Rockland federal credit union

LAMONT, E. E. (Local Flora Committee, Torrey Botanical Society, The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, NY 10458) AND S. M. YOUNG (New York Natural Heritage Program, 625 Broadway, Albany, NY 12233). Noteworthy plants reported from the Torrey Range-2002 and 2003. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 131: 394-402. 2004.-Twenty one noteworthy species of vascular plants are reported from the Torrey Range, encompassing southeastern New York, northern New Jersey, and southwestern Connecticut: Amaranthus pumilus, Arethusa bulbosa, Aristolochia serpentaria, Bolboschoenus maritimus ssp. paludosus, Bouteloua cunipendula, Campanula glomerata, Cardamine impatiens, Chimaphila umbellata ssp. cisatlantica, Cyperus retrorsus, Diospyros virginiana, Gaylussacia dumosa, Glaux maritima, Heracleum mantegazzianum, Hydrocotyle verticillata, Hypericum hypericoides ssp. multicaule, Polygala lutea, Pycnanthemum torrei, Sedum sexangulare, Spergula morisonii, Tropaeolum majus, and Uvularia puberula. Fourteen species are listed as rare in either New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut, and one is on the federal list of threatened species. Four species are new records for the Torrey Range. Two species found on Staten Island had not been reported from there since the 1860s, and three species from Long Island are re-located populations from the 1920s and 1930s. Two species have become, or have the potential to become, invasive weeds.

Key words: floristics, rare plants, invasive plants, biodiversity, distribution, Torrey Range.

This report is the third in a continuing series of floristic studies produced by the Local Flora Committee of the Torrey Botanical Society. For historical and background information contained in earlier reports, see Lamont and Fitzgerald (2001) and Lamont and Young (2002). The Torrey Range includes southeastern New York (Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, and Westchester counties), northern New Jersey (Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren counties), and southwestern Connecticut (Fairfield County). Nomenclature follows Mitchell and Tucker (1997), and ranges of distribution follow Gleason and Cronquist (1991), unless otherwise stated.

Of the 21 vascular plant species included in this report, 19 were observed from the Torrey Range in 2002 and 2003, and two are late reports from 2001. Fifteen of the 21 species are considered to be native to the Torrey Range, and six are considered non-native. Cardamine impatiens and Heracleum mantegazzianum have become, or have the potential to become, serious invasive weeds, whereas Campanula glomerata, Sedum sexangulare, Spergula morisonii, and Tropaeolum majus are newly established non-natives.

Fourteen species listed as rare in either New York, New Jersey, or Connecticut are discussed in this report. Populations of Amaranthus pumilus, a federally threatened species, continue to increase on Atlantic coastal beaches in the Torrey Range, especially at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and south into Monmouth County. New populations of Bolboschoenus maritimus ssp. paludosus, Bouteloua curtipendula, Cyperus retrorsus, Diospyros virginiana, and Gaylussacia dumosa have been found on Long Island, New York, whereas populations of Arethusa bulbosa and Polygala lutea have significantly declined on the island. On Staten Island, New York, new populations of Hypericum hypericoides ssp. multicaule and Pycnanthemum torrei have been found, and new populations of Aristolochia serpentaria have been found in Orange County, New York. Glaux maritima should be excluded from the flora of New York, and a systematic study of the status of Hydrocotyle verticillata in New York, Connecticut, and Massachusetts needs to be conducted. Populations of Chimaphila umbellata ssp. cisatlantica have drastically declined throughout the entire Torrey Range, and only one population of Uvularia puberula has been recently re-located in New York.

