goethe forest, levy 4-9-13 linda curtis...

Carex of Goethe State Forest, Florida By Linda W. Curtis [email protected]

Carex are grass-‐like in leafy appearance but have seed heads with entirely different structures. Above, a cluster of five Carex species grew in the herb ground layer near Ten Mile Creek in Goethe State Forest. A few culms with seed heads were taken, scanned, and sent to University of Florida herbaria with labels recording global positions. Carex species grow in specific habitats with moisture and sunlight requirements. The logging of trees opened the ground layer to more sunlight, at least part of the day. Mature forests with massive thatch build-‐up diminish the ground layer herbs while prescribed fires open the soil and allow its hidden seed bank to germinate and flourish again. Carex are an important part of the terrestrial food chain.

Carex of Goethe State Forest, Florida By Linda W. Curtis [email protected] 4-12-2013 Contact: Bobby Cahal, Forestry Supervisor II, Goeth State Forest, 9110 SE County Road 337, Dunnellon Fl. 34431 [email protected] ABSTRACT Goethe State Forest is in the southeastern portion of Levy County in Morriston, north of Dunnellon and includes the Rainbow River. With more than 15 habitats, Carex species grow in all except deepwater aquatic. Of the approximate 35 Carex species known in the Central Gulf Coast, five were found at Goethe State Forest: C. fissa var. aristata Mack., C. gholsonii Naczi and Cochrane, C. godfreyi Naczi, C. longii Mack., and C. lupuliformis Sartwell ex Dewey. Comparisons were made to the Carex species that grow in Devil’s Hammock Wildlife Management Area and the Waccasassa Bay State Preserve, both in Levy County. INTRODUCTION Goethe State Forest is a large tract in Levy County with a smaller Watermelon Pond Unit separate from the main tract in both Levy and Alachua County. The grass-‐like Carex grow in the herb layer of at least ten habitats including scrubby flatwoods, dome (cypress) swamps, swamp basins and sandhills. Of the three trailheads, two enter from Hi 337, Black Prong and Apex, while Tidewater Trailhead is accessed from Hi 336. (Fig. 1). METHODS The Permit to Collect at Goethe State Forest was granted for 4-‐11-‐2011 to 4-‐30-‐2012, Permit # 11-‐68 by Sherry Bennett Forest Officer [email protected]. Map work included viewing topographic and satellite photos. Fieldwork required checking clumps and tufts for triangular or trigonous culms, then for sac-‐like perigynia around each seed-‐like achene. Mature culms with seed heads and leaves were imaged with a camera that records GPS data in the field. The fresh culms were scanned onto computer first and then their perigynia were micro-‐imaged with a digital camera mounted on a bioscope. After pressing and drying, the plants were identified using Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (2011) and Flora of North America Vol. 23: Cyperaceae, (2002) and by viewing online herbaria images from herbaria websites. Specimens were labeled and sent to Florida herbaria at University of South Florida -Tampa, University of Florida-Gainesville, and Florida State University-Tallahassee. One specimen was not keyable and is C. sp. (i.e. unknown).

Fig. 1 Hiking trails are at Tidewater, N29 08.167 W82 33.377, and Saddle Pen Road at N29 07.823 W82 33.295. An unmarked trail off CR 336 at N29 09.771 W82 38.122 near the Ten Mile Creek Culvert off CR 336 had a cluster of 5 Carex species.

RESULTS Five species were found and 2 were recently discovered in Florida and named C. godfreyi (Naczi, Bryson & Cochrane, 1993) and C. gholsonii (Naczi 2002). The largest Carex was C. lupuliformis. C. fissa and C. longii were common in clearings . Table 1. Carex of Goethe State Forest, Levy Co., Fl as collected by Linda W. Curtis Species Common name Habitat C. fissa var. aristata Mack., Hammock Sedge Clearings, ditches C. gholsonii Naczi and Cochrane

Gholson’s Meadow Sedge

Mesic to wet forests, clearings

C. godfreyi Naczi Godfrey’s Sedge Mesic to wet forests, clearings

C. longii Mack. Long’s Sedge Common in many habitats C. lupuliformis Sartwell ex Dewey.

False Hop Sedge Swamps, riverbanks, ditches

Two other inventories were compared: Waccassassa Bay State Preserve (with eight Carex species (Abbott and Judd, 2002) (Table 2) and Devils Hammock Wildlife Management Area with 18 species (Abbot, 2008) (Table 3). Florida has 71 Carex listed in Guide to the Vascular plants of Florida (Wunderlin and Hansen, 2011). Half of the 71 Carex only grow in the northern tier of counties in the Panhandle but Central Florida has approximately 35 different species. TABLE 2. Carex of Waccasassa Bay State Preserve, Levy Co. Abbot & Judd, 2002.

