vascular flora of Coffee County, Alabama, The

Castanea, Sep 2002 by Martin, Brian H, Woods, Michael, Diamond, Alvin R Jr

Site 3 is located 7.2 km north of New Brockton along the south side of the Pea River. The majority of this 95 ha site is inundated throughout much of the year. The major habitats include riparian wetlands, steep mesic slopes, and cultivated fields. Both the wetlands and mesic slopes have been selectively harvested for timber. The soils are Bladen fine sandy loam, 0 to 2 percent slope; Eunola loamy sand, 0 to 2 percent slope; and Kalmia fine sandy loam, 0 to 2 percent slope (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service 1979). Common canopy vegetation includes Carya cordiformis, Magnolia grandiflora, Pinus glabra, Quercus nigra, and Q. michauxii. Taxa collected at this site but not elsewhere in the county include Rhapidophyllum hystrix and Trillium underwoodii.

Site 4 is located 14 km north of Elba between State Highways 87 and 189. Several habitats, including mixed hardwood bottoms, planted pine monoculture, powerline right-of-ways, fields and xeric uplands are found at this 1,400 ha site. Several small streams transverse this area and the topography ranges from moderate slopes to flat sandy fields. The soils are Bladen fine sandy loam, 0 to 2 percent slope; Eunola loamy sand, 0 to 2 percent slope; Orangeburg-Troup association, undulating, 1 to 8 percent slope; and Shadygrove-Luverne association, rolling, 5 to 20 percent slope (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service 1979). Common canopy vegetation includes Carya tomentosa, Liquidambar styraciflua, Liriodendron tulipifera, Pinus taeda, Quercus hemisphaerica, Q. marilandica, and Q. nigra. Taxa collected at this site but not elsewhere in the county include Lachnanthes caroliniana and Stewartia malacodendron.

Site 5 is located 4 km south of the Pike County line along the south of County Road 201. This site contains a pitcher plant seepage bog and is approximately 4 ha in size. Its sandy acidic soil is saturated by water that seeps from a south-facing slope. The soil at this site was Shadygrove-Luverne association, rolling, 5 to 20 percent slope (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service 1979). The few scattered tree species found here included Pinus palustris, P. taeda, and Quercus nigra. Taxa collected at this site but not elsewhere in the county include Burmannia capitata, Lophiola aurea, Myrica inodora, Rhynchospora latifolia, Sabatia bartramii, Sarracenia leucophylla, Syngonanthus flavidulus, and Utricularia cornuta.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Plants were collected from June 1999 through April 2001. Five major collection sites, distributed throughout the county, were chosen as representative of the major habitats. Collections were also made from additional areas throughout the county to increase the probability of obtaining a more complete flora. In addition, Troy State University Herbarium (TROY), Auburn University Herbarium (AUA), and The University of Alabama Herbarium (UNA) as well as pertinent literature were searched for specimens not collected during this study. Additional information on taxa collected from the county was provided to the authors by Ross C. Clark.