FLORIDA

Castanea, Dec 2004 by Abbott, J Richard, Carlsward, Barbara S

This note reports two adventive species new to Florida, three major range extensions, and twelve additional county records, including four species that are listed as endangered or threatened by the state of Florida. Nomenclature and distributional information follow Wunderlin and Hansen (2003a) and Wunderlin and Hansen (2003b), unless otherwise indicated. Locational coordinates were taken with a hand-held GPS (global positioning system) unit using the WGS 84 map datum system, unless otherwise indicated.

Acalypha arvensis Poepp. (EUPHORBIACEAE)-Alachua County: Gainesville, University of Florida Campus, outside the botany department greenhouses, 29.64432�N 82.34651�W, Abbott 9813 (SEL), 31 Oct 1997. Gainesville, 4306 SW 50th Street, 29.61377�N 82.39685�W, Abbott 14742 with Barbara Carlsward (SEL), 17 Dec 2001.

Significance. This is the only known county in central Florida. Native to Central America, Mexico, and the West Indies.

Cannabis sauva L. (CANNABACEAE)-Jefferson County: ca. 5.4 map km NNE of Cabbage Grove, at a public river access ramp on N bank of Aucilla River, 30.26194�N 83.88927�W, originally found on 10 March, transplanted to private garden in Gainesville to await flowering, Abbott 14714 with Barbara Carlsward and Mark Tancig (FLAS, SEL), 20 Sep 2001.

Significance. An additional county record for this Eurasian weed, which is known from scattered counties throughout the state.

Carex crus-corvi Shuttlew. ex Kunze (CYPERACEAE)-Levy County: E side of Suwannee River, ca. 0.64 map km N of Fowler Bluff public boat ramp (accessed W off C.R. 347), 29.40283�N 83.02483�W, floodplain swamp, Abbott 14234 with Barbara Carlsward and Chris Benson (SEL), 3 Apr 2001. Taylor County: Nutall Rise, just E of Aucilla River on U.S. 98, then ca. 0.32 km N on access road to public boat ramp, 30.14717�N 83.96833�W, roadside edges of floodplain swamp from U.S. 98 to houses near ramp, Abbott 14239 with Barbara Carlsward and Chris Benson (FLAS, SEL), 3 Apr 2001.

Significance. These collections represent the southernmost populations of this species.

Chasmanthium latifolium (Michx.) Yates (POACEAE)-Suwannee County: NW of Live Oak, ca. 3.1 map km NW of Fort Union, near SW edge of Suwannee River Water Management District lands, 30.48967�N 83.06667�W, on upper bank of the Suwannee River, Abbott 14106 with Brenda Herring (SEL), 2 Nov 2000.

Significance. This locality bridges the gap between the known panhandle and Nassau county localities.

Coreopsis integrifolia Poir. (ASTERACEAE)-St. Johns County: W of St. Augustine, accessed N of C.R. 208 (Picolata Road) on C.R. 13A (Pacetti Road) then E on Scaff Road, then SE on foot toward Turnbull Creek, 29.925�N 81.474167�W, floodplain swamp and bottomland forest on W side of creek, Abbott 14881 with Christine Sutter (SEL), 3 Jun 2002.

Significance. Listed by the state of Florida as endangered (Chafin 2000). Known from three counties in the central panhandle (Calhoun, Jackson, Washington), also in Nassau County. This locality represents a fairly major range extension. Outside of Florida, Coreopsis integrifolia is only known from three counties in southern Georgia, all relatively close to the known Florida counties, and from two counties in southern South Carolina (Smith 1976). The co-occurrence of this species with Lythrum curtissii, mentioned below, could be indicative of an underlying, biogeographical, historical pattern. Outside of Florida, Lythrum curtissii is only known from two counties in southwestern Georgia (the same region as two of the Coreopsis counties), again relatively close to the known Florida counties (Graham 1975). Their overlapping total distributions, as well as their rarity, make it rather unlikely that this newly discovered co-occurrence along Turnbull Creek is merely coincidence. Distribution maps for Florida plants (Wunderlin and Hansen 2003b) show that a few other species also share a similar disjunction between northeastern Florida and the panhandle, e.g., Adepias viridula Chapm., Linum westii CM. Rogers, Rhododendron minus Michx. var. chapmannii (A. Gray) W.H. Duncan & Pullen, and Xyris drummondii Malme. Could the distributional similarities of these species be reflecting the residual influence of one or more glacial episodes? Could this pattern have anything to do with the historic Suwannee Straits (e.g., Neill 1957) or the Altamaha Grit Region of the coastal plain of Georgia (e.g., Harper 1906)? Possibly, but modern genetic and phylogeographic analyses (e.g., Avise 1996, 2000) would come a lot closer to answering these questions than does conjecture based on distributional patterns. Should such a study be conducted it would also be prudent to consider the following possibilities: 1) are there any pairs of closely related species that show this same pattern of disjunction?; 2) are there any currently more-widespread species, that may have been more successful at recolonizing intervening areas, which show genetic patterns of population structure that support this disjunction pattern?; 3) are there any related species whose populations show evidence of hybridization (e.g., Remington 1968) or gene flow patterns that might support the same historical factors? In addition to consulting state distribution maps, any future workers should consult modern reports on phytogeographical patterns of the southeastern United States (Estill and Cruzan 2001) and the coastal plain (Sorrie and Weakley 2001).