Species Common name Habitat

C. blanda Dewey Eastern Woodland Sedge Mesic-wet hardwood forests C. chapmannii Steud. Chapman’s Sedge Hydric forests C. cherokeenis Schwein. Cherokee Sedge Wet calcareous forests C. fissa Mack. var. aristata F.J. Herm

Hammock Sedge Hydric hammocks, clearings, ditches

C. godfreyi Naczi Godfrey’s Sedge Wet to mesic, usually calcareous hammocks

C. hyalinolepsis Steud. Shoreline Sedge Marsh and coastal swales

C. lupuliformis Sartwell ex Dewey

False Hop Sedge Cypress swamps, river shores, hydric hammocks

C. vexans R. J. Herm Florida Hammock Sedge Marshes ditches, roadsides

The Devils Hammock Wildlife Management area has 18 Carex species, 15 known from Abbott (2008) with 3 additional* species from the author’s earlier research (Table 3). TABLE 3. Carex of Devil’s Hammock, Levy County, Florida

Species Common name Habitat C. alata Torr. Broadwing Sedge Marshes, swamps C. bromoides Schkuhr ex Willd. Bromelike Sedge Dry and wet swamps C. chapmanii Steud Chapman’s Sedge Calcareous wet hammocks C. comosa Boott Longhair sedge Marshes and swamps C. dasycarpa Muhl* Sandywoods Sedge Dry mesic, sandy upland C. fissa Mack. var. aristata F.J. Herm

Hammock Sedge Hydric hammocks, clearings and ditches

C. floridana (Schweinitz) Kuk.* Florida Sedge Dry mesic, sandy upland C. gholsonii Naczi & Cochrane Gholson’s Meadow

Sedge Mesic to wet clearings aside

forests, roadsides C. godfreyi Naczi Godfrey’s Sedge Calcareous wet hammocks C. gigantea Rudge Giant Sedge Bogs and swamps C. leptalea Wahlenb. Bristly Stalked Sedge Swamps, wet hammocks C. longii Mack. Long’s Sedge Marsh and coastal swales C. lupuliformis Sartwell ex Dewey

False Hop Sedge Cypress swamps, river shores, hydric hammocks,

C. stipata Muhl. Ex Willd. Awlfruit Sedge Marshes, wet clearings C. striata Michx. Walter’s Sedge Marshes, swamps, ditches C. styloflexa Buckley Bent Sedge Moist to wet hammocks C. vexans R. J. Herm * Florida Hammock

Sedge Hydric hammocks, marshes

ditches, roadsides C. verrucosa Muhl. Warty Sedge Bogs, swamps, ponds CONCLUSION Goethe State Forest is one of the largest tracts of contiguous, old growth longleaf pine flatwoods in Florida. Some of the habitats are fire dependent and upland Carex flourish after fires but diminish after years of leaf litter. Wetland Carex also increased by rhizomes and seedlings deeper into the drying cypress swamps. A diverse patch of five Carex species grew in the unnamed trail entry along Hi 336 near Ten Mile Creek and included C. lupuliformi,s C. gholsonii, C. godfreyi, C. fissa, and C. longii.. Continued searches would result in more species discovered with a potential for 18 species as known at Devil’s Hammock, also in Levy County.

LITERATURE AND WEB SITES Abbot & Judd. 2002. Rhodora vol 102 p 495. An inventory of coastal hydric hammock of

Waccasassa Bay State Preserve. Abbott, J. R. 2008. Personal communication. Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants. 2012. Images, specimens of vascular plants, and county

locations. http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ Ball, P.W., and Reznicek A.A., eds. 2002. Cyperaceae. Flora of North America,

vol. 23: 254-573. New York: Oxford University Press. Curtis, L.W. 2012. FLAS University of Florida Herbarium, Florida Museum of Natural

History, Gainesville, Fl. www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herbarium/cat/search.asp?last=Curtis&Family=Cyperaceae&style=r

Curtis, L.W. 2012. University of Florida Herbarium, Tallahassee, Fl.

http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu/search-‐specimens.php?search=Search&toggle_showhide=on&CollectionCodeID=&taxon_rank_fam=&taxon_rank_gen=&taxon_rank_sp=&taxon_rank_vernam=&cdat_crit=%3D&cdat=&cdat2_crit=%3D&cdat2=&RecordCollectorHumanName=+Curtis%2C+Linda+Wilson&RecordCollectorID=LindaCurtis652&cid=&accid=&cou=&stapro=&coupar=&nnp=&fl=&fr=&habitat=&toggle_listed=on&fleppc=&statestatus=&fedstatus=&fedwet=&statewet=&origin=&inFlorida=&inPanhandle=&fnaitrack=&grank=&srank=&sort_by=gen%2Csp%2Cisprk%2Cisp&output_type=Thumbnails

Naczi, R. H. 1993. Carex brysonii and Carex godfreyi, new species of Carex section

Griseae (Cyperaceae) from the southeastern United States. Naczi, R. H., Bryson, C. T., Cochrane, T. S., 2002. Seven New Species and One New

Combination in Carex (Cyperaceae) from North America Novon: 12, No. 4, p 526. University of Florida-Gainesville herbarium http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/herbarium Wunderlin, R.P. & Hansen, B.F. 2011. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida, 3rd ed. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Fl. Linda W. Curtis www.curtistothethird.com

goethe forest, levy 4-9-13 linda curtis...

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