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Bryophytes and Lichens of the Shenandoah National Park, Virginia, Collected on the 1966 Foray of the American Bryological Society

1970; American Bryological and Lichenological Society; Volume: 73; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2307/3241589

1938-4378

Richard T. T. Forman, Herbert A. Sierk,

Botany and Plant Ecology Studies

One hundred five species of bryophytes and 159 of lichens are reported from four areas of the Shenandoah National Park in Page and Madison Counties, Virginia. The American Bryological Society held its annual field trip on 11-16 August 1966 in the Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Thirty-four persons (Fig. 1) attended the field trip, which preceded the Society's annual meeting, that year at the University of Maryland. Dr. F. J. Hermann did much of the initial planning for the trip, but unfortunately illness prevented his participation. However, Dr. Daniel H.Norris consented to become leader and ably led the trip. The area studied is along the famous Skyline Drive on the mountainous divide of eastern United States: from there water flows eastward toward the Atlantic Ocean and westward toward the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico. Igneous rocks form the backbone of these ancient Appalachian Mountains whose flanks are of sedimentary rock. Both rock types, however, are largely metamorphozed. The major slopes vary from gentle to steep, but rarely precipitous, and all rock outcrops are siliceous. The highest point in the area is over 1,300 m, with the valleys below to the east and west about 300 m elevation. The foray sites are approximately 4-8 miles southeast of Luray, Virginia, and vary in elevation from 700 to over 1,300 m. Vegetation patterns of the area simulate a mosaic with units determined by slope, exposure, moisture and elevation in the mountains. A few summits have coniferous elements such as Abies balsamea and Picea rubens. Dry upper slopes may have oak stands with species such as Quercus montana, Q. borealis, Q. coccinea, Q. alba, and Carya spp. Moister upper slopes frequently have northern hardwoods such as Acer saccharum, Betula lutea, and Tilia americana. In lower elevations the forest grades into oak woods (various Quercus species) often with Castanea dentata stumps and sprouts abundant. These types, however, are severed by moist ravines with high woody plant diversity (depauperate versions of the mixed mesophytic forest or cove hardwoods) including Tsuga canadensis, Liriodendron tulipifera, Platanus occi1 We thank Daniel H. Norris, I. M. Brodo, Clifford M. Wetmore, Robert T. Lampton, and Wilfred B. Schofield for lists of identified species: Douglas R. Smith for the photograph; and Fred J. Hermann, Daniel H. Norris, and Robert R. Ireland, Jr., for advice. 2 Department of Botany, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903. 3 Department of Biology, MacMurray College, Jacksonville, Illinois 62650. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.179 on Mon, 11 Apr 2016 12:38:00 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 1970] FORMAN & SIERK: BRYOPHYTES AND LICHENS FROM VIRGINIA 83 FIGURE 1. The participants in 1966 foray. Top row, left to right: D. H. Norris, Mrs. S. Tucker, G. R. Brassard, C. M. Wetmore, S. Shushan, W. D. Margadant, Mrs. Margadant, J. R. Hailer, W. B. Schofield, R. T. T. Forman, H. O. Whittier. Middle rows, left to right: D. R. Smith, R. K. Lampton, Mrs. M. Griffin, Miss M. Mahoney, Mrs. R. C. Reid, Mrs. A. Andrews, H. A. Sierk, Miss R. Horn, Mrs. H. A. Sierk, Miss E. Fisher, Mrs. M. Foote, L. E. Anderson, I. M. Brodo, K. G. Foote. Front row, left to right: three children, S. Flowers, M. L. Ellison, Mrs. I. M. Brodo, two children. dentalis, and many of the previously mentioned species. See Braun (1950) for fuller analyses of the vegetation. The Shenandoah National Park is one of the areas of the continent which, bryologically, is relatively well known through the recent publications by Schnooberger and Wynne (1945), Patterson (1955), Prior (1959), Hermann (1959), Ireland (1961), and an unpublished 1966 list by F. J. Hermann (personal communication). It is, therefore, not too surprising that no new species of mosses were added to the local flora during the foray. Unfortunately, the lichens of the Park have not been studied so much as the bryophytes. Indeed, relatively little has been published on the lichens of the state of Virginia. The only recent paper which attempts to give a catalog of lichens from the state is one by Culberson (1965) for the Mountain Lake area, Giles County, and it deals only with foliose and fructicose forms. The present list includes 96 taxa not in Culberson's paper. One test of the success of a foray is the number of bryophytes and lichens encountered and the other test is the personal interaction among the participants. Camaraderie was high and the foray was a success on both counts. The four areas visited are described below and the cryptogams collected on various substrates in each are listed. Although many species of bryophytes were collected at more than one site, or by more than one participant, only one report of each species is given. However, since the list of lichens is considerably more valuable, all lichen collections are cited. Specimens are deposited in the personal herbaria of the collectors except those of I. M. Brodo, which are deposited in the National Museum of Canada. The bryophyte list was compiled by the first author and the lichen list by the second author. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.179 on Mon, 11 Apr 2016 12:38:00 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms 84 THE BRYOLOGIST [Volume 73 LEWIS FALLS AND BLACKROCK MOUNTAIN TRAIL NEAR BIG MEADOWS. The area studied is a gentle northwest-facing slope at approximately 1,100-1,200 m elevation in Page County with a deciduous forest canopy dominated by Quercus borealis, Q. alba, Robinia pseudoacacia, Carya sp., and Pinus strobus. Abundant Castanea dentata stumps and sprouts are present, indicating that chestnut was formerly an important canopy species here. Betula lutea is abundant on the many rocky portions of the slope.