Minckley (1985). Milford and others (2001) and Sivinski and Bleakly (2004) produced lists of ciénega plants for the Rio Pecos Basin of eastern New Mexico. Most individual ciénegas have relatively low plant species diversity, but contribute a productive and rare subset of wetland species and habitats to an otherwise arid landscape. The most common ciénega plants of the southwestern region are the open water (when present) emergents of bulrush (Schoenoplectus spp.) and cattail (Typha spp.); sedges and rushes of water-saturated soils (Eleocharis spp., Carex spp., Bolboschoenus maritimus (L.) Palla, Fimbristylis spp.); salt- and alkali-tolerant inland saltgrass (Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene), scratchgrass (Muhlenbergia aperifolia (Nees & Meyer) Parodi), and Mexican or Baltic rush (Juncus arcticus Willdenow vars. mexicanus (Willdenow) Balslev or balticus (Willdenow) Trautvetter) on seasonally saturated and sub-irrigated soils; and alkali sacaton (Sporobolus airoides (Torrey) Torrey) on the drier ciénega margins. Woody plants are usually not a significant part of ciénega vegetation cover (Figure 1), but patches of shrubby willows (Salix spp.) or willow-baccharis (Baccharis salicina Torrey & Gray) may occur and the drier ciénega margins will often have riparian trees such as cottonwood (Populus spp.), Arizona ash (Fraxinus velutina Torrey), and tree willows. 17
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December 2012 Number 1 - Utah Native Plant Society

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