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PRELIMINARY REVIEW
OF THE RARE PLANTS OF THE
NIAGARA RIVER GORGE, U.S.A. AND CANADA Patricia M. Eckel |
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PRELIMINARY REVIEW
OF THE RARE PLANTS OF THE
NIAGARA RIVER GORGE, U.S.A. AND CANADA by P.M. Eckel Clinton Herbarium Buffalo Museum of Science [Originally published in Clintonia (Botanical Magazine
of the Niagara Frontier Botanical Society) 6(2, Supplement): 1-8. 1991.
Reprinted with permission.] Because
of a number of recent proposals to develop the Niagara River gorge and its
environment by government and private interests, it was thought important to
put together certain information accumulated during work done by the author
over the past decade regarding the value of the gorge as a natural resource
to the governments of Ontario and New York. The Niagara River is a strait
connecting Lakes Ontario and Erie. The gorge section of the Niagara River
extends seven miles from the cataracts of the river, situated beside the
cities of Niagara Falls, New York, and Niagara Falls, Ontario, north to the cities
of Lewiston, New York, and Queenston, Ontario (Bastedo, in Tesmer, 1981). The
Niagara River, including its gorge, forms the international territorial
boundary between the United States of America and the Dominion of Canada. It is not the purpose of this
paper to describe in detail the geophysical and biological characteristics of
this gorge except in the most general terms. It is oriented generally
north-south, with east/west exposures of the steep gorge walls. Gorge depth
varies from its shallowest end at the falls, around 167 feet, and is on
average around 209 feet from the surface of the river. The caprock is
composed of dolomite, with limestone, shales and sandstone in the lower
strata. The preservation of biological
species, in an age of diminishing biodiversity, has become a government
priority like never before, with a whole range of laws on every level of
government intended to protect the natural heritage of areas. This paper is
one of a series of papers I hope to write to present general information on
the biological and biohistorical significance of the falls of Niagara and the
area in its vicinity. The natural history resources of
the Niagara gorge have evolved and exist as a single unit, irrespective of
the fact that this geophysical phenomenon is shared by two separate nations.
The fact that two governments are involved means that the geo-biological
significance of the gorge is obscured by, for
example, government sponsored research being limited to only that side of the
Niagara River within the boundaries of a government jurisdiction. Important
information displayed on government maps, for example, is lost when mapped
features stop at the political boundary this is especially true of climatic
features influenced by the Great Lakes and the regional distribution of
limestone outcrops and vegetational elements. Again, assessments of rarity and
hence government protection of certain species will vary for political, not
biological reasons. For example, Deerberry, Vaccinium stamineum, was considered rather frequent in western
New York in 1934 by Zenkert, but it is considered rare in Ontario.
Elimination of populations of this plant in New York State, because it is not
rare, would threaten the viability of plants occurring in Ontario due to increased
isolation of populations. A similar situation exists for
Kalm's St. John's Wort (Hypericum
kalmianum). The only station known to have occurred in New York State was
in the vicinity of the cataracts, yet it is not considered rare In Ontario
where stations occur along the north shore of Lake Erie to the westward
(Zenkert, 1934). The range of habitats which exist in Ontario differs from
those in New York, and this will effect attributions of rarity for various
species. International cooperation in preserving habitats in which
populations of species considered of importance to one state or province
should be considered by those governments in their preservation protocols. Nowhere is this more apparent
than in the government park lands created in the nineteenth century on both
sides of the Niagara River, both originally established to preserve Niagara's
internationally recognized natural resources. Administrations must pursue a
vigorous natural resource preservation policy with mutual benefit toward the
protection policies of either country in order to ensure met preservation
objectives. Ontario serves as a corridor for rare biological elements in New
York State, and New York for Ontario. My researches into the Niagara
Gorge flora, since begun systematically in 1984, recognize the general model,
yet to be elaborated and tested, that the Niagara Gorge serves as part of a
critical biological boundary between two Interconnected floristic types. The
prairie element of species characteristic of
areas to the west of Niagara extends through Niagara following the Great
Lakes geophysical and climatic influence up at least as far as the St.
