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Namestnik, S.A., J.R. Thomas, and B.S. Slaughter. 2012. Two recent plant discoveries in Missouri:
Cladium mariscus
subsp.
jamaicense
(Cyperaceae) and
Utricularia minor
(Lentibulariaceae). Phytoneuron 2012-92: 1–6. Published 16 October 2012.
ISSN 2153 733X
TWO RECENT PLANT DISCOVERIES IN MISSOURI:
CLADIUM MARISCUS SUBSP. JAMAICENSE (CYPERACEAE)
AND UTRICULARIA MINOR (LENTIBULARIACEAE)
SCOTT A. NAMESTNIK
Cardno JFNew
708 Roosevelt Road
Walkerton, Indiana 46574
scott.namestnik@cardno.com
JUSTIN R. THOMAS
Institute of Botanical Training, LLC
111 County Road 3260
Salem, Missouri 65560
jthomas@botanytraining.com
BRADFORD S. SLAUGHTER
Michigan Natural Features Inventory
P.O. Box 30444
Lansing, Michigan 48909
slaugh14@msu.edu
ABSTRACT
Here we report the first Missouri records for Cladium mariscus (L.) Pohl subsp. jamaicense
(Crantz) Kük. (Cyperaceae) and Utricularia minor L. (Lentibulariaceae). Both taxa are documented
from The Nature Conservancy’s Shut-in Mountain Fens Preserve in Shannon County, within the
Ozark Highlands ecoregion of southeastern Missouri.
KEY WORDS: Cyperaceae, Lentibulariaceae, Cladium, Utricularia, Missouri, Shannon County
Shut-in Mountain Fens Preserve is a 520-acre (210 ha) Nature Conservancy preserve
characterized by rugged igneous knobs of Precambrian rhyolitic ash flows overlain by deep beds of
dissected Ordovician dolomite. Below the small exposed igneous glade at the summit of Shut-in
Mountain, the site is primarily oak-hickory woodland, with a minor component of shortleaf pine
(Pinus echinata). Total relief within the preserve is 100 meters. The geology and topography create
several areas of permanent minerotrophic groundwater discharge along Wildcat Hollow, the small,
northeast-trending, intermittently flowing drainage that passes through the site. These phreatic
discharges range from numerous small seepage areas of a few square meters to three fens ranging up
to 1.0 ac (0.4 ha). The vegetation of these fen areas is briefly described below; data on dominant
vascular plants are from Ladd (2010).
The central fen in this complex is categorized as Ozark Fen by Nelson (2010), and supports a
rich assemblage of plants whose Ozark distribution is restricted to fen systems. Dominant plant
species in this fen are Rudbeckia fulgida var. umbrosa, Parnassia grandiflora, Scleria verticillata,
Vernonia missurica, and Oxypolis rigidior.
A few hundred meters upstream (west) from this fen is an unusual fen area characterized by
an expanse of seeping marly gravel over dolomite bedrock. While this site likely supported Ozark fen
historically, past land use history of this area has resulted in the loss of virtually all organic substrate,
creating an unusual minerotrophic wetland dominated by a sparse cohort of Rhynchospora capillacea,
Physostegia virginiana, Silphium terebinthinaceum, Panicum virgatum, and Fuirena simplex.
Namestnik, Thomas, and Slaughter: Recent discoveries in Missouri
2
The easternmost fen has strong biological affinities to dolomite glade, and consists of a ca.
0.5 ac (0.2 ha) gently sloping open seepage over surfacing flats of dolomite bedrock. Dominant plant
species here are Scleria verticillata, Schizachyrium scoparium, Rudbeckia missouriensis,
Rhynchospora capillacea, Linum floridanum, and Panicum virgatum.
Shortly after The Nature Conservancy acquired the site in 1988, a regime of frequent dormant
season fires was implemented in much of the preserve. The drainage containing the three fens has
been burned 17 times since its acquisition by the Conservancy. This fire management has increased
botanical diversity within the fen. Of particular note, the second-known and largest population of
Pogonia ophioglossoides in Missouri emerged following application of prescribed fire. Several plant
taxa of conservation concern or taxa previously unknown in the state have been documented at the
site including Equisetum × nelsonii, Ludwigia microcarpa, Scleria verticillata, and Utricularia
subulata.
