In this census of the Alabama canebrake pitcher plant, Sarracenia alabamensis Case & R.B. Case (syn. S. alabamensis subsp. alabamensis, S. rubra subsp. alabamensis), we examined and characterized all known remaining sites of the species, their habitat, associate floral communities, and soil composition. The survey methodology of Murphy and Boyd (1999) was utilized heavily in this census to directly compare 2019 data to 1995 data to determine population trends, management need, and site changes over the past 25 years. This includes assessment of population structure through size class assignments, a complete count of plants per site, a categorized associate species list, and physical soil characteristics; additionally, canopy cover and associate diversity data were collected at each site to provide further habitat status and characterization. We conclude that there are five truly viable sites (four populations) for the species, two sites with great recovery potential, five remnant sites that may be unrecoverable, and three sites that are found to be extirpated. With small populations and so few viable or recoverable sites, there is an urgent need for increased management with a focus on associated species, hydrology, maintenance of an open canopy, and landowner relationships.

Bilimbia fuscoviridis (≡ Bacidia fuscoviridis) is newly reported from North America where it is shown to be widespread in the temperate eastern United States and adjacent Canada, frequently occurring on shaded calcareous rocks and siliceous rocks in humid habitats near waterways. A detailed description on the basis of North American material is provided, the distribution is mapped, and color photographs are provided. The species is likely common but overlooked because of its inconspicuous appearance and the absence of diagnostic secondary metabolites.

This study presents four records of Phallales fungi from the Phallaceae and Clathraceae families collected in northeastern Brazil. The region is composed of nine states and three biomes. Clathrus natalensis is the first record for the Caatinga biome in Rio Grande do Norte State. Samples of Itajahya galericulata are the first records for Rio Grande do Norte and Paraíba states, and I. rosea is the first record for Ceará State in the Caatinga biome, as well as the first record for the Atlantic Forest biome. Phallus squamulosus is the second record for science. Detailed descriptions of the taxa are given together with morphologic photographs.

Seed bank compositions provide a record of past disturbances, the legacies of which may last thousands of years. Our goal was to determine if sites defined historically by fire-related (pyrophilic) tree species have seed bank compositions different from sites defined historically by pyrophobic tree species. We selected three 80+ year-old forested sites within the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia, to represent three pyrophilic zones based on percent-pyrophilic-witness tree cover: Low (0–10%), Medium (40–50%), and High (80–90%). Soil plugs were collected to evaluate the seed bank and determine soil nutrients and charcoal abundance; cover of all understory plants was also estimated. The results, supported by the charcoal analyses, show significant differences between extant and seed bank vegetation, pyrophilic zones, and pyrophilic zones within each vegetation lifeform (extant vs. seed bank). The High zone seed bank had the greatest species richness, the most pyrophilic species, and differed the most from its extant vegetation, but was the least dense of all zones and a pyrophobic species ranked among its top five indicator species. These findings indicate mesophication and a depletion of pyrophilic species in the seed bank. The High site appears to be reaching a potential threshold where passive recovery to fire-adapted conditions may be unlikely.

Through their foraging and habitat selection, white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) can have profound effects on forest plant communities that produce persistent legacy effects. To examine the duration of persistence of potential legacy effects, we investigated the long-term consequences of deer herbivory in plant communities following canopy gap creation in a hemlock–northern hardwood forest in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Twenty artificial canopy gaps were created during the winter of 2002–03: seven small gaps (50–150 m²), seven medium gaps (151–250 m²), and six large gaps (251–450 m²). Herbaceous layer communities were sampled within arrays of exclosed and nonexclosed sample plots, established within a few years of gap creation, during the summer of 2020 and compared to a previous study conducted in 2007. Eighteen years following canopy gap creation, herbaceous layer communities exhibited both persistent and transient legacies of deer herbivory. Persistent legacies included similarity of small to large gaps compositionally and low abundance of browse-sensitive species outside of exclosures. Transient patterns included initial high graminoid cover and low cover of trees in the ground layer outside of exclosures and differences in diversity between gap size classes. Some emergent patterns were also observed, including declining floristic quality indices over time but sustained high occurrence of a number of species with moderately high coefficients of conservatism on deer access plots, albeit at low abundance. Differential compositional trajectories emerged based on gap-specific tree species colonization patterns. Our results suggest that through differential foraging patch selection and control of woody regeneration, white-tailed deer may alter or reinforce patterns of dominance depending on initial conditions. These interactions may result in context-specific persistent, transient, and emergent dynamics as plant communities recover from canopy disturbance.

Invasive plant species cause massive ecosystem damage globally yet represent powerful case studies in population genetics and rapid adaptation to new habitats. The availability of digitized herbarium collections data, and the ubiquity of invasive species across the landscape make them highly accessible for studies of invasion history and population dynamics associated with their introduction, establishment, spread, and ecological interactions. Here we focus on Lonicera japonica, one of the most damaging invasive vine species in North America. We leveraged digitized collections data and contemporary field collections to reconstruct the invasion history and characterize patterns of genomic variation in the eastern USA, using a straightforward method for generating nucleotide polymorphism data and a recently published, chromosome-level genome for the species. We found an overall lack of population structure among sites in northern West Virginia, USA, as well as across sites in the central and eastern USA. Heterozygosity and population differentiation were both low based on FST analysis of molecular variance, principal components analysis, and cluster-based analyses. We also found evidence of high inbreeding coefficients and significant linkage disequilibrium, in line with the ability of this otherwise outcrossing, perennial species to propagate vegetatively. Our findings corroborate earlier studies based on allozyme data, and suggest that intentional, human-assisted spread explains the lack of population structure, as this species was planted for erosion control and as an ornamental, escaping cultivation repeatedly across the USA.

Lysimachia minima (Primulaceae) is reinstated in the flora of New York after being excluded by Werier in 2017.