Lawrence Seaway, or the far eastern end of Lake Ontario (see floristic maps
by Kuechler, 1964 for a suggestion of this corridor). A pattern of
limestone/dolomite exposures also appears to characterize this general area,
further emphasizing edaphically, micro-climatic and geo-chemical characters
reminiscent of the Great Plains, a great limestone basin. Rare plants in New
York State with a plains affinity appear to favor this regional association
with the Great Lakes, within which lies the Niagara gorge. The second biological boundary
influencing the distribution of rarities at Niagara is the contact into
Canada of what is known as the Carolinian floristic zone, occupying Ontario
generally from the Bruce Peninsula east and south to and along the Great
Lakes to the St. Lawrence River, but which is typical of and increasingly
well developed south of Canada in the United States (Zenkert, 1934). The
biological importance of this Carolinian zone flora, which occurs nowhere
else in Canada is comparable to the tropical flora of the State of Florida,
which occurs nowhere else in the United States. Deerberry is part of this
flora south of Canada, reaching its northern limits in this part of southern
Ontario again, most likely due to the moderating influence of the Great Lakes
and edaphic characteristics. There is much more of natural
historic significance in the Niagara gorge and adjacent areas than simply the
statistical rarity of its plant species elements. It geological strata have
formed the basis for paleontological research since the time of Charles Lyell
and James Hall and was an important indicator of the extensive periods of slow
change through time critical to establishing the immense chronology of
geological time, and which was a fundamental precept of Lyell's student
Charles Darwin's theory of biological evolution (see Eckel, 1989). Numerous type localities occur
throughout the vicinity of Niagara Falls, including the type locality of a
geologic stratum, the Goat Island Dolostone, ("Goat Island at the brink
of Niagara Falls," Howell and Sanford, 1947; see also Zenger, 1965. For
discussion and description of other strata In the Niagara gorge, see Tesmer,
1981). One of the syntypes of Satureja glabella var. angustifolia (Torr.) Svenson. as
described by Torrey (1843) (as Micromeria)
was collected on Goat Island, the other on Table Rock (Ontario). The type of Liatris flexuosa Thorn. was collected on the "east bank of the
Niagara river, below the Falls," (Thomas, 1839), now probably a synonym
for the rare Blazing Star, Lyatris cylindracea still growing in the gorge
today. At least two bryophyte types
derive from Niagara, one in Ontario; Grimmia
hookeri Drumm. "On a stone near the falls of Niagara in Upper Canada
[= Ptychomitrium incurvum (Schwaegr.) Spruce], and the
other in New York: Didymodon diversifolius Austin, No. 115 Musci
Appalachiani by Coe F. Austin, 1870,
Hab. ... about Niagara Falls, S. T.
Oiney [= Didymodon tophaceus]. Fungi types include Peziza hesperidea C. & P. Goat Island is the type locality
("Among fallen leaves. Goat
island, where it was first found. Clinton," Peck, 1873). Puccinia clintonii Peck (Leaves of Pedicularis. Goat island. Clinton.
October, Peck, 1873. Speira velutina P. et C. "nov. sp." Goat Island. Ex Coil. G. W. Clinton, Buffalo, N.Y.,
Dec. 18, 1877 (BUF). Thelephora willeyi Clinton ("Goat
Island."); correspondence at BUF demonstrates this is the type material
of what is now referred to as Stereum
diaphanum. Algae types include Scytonema cataractae H. C. Wood; "This species grows abundantly in
Niagara River on the rocks below the great cataract," H. C. Wood
(Kellicott in Day, 1883). Niagara Falls is the type locality for this species
(Wood, H.C. Prodromus Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society Vol.
XI, 1871). Zonotrichia mollis Wood. "In saxis irroratis,
"Cave of the Winds," Niagara, Wood. (H. C. Wood, 1872, "A
contribution to the history of the fresh-water algae of North America"
Smithsonian Contribution to Knowledge 19. 241:1-262. Zonotrichia parcezonata
Wood. "In saxis irroratis, "Cave of the Winds," Niagara, Wood
(H.C. Wood, 1872, "A contribution to the history of the fresh-water
algae of North America" Smithsonian Contribution to Knowledge 19.