Cladium mariscus subsp. jamaicense
Since 2007, representatives from The Nature Conservancy have observed a slowly increasing
vegetative population of a large sedge along the upper margin of the easternmost fen; this was
subsequently identified as Cladium mariscus (L.) Pohl subsp. jamaicense (Crantz) Kük. by the
authors. As of 2011, this population had grown to a dense stand of several thousand stems
dominating an area measuring approximately 18 × 7 meters. In 2010, only two fertile culms from the
previous growing season were located; a few fertile stems were also documented in 2011. Associated
plant species include: Andropogon gerardii, Apios americana, Eupatorium perfoliatum, Fuirena
simplex, Helenium autumnale, Liatris pycnostachya, Lysimachia quadriflora, Oxypolis rigidior,
Panicum virgatum, Pycnanthemum virginianum, Rhynchospora capillacea, Rudbeckia fulgida var.
umbrosa, Salix caroliniana, Sorghastrum nutans, Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, and Vernonia
missurica.
Voucher specimens: MISSOURI. Shannon Co.: The Nature Conservancy’s Shut-in
Mountain Fens Preserve, along the south side of Shannon County H-522, ca. 1.4 mi NE of the jct of
hwys H and NN, ca. 7.5 mi E of Eminence; large, mostly vegetative colony in partial shade along
upper side of easternmost fen, in gently sloping gravelly/marly seepage with exposed dolomite
bedrock; 37º 06’ 35.82”N, 91º 13’ 39.35”W, 21 Apr 2010, Thomas 2349 (MO); 24 August 2011.
Ladd 32234 (KANU, MO).
This is the northwesternmost, though not westernmost, record of Cladium mariscus subsp.
jamaicense, and represents a significant range extension as well as the first record for Missouri. This
species is dominant in marshes of the Florida Everglades (Tucker 2002), and it occurs primarily in
coastal marshes from Virginia to Texas and also in Hawaii (Tucker 2002; BONAP 2012). Additional
inland populations in the United States have been reported from Georgia, Arkansas, Texas, and New
Mexico (NatureServe 2010; USDA, NRCS 2010; T. Witsell, personal communication, 15 November
2010; BONAP 2012). Cladium mariscus subsp. jamaicense is also known from Mexico, the West
Indies, Central America, and northern South America (Tucker 2002). The Missouri population of C.
mariscus subsp. jamaicense is more than 400 km north of the closest documented sites in southern
Arkansas (Tucker 2002; T. Witsell personal communication, 15 November 2010; NatureServe 2010;
USDA, NRCS 2010; BONAP 2012).
Namestnik, Thomas, and Slaughter: Recent discoveries in Missouri
3
In North America, Cladium
mariscus subsp. jamaicense typically
occurs in brackish and freshwater marshes
(Tucker 2002). However, the Missouri
population occurs on the margin of a
marly fen. The precedent to occur in
minerotrophic fen wetlands is not
unexpected; the Old World counterpart to
our taxon, the questionably distinct var.
mariscus, is a dominant species in
calcareous fens in Europe (EUNIS
Biodiversity Database 2012), where the
common name for the plant is “Great Fen
Sedge.”
Only three species of Cladium
occur in North America ― C.
californicum, C. mariscoides, and C.
mariscus subsp. jamaicense. Cladium
mariscus subsp. jamaicense and C.
californicum differ from C. mariscoides
in having taller and broader culms,
broader leaves with serrate margins, and
taller inflorescences with a greater degree
of branching (Tucker 2002). Cladium
mariscus subsp. jamaicense is
questionably distinct from C.
californicum, and reportedly differs in
having spikelets in smaller groups,
inflorescences with third and fourth order
branches, and taller culms (Tucker 2002).
For a key and a full description of these
taxa, see Tucker (2002).
The nativity and ecological status of the Missouri population of Cladium mariscus ssp.
jamaicense is uncertain. There is strong reason to suspect that this population is a recent introduction,
as evidenced by its occurrence well outside the previously documented range, its recent discovery in a
well-investigated site visited annually by botanists, its proximity to a road, and its steadily increasing
population at a single locus in the area. On the other hand, the species is not cultivated, and it is not
considered to be ecologically opportunistic or weedy. The continued discovery of conservative native
vascular plant taxa at Shut-in Mountain Fens Preserve also raises the slight possibility that habitat
management at this site has resulted in the resurgence of a relict population of C. mariscus ssp.
jamaicense.
