Date
2-12-2020
Faculty Mentor
Jimmy Triplett, Biology
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Submission Type
Paper
Location
Houston Cole Library, 11th Floor | 11:00-11:10 a.m., 11:15-11:25
Description
Presentation 1: Although many of Alabama’s plant species have been documented, a comprehensive survey of the state has never been completed. This lack of basic floristic data contributes to a relatively poor understanding of the state’s plant diversity and plant distributions, and therefore provides the opportunity for continued field research. The current project focuses on the flora of Cleburne County in Northeast Alabama. Approximately one-third of the county encompasses the Talladega National Forest (more than any other county within the national forest’s range). The county has two physiographic regions (Piedmont and Ridge and Valley) and is home to Mount Cheaha, the highest point in the state. Currently, Cleburne is 27th in the state for the total number of documented native plant taxa, and it has the third highest number of recorded taxa among adjacent counties. In the past, five floras have been conducted that included portions of the county: Cheaha State Park, Horseblock Mountain, Talladega National Forest -Talladega Ranger District (Clay and Cleburne Counties), Duggar Mountain (Calhoun and Cleburne Counties), and Choccolocco Creek (Talladega, Cleburne, and Calhoun Counties). Preliminary research for the current project has revealed over one hundred and fifty new vascular plant records (previously undocumented species) for the county, including the addition of two orders, nine families, and fifty genera. The objectives of this research are to 1) determine all vascular plants growing in Cleburne County through field work; 2) document all plants with representative voucher specimens to be placed in the Jacksonville State University Herbarium; and 3) collect useful data to assist with future management decisions regarding conservation initiatives. This study will also test the hypothesis that Cleburne County has more vascular plant diversity than neighboring, better-documented counties, potentially placing Cleburne within the top twenty counties in Alabama for plant diversity.
Presentation 2: Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus L. (Hemerocallidaceae) is reported as a new record for the vascular flora of Alabama. A small population of H. lilioasphodelus was discovered in Randolph County, Alabama in 2019. The vouchered population occurs in a disturbed powerline right-of-way in the Wedowee area in the Piedmont Upland Physiographic Region. This species is native to eastern Asia and is considered naturalized in parts of North America. It occurs sporadically in parts of eastern North America and in a few West Coast States. Lemon Daylily is often grown as a garden flower and very rarely escapes from cultivation. This plant is historically known for its edible and medicinal properties. The closest vouchered populations in adjacent states are located in: middle Tennessee, southeastern Georgia, East Texas and the Florida Panhandle.
Keywords
student presentations, student papers, plant species, flora, daylily
Rights
This video is the property of Jacksonville State University and is intended for non-commercial use. Video and images may be copied for personal use, research, teaching or any "fair use" as defined by copyright law. Users are asked to acknowledge Jacksonville State University. For more information, please contact digitalcommons@jsu.edu.
Disciplines
Botany | Plant Biology
Recommended Citation
Spaulding, Melanie, "Flora of Cleburne County, Alabama | Lemon Daylily - Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus (Hemerocallidaceae) New Plant Species to the Flora of Alabama" (2020). JSU Student Symposium 2020. 3.
https://digitalcommons.jsu.edu/ce_jsustudentsymp_2020/3
Presentation Information
Spaulding, M. (2020, 12 February). Flora of Cleburne County, Alabama. Paper presented at the 2020 JSU Student Symposium, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL.
Spaulding, M. (2020, 12 February). Lemon Daylily - Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus (Hemerocallidaceae) New Plant Species to the Flora of Alabama. Poster presented at the 2020 JSU Student Symposium, Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL.