concurrent decline of the native Celastrus scandens and spread of the non-native Celastrus orbiculatus in the New York City metropolitan area, The

Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, Apr-Jun 2003 by Steward, Angela M, Clemants, Steven E, Moore, Gerry

The spread of Celastrus orbiculatus is also facilitated by the history of its use as a horticultural plant. C. orbiculatus has long been considered ideal for screening and ground cover and is preferred over the native C. scandens for its rapid growth habit. As early as 1919, Nash (1919) wrote, "[C. orbiculatus is] well adapted for covering walls, old trees, stony waste places, and other unsightly objects." For many years (and perhaps is still the case in some areas) C. orbiculatus has been planted along highways to control erosion (Patterson 1973). Horticulturists have preferred C. orbiculatus over C. scandens for its bright red berries, which are produced in the fall and collected and sold for dried flower arrangements. C. orbiculatus can be further spread if it is disposed of in compost or brush piles where seeds germinate (Dreyer 1985).

In summary, there is little doubt that, in the NYMF region, the native Celastrus scandens is in decline while the non-native C. orbiculatus is spreading rapidly. These results concur with other studies (e.g., Dreyer 1985; Dreyer et al. 1987; Forman and Stark 2001). It can be expected that increased efforts will be needed to (1) control the spread of C. orbiculatus and (2) protect existing populations of C. scandens. Further field studies are needed in areas where the two species co-occur to better understand their population dynamics and competitive interaction between the species.

Literature Cited

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CLEMANT, C., R. WARREN, G. DREYER, AND P. BARNES. 1991. Photosynthesis, water relations and fecundity in the woody vines American and Oriental bittersweet (Celastrus scandens and C. orbiculatus). Amer. J. Bot. 78(6 suppl.): 134-135.

CROIZAT, L. 1943. The concept of the inflorescence. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 70: 496-509.

DREYER, G. D. 1985. Element Stewardship Abstract for Celastrus orbiculata. The Nature Conservancy, Arlington, VA.

DREYER, G. D. L. M. BAIRD, AND C. FICKLER. 1987. Celastrus scandens and Celastrus scandens: Comparisons of reproductive potential between a native and an introduced woody vine. Bull. Torrey Bot. Club 114: 260-264.

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FORMAN, J., AND J. STARK. 2001. The introduction of non-native plants into Massachusetts. .

HART, H. T. 1928. Delayed germination in seeds of Peltandra virginica and Celastrus scandens. Pub. Puget Sound Biol. Sta. 6: 255-261.

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MOORE, G., A. M. STEWARD, S. E. CLEMANTS, S. D. GLENN, AND J. MA, (2002) An Overview of the New York Metropolitan Flora Project. Urban Habitats 1(1): 1-10. Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York. (http:// www.bbg.org/sci/publications/urbanhabitats/ index.html).

NASH, G. V. 1919. Celastrus articulants. Addisonia 4: 9-10.

NEWSOME, A. E. AND I. R. NOBLE. 1986. Ecological and physiological characters of invading species, pages 1-20. In: Ecology of Biological Invasions (R.H. Groves and J.J. Burdon eds.). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, MA.