Utricularia minor
In April 2010 the authors also documented extensive populations of Utricularia minor L.
from shallowly inundated marly substrate in all three fen communities within Shut-in Mountain Fens
Preserve. A subsequent survey of the three fen openings revealed 385 flowering stems in both marl-
dominated openings and in the pools of deep muck zones. Plants were common in areas of
permanent inundation that lacked visible flow. Though no other species of vascular plants were
detected in the immediate microhabitat of the U. minor plants, the tussocks and higher (saturated but
Figure 1.
Cladium mariscus
ssp.
jamaicense
at Shut
-
in
Mountain Fens Preserve. Photograph by Justin Thomas.
Namestnik, Thomas, and Slaughter: Recent discoveries in Missouri
4
not inundated) ground contained such species as: Rhynchospora capillacea, Carex leptalea, Panicum
virgatum, Carex sterilis, and Silphium terebinthinaceum.
Voucher specimen: MISSOURI. Shannon Co.: The Nature Conservancy’s Shut-in
Mountain Fens Preserve, along the S side of Shannon County H-522, ca. 1.4 mi NE of the jct of hwys
H and NN, ca. 7.5 mi E of Eminence; from marly openings in westernmost fen, 37º 06’ 24.33” N, 91º
14’ 05.47” W, 30 Apr 2010, Thomas 2343 (MO).
Utricularia minor is a circumboreal
species, concentrated in the conterminous United
States in New England and the northern Great
Lakes states, and occurring at scattered localities
from the Dakotas and central Nebraska west to
Washington, Oregon, and California (Neid 2006;
BONAP 2012). This collection represents a
significant range extension for this species. The
nearest known locations for U. minor are two
ponds in Saline and Clay counties, Illinois,
where the species was collected in 1964 and
1965, respectively (Dolbeare and Ebinger 1974;
Herkert and Ebinger, eds., 2002). These
southern Illinois collections represent possible
introductions or waifs (Herkert and Ebinger,
eds., 2002); the species is otherwise concentrated
in far northeastern Illinois and, to the west,
occurs no closer to Missouri than north-central
Iowa (BONAP 2012). The species is also
disjunct in the southeastern United States in
high-elevation fens and bogs in the Southern
Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina
(Weakley 2011).
Throughout its range, Utricularia minor
typically inhabits low-nutrient, anaerobic
wetland habitats. In New England and the Great
Lakes states, U. minor inhabits a variety of
wetlands, including shallow ponds, peaty lake
margins, fens, sedge meadows, and marshes,
often in shallow water or disturbed areas such as tire ruts and animal trails (Voss 1996; Chadde 2002;
Magee and Ahles 2007). The species generally shows a preference for calcareous soils (Voss 1996;
Chadde 2002). In the western United States, the species is scattered and local, and typically occurs in
seeps, floating mats, shallow water, and saturated peat in calcareous fens and associated habitats at
elevations typically greater than 2,100 m (7,000 ft) (Neid 2006). In Alaska, U. minor is known from
quiet water and mud habitats (Hultén 1968). Although U. minor is considered to be globally secure,
the species is rare across much of its North American range, and it is considered critically imperiled
in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, New Jersey, Utah, and Prince Edward Island; imperiled in Colorado,
Nebraska, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, New Brunswick, and
Saskatchewan; and vulnerable in California, Ohio, and Manitoba. In addition, U. minor is considered
extirpated from Delaware and is known only from historical collections from North Carolina and
Rhode Island (Neid 2006).
F
igure 2
.
Utricularia minor
at Shut
-
i
n Mountain
Fens Preserve. Photograph by Justin Thomas.
Namestnik, Thomas, and Slaughter: Recent discoveries in Missouri
5
The genus Utricularia L. is diverse worldwide, but only 20 species are documented from the
United States and Canada, and only three species were previously documented from Missouri: U.
gibba L.; U. macrorhiza J. Le Conte; and U. subulata L. (Steyermark 1963; Neid 2006; BONAP
2012). Utricularia minor can be differentiated from U. subulata, which also occurs at the site, by its
numerous, dichotomous or irregularly divided leaves (vs. leaves absent or linear for U. subulata) and
by its small, cream-colored flowers with the spur approximately half the length of the lower lip (vs.
flowers yellow with the spur about equaling the lip in U. subulata) (Gleason and Cronquist 1991).