Throughout this report, we have endeavored to give credit to individuals who reported their findings to us. We are especially grateful to Jim Ash (South Fork Natural History Society), Spider Harbour (New York State Museum), Orland "Skip" Blanchard (Long Island University & Long Island Botanical Society), Barbara Conolly (Long Island Botanical Society), Edwin Horning (H. L. Ferguson Museum), Tim Howard (New York Natural Heritage Program), Rich Kelly (Long Island Botanical Society), Allan Lindberg (Nassau County Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Museums at Muttontown Preserve), Richard Lynch (Sweetbay Magnolia Conservancy), Philip Marshall (Yale University), Laura Schwanof (EEA Inc., Environmental Consultants), Angela Steward (New York Botanical Garden), Thomas Alien Stock (Long Island Botanical Society), Gordon Tucker (Eastern Illinois University), Jenny Ulsheimer (Clark Botanic Garden & Long Island Botanical Society), Troy Weldy (New York Natural Heritage Program), and David Werier (New York Natural Heritage Program). We also thank Eileen Schofield and Troy Weldy for reviewing an earlier draft of this report.

Annotated List of Noteworthy Plants Reported from the Torrey Range-2002 and 2003

Amaranthus pumilus Raf.

Seabeach Amaranth

Amaranthaceae, the Amaranth Family

Seabeach amaranth is a federally threatened plant of the Atlantic coastal barrier beaches, which until the late 1990s was only growing in New York, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Beginning in 1998 and again in 1999, a few plants were discovered growing on the northern tip of Assateague Island in Maryland. In the summer of 2000, more plants were discovered in adjacent Delaware and in New Jersey. Plants also were found in Virginia in 2002. Each summer, numbers continued to climb in New Jersey, reaching a total of 10,908 plants by 2002. The majority of plants were found in the Sandy Hook area and Monmouth County, but some were found along the entire coast south to Cape May. Seabeach amaranth seems to be establishing itself again within its historical range with the exception of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, where small numbers were found in the mid-1800s.

Arethusa bulbosa L.

Dragon's Mouth

Orchidaceae, the Orchid Family

During the past 150 years, 26 populations of Arethusa bulbosa have been known to occur on Long Island, New York (Lamont 1996). In 1940, Roy Latham reported that A. bulbosa was still "locally abundant westward on the island" and "common at Montauk" (Latham 1940). By the early 1970s, A. bulbosa was considered extirpated from western Long Island, and only six extant populations were known from eastern Suffolk County (Lamont et al. 1988). In the late 1990s, only a few small colonies remained extant in the vicinity of Montauk, and in 2003, no individuals could be located at historical sites near Montauk or elsewhere on Long Island.

The decline of A. bulbosa on the South Fork of Long Island has been well documented. In 1877, Elihu Miller wrote, "I find Arethusa bulbosa growing in great abundance in the swamp adjoining Hook Pond, in the village of East Hampton. I gathered several hundred specimens in a very small part of the swamp. No one need have any fear of destroying that locality by collecting specimens" (Miller 1877). By 1940, the Hook Pond population of A. bulbosa had been extirpated (Latham 1940).

In 1923, Norman Taylor reported, "about the end of May this part of the [Montauk] peninsula is aflame with Arethusa bulbosa, in fact it is more common here than elsewhere within the observation of the writer" (Taylor 1923). Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Jim Ash and Eric Lamont observed scattered colonies of A. bulbosa extending from Montauk Point to Ditch Plains; some of these colonies consisted of 40 to 100 individuals, whereas others consisted of less than 10 individuals. The orchids occurred in wet marshy swales and in open margins of wet shrubby thickets and ponds. During the 1990s, the open wetlands had become dominated by dense shrublands, and only a very few scattered individuals of A. bulbosa could be found. A small pond immediately northwest of Montauk Point had become dominated by Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin., and the colony of A. bulbosa had been extirpated.

In 2002 and 2003, Troy Weldy and Jim Ash inventoried all of the historical A. bulbosa sites in the vicinity of Montauk and found no flowering individuals. Although many of the open wetlands had succeeded into dense shrublands, it is probable that at least a few individuals of A. bulbosa still occur at Montauk. Populations of A. bulbosa fluctuate considerably. Luer (1975) reported the following observation: "Fred Case describes a bog which may contain thousands of [Arethusa] plants one year and but a scant dozen another year. He suspects that the plant, often injured by late frosts, is short lived, and relies on seed production for propagation."

Aristolochia serpentaria L.

Virginia Snakeroot

Aristolochiaceae, the Birthwort Family