241:1-262. Stephanodiscus niagarae was described by Ehrenberg
from material collected at Niagara Falls, Ontario (Hakansson & Locker,
1981). Mollusk types occur in the area,
such as Pyrgulopsis letsoni Walker. (= Amnicola letsoni Walker) found on the
gravels on Goat Island (Letson 1901). Plant taxa are frequent with "Niagara" as their epithet, indicating
their collection near the falls by working systematists, such as the mollusk Gonlobasis niagarensis Lea (Gonlobasis livescens niagarensis (Lea) (Calkin & Brett,
1978), Oenothera niagarensis R. R. Gates, and the rare Potamogeton niagarensis of Tuckerman, found at the falls. Again, not only plants, but
unique animals or animal behavior is in evidence in the Niagara environment,
for example, a population of Fox Squirrel (Sciurus
niger) occurs on Goat island, an
island, part of the gorge, situated between the brinks of the cataracts in
New York. This squirrel, abundant in the central and west-central United
States is so rare in western New York State that it is frequently reported as
absent from the State (Collins, 1981). Not least are the numbers of visitors to the
falls of Niagara who have distinguished the history of botany, In whose
publications, collections and personal journals the vegetation of Niagara has
furthered the development of the science, individuals such as Andre Michaux,
Asa Gray and Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Louis Agassiz and a host of others too
numerous to mention here. Day (1888) recognized that
"some of the rarest plants of western New York and Ontario grow in the
neighborhood of Niagara river . . .," some of these being Fragrant Sumac
(Rhus aromatica) found recently to
occur on Goat Island, Upland White Aster (Aster
ptarmicoides), Four-leaved Milkweed (Asclepias
quadrifolia) and Red Mulberry (Morus
rubra) in addition to several ferns, Walking Fern (Camptosorus rhyzophyllus) and Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes), again, recently found on Goat island. Nearly all the rare native
species on Goat Island and other islands above the cataracts occur on the
Island margins, roughly between the land and the river: at the edge of
herbaceous mats and dolomite pavement, on the very edge of the cliff and the
open air in the spray zone at Terrapin Point, and historically in the old
Terrapin Point habitat, now absent, between the river and the mainland, in or
near the spray zone, just above the Horseshoe Falls (Hypericum kalmianum, Parnassia glauca, Justicia americana,
all now absent from this area). Both weedy species, alien and
native, and rare plants grow where there is unusual opportunity, for example,
by reason of recent human disturbance of the typical growing conditions in
the region (typical of weeds), or natural disturbance through time, that is,
where natural disturbance is characteristic of the environment, and was in
effect when the (rare) species first became introduced. Alien species whose establishment is unusual
(rare) are also indicative of an unusual environment, and so these are
included with the rare plant list below. Note that Niagara Falls was an
important point of railroad transit between the two countries in the decade
before the turn of the century and later, and is still considerably important
in this regard. It is probable that many alien species entered the Niagara
flora from this source, and from the considerable horticultural plantings and
garden refuse of the government parks. ". . . Marie-Victorin (1938)
pointed out that several western plants, when grown in limestone beds at the
Montreal Botanical Garden, increased their area and throve vigorously until
finally crowded out by weeds.
Several botanists, including Griggs (1934, 1940), had already noted
that weeds are often found in the same habitat as rare plants. Species of both groups are adapted to
survive on such typical rare-plant habitats as unstable seacliffs and
river-gravels, but would be eliminated if the erosion cycle were able to
reach a stage permitting establishment of the normal forest-flora of the
region. The rare plants share the sun-loving character of weeds. The
limestone cliffs, because of their splintered and angular type of weathering
(with formation of extensive talus slopes at the base), will still bar
conquest by the forest for an indefinite period" (Scoggan, 1978). Most of the rare plants occurring
at Niagara, noted by the New York Natural Heritage Program, were well known
to New York botanists since Torrey's New York flora of 1843. George Clinton,
who provided the first list of the plants of Buffalo and vicinity (1863),
relied on Torrey's work for the relocation of plants of interest at Niagara,
as had David Day (1888) on to the work of Charles Zenkert in 1934. It was no
surprise to find stations of, for example, the Sky-blue Aster (Aster oolentangiensis) at the stations indicated in the literature and
elsewhere in similar habitats in the gorge, nor Blazing Star (Liatris cylindracea), White Camus (Zygadenus
glaucus), Fringed Gentian (Gentianopsis procera), Four-flowered Loosestrife (Lysimachia quadriflora). Continued systematic search, an
consequence of increasing Interest in Niagara's historic flora by the Ontario
Ministry of Natural Resources and the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation, may yet reveal extant and additional stations of important
species in the gorge flora. Additional stations of New York
rare plants which I have found in the field, and for which I have no previous
record of occurrence in the gorge flora, include a variety of Ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolius var. intermedius)
which is considered a rarity in New York State, two Sedge species from the
Goat island complex (Carex garberi, for which subsequent gorge
stations have been found, and (Carex
molesta), a Speedwell (Veronica
peregrina var. xalapensis) and
Clearweed (Pilea fontana) from Goat Island, and Sylvan
Spear-Grass (Poa sylvestris) up near Lewiston, New York. This
gives an indication that the flora has many surprises yet to offer. Smooth Cliff-brake (Pellaea glabella): Up until 1934, the only species of Pellaea reported for western New York
State was P. atropurpurea (L.) Link, or Purple Cliff Brake (Zenkert, 1934).