Utricularia minor can be differentiated from U. gibba and U. macrorhiza by its lower corolla lip,
which is approximately twice as long as the upper lip (vs. lower corolla lip equaling or slightly longer
than the upper lip in U. gibba and U. macrorhiza) and its flat ultimate leaf segments (vs. ultimate leaf
segments filiform in U. gibba and U. macrorhiza) (Gleason and Cronquist 1991).
Based on its occurrence in a typical habitat (calcareous fen), the rarity and local distribution
of calcareous fens in southern Missouri (Nelson 2010), and the documentation of numerous scattered
populations in similar wetlands in several western states over the past half-century (Neid 2006), the
population of Utricularia minor at Shut-in Mountain Fens Preserve is likely a native occurrence. In
addition, U. minor is a very small, inconspicuous, easily overlooked plant, and flowers early in spring
when its calcareous fen habitat appears barren of vegetation without close inspection. Systematic
inventories of calcareous fens, seeps, and pond shores in the surrounding region in April or early May
may reveal additional populations of this locally rare bladderwort species in southern Missouri.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Our thanks to George Yatskievych and Garrett Crow for verification of identification of
Utricularia minor, to Doug Ladd for providing background information about Shut-in Mountain Fens
Preserve and the Cladium mariscus subsp. jamaicense population, and to Susan Farrington for her
assistance with stem counts and collection of additional specimens.
LITERATURE CITED
BONAP. 2012. North American Plant Atlas (US county-level species maps). Biota of North
America Program, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Last update: Oct 2011
<http://www.bonap.org/genera-list.html>
Chadde, S.W. 2002. A Great Lakes Wetland Flora: A Complete Guide to the Aquatic and Wetland
Plants of the Upper Midwest (ed. 2). PocketFlora Press, Laurium, Michigan.
Dolbeare, B.L. and J. Ebinger. 1974. Distribution of the common vascular hydrophytes in Illinois.
Transactions of the Illinois State Academy of Science 67: 402–417.
EUNIS Biodiversity Database. 2012. Calcareous fens with Cladium mariscus and species of the
Caricion davallianae (7210). European Environment Agency. Copenhagen, Denmark.
<http://eunis.eea.europa.eu/habitats/10149> Accessed 4 October 2011.
Gleason, H.A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and
Adjacent Canada (ed. 2). New York Botanical Garden, New York.
Herkert, J.R. and J.E. Ebinger (eds.) 2002. Endangered and threatened species of Illinois: Status and
distribution. Volume 1 – Plants. Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board, Springfield,
Illinois.
Hultén, E. 1968. Flora of Alaska and Neighboring Territories: A Manual of the Vascular Plants.
Stanford Univ. Press, Stanford, California.
Ladd, D. 2010. Vegetation monitoring on selected Nature Conservancy fire-managed sites in the
Missouri Ozarks. Nature Conservancy final report to Missouri Department of Conservation,
TNC grant 1250163820.
Magee, D.W. and H.E. Ahles. 2007. Flora of the Northeast: A Manual of the Vascular Flora of New
England and Adjacent New York (ed. 2). Univ. of Massachusetts Press, Amherst.
Namestnik, Thomas, and Slaughter: Recent discoveries in Missouri
6
NatureServe. 2010. NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web
application]. Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
<http://www.natureserve.org/explorer> Accessed 14 Nov 2010.
Neid, S.L. 2006. Utricularia minor L. (lesser bladderwort): A technical conservation
assessment. [Online]. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region.
<http://www.fs.fed.us/r2/projects/scp/assessments/utriculariaminor.pdf> Accessed 25
January 2012.
Nelson, P.W. 2010. The terrestrial natural communities of Missouri (ed. 4). Missouri Natural Areas
Committee, Jefferson City, Missouri.
Steyermark, J.A. 1963. Flora of Missouri. Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames.
Tucker, G.C. 2002. Cladium (Cyperaceae). Pp. 240–242, in Flora of North America North of
Mexico, Vol. 23. Oxford Univ. Press, New York and Oxford.
USDA, NRCS. 2012. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, North
Carolina. <http://plants.usda.gov>
Voss, E.G. 1996. Michigan Flora. Part III. Dicots (Pyrolaceae-Compositae). Bull. Cranbrook Inst.
Sci. 61 & Univ. of Michigan Herbarium.
Weakley, A.S. 2011. Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic states. Working draft as of 15 May
2011. Univ. of North Carolina Herbarium, Chapel Hill.
<http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/FloraArchives/WeakleyFlora_2011-May-print.pdf> Accessed 25
January 2012.