Subsequently, the material from the Niagara River Gorge at BUF has been
re-identified by Stanley J. Smith, Curator of Botany of the New York State
Museum, and later by Richard H. Zander, Curator of the Clinton Herbarium
(BUF) to be P. glabella according
to the characters detailed by Mitchell & Sheviak, (1981). The
present writer has reviewed the relevant specimens at BUF and examined living
populations in the Niagara gorge, and concurs with the changes in
identification. Day's reference to P.
atropurpurea ("Formerly on
Goat Island and the Three Sisters. Not lately seen by us. Probably extirpated," Day, 1888) has
been referred in this report to Pellaea
glabella. One specimen collected by George
Clinton and hence dating prior to 1885, with no locality given (Herb. No.
35310) is Pellaea glabella by most characters, except it
has very long stalks on its lower pinnae.
It probably derives from the Niagara River gorge, as no other station
for the genus occurs in western New
York, or was reported from the Niagara Frontier Region before 1934 (Zenkert,
1934). Some doubt may exist whether P. atropurpurea occurs in the Niagara
Frontier region at all. Day (1901) mentioned two species of Pellaea growing in the vicinity of
Niagara Falls: P. gracilis and P. atropurpurea. Pellaea glabella is rare in New York
State (Clemants, 1988), whereas P. atropurpurea is rare in Canada. Since 1986, I have been
maintaining a bibliographic and specimen database of plants known for the
Niagara gorge and its vicinity, for areas in both the United States and
Canada. The basis for these reports is a study provided to the New York State
Department of Parks in January of 1990 by the author, and a report provided
to the Niagara Frontier Chapter of the Adirondack Mountain Club in 1986.
There are presently 1,272 species, not including varieties nor doubtfully occurring
taxa. A crude calculation of the area under study involves a square of the
following dimensions; Length: 16 miles (seven mile gorge, length doubled since both vegetated
sides are considered as one linear unit, plus the addition of two miles to include
one mile above the cataracts on both sides of the river). Width: 459 feet (200 feet
perpendicular to the rim of the gorge) plus 209 feet average height of the
gorge above river level plus 50 feet of the angle of talus slope and flat
shelving parallel to the river). The estimated area is less than
two square miles, including such adjacent areas as Devil's Hole, Devaux
Woods, Goat Island, Dufferin islands, and Niagara Glen. The figure 1,272 species for this
area is not an indication of the total number of species occurring there at
any one time, but the total number of species reported over a century of
exploration. The number represents the total flora of the Niagara River gorge
and vicinity. The recently published flora of
the entire New York State county of Cattaraugus (Eaton & Schrot, 1987)
recorded 1280 species for 1313 square miles. For the Niagara Frontier Region,
an area of 7,850 square miles, 1597 species are recorded (Zander &
Pierce, 1979). The recorded flora of the Niagara gorge and vicinity is the
equivalent of that of a county flora, and constitutes 80 percent of the flora
of a region. Admittedly, there is some danger in pushing this interpretation
too hard, but an attempt is being made to give a hint of the biological
uniqueness of the study area. Although Day (1888) did not draw comparisons, his catalogued total, which roughly followed the same
study area described above, represented 70 percent of the same regional area
known in 1882. Additional taxa continue to be added to the gorge flora with
continued fieldwork. In another attempt to indicate
the extraordinary biological resource value of this area, I have extracted
general lists of rare species known to have existed there. A species occurs
on a list only if I have a record for its occurrence in New York and/or
Ontario, that is, species noted from one side of the river are only noted if
rare in the respective state or province in which the stations are recorded.
For example, although a species may be rare in both Ontario and New York, if
the plant has only been noted for Ontario, I give no indication of its status
in New York. The lists are incomplete due to certain nomenclatural issues,
specimen and bibliographic problems. Note that the most intense
collecting activity occurred in the decades around the turn of the century,
and no indication is given whether populations persist today. The
nomenclature follows Zander and Pierce (1979). Although the flora has value
to the natural resource calculation for New York State, the value to the
entire nation of Canada of populations recorded for the western side of the
river is quite spectacular. Cryptogamous taxa will be treated
in another paper in a recently created "New York Rare Bryophytes
Newsletter" issued by the New York Botanical Garden, where species of
rare mosses and hepatics known to have occurred in the Niagara gorge and
which have been recently discovered will be addressed. Additional published reports on
the biological value of the Niagara gorge are expected to be issued soon by
the Ontario Department of Natural Resources and the Natural Heritage unit of
the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. LIST OF HISTORIC RECORDS OF RARE PLANTS OF THE NIAGARA RIVER GORGE AND VICINITY Rare in Canada The
following species are rare in Canada, except where noted as Ontario only
(Argus & White, 1977; Dore &
McNeill, 1980). Note: the Argus and White publication has been
significantly updated since, but its indications of rarity are adequate for
the general purposes of this paper. [Z&P] includes plants rare in the
Niagara Frontier Region, as defined below (i.e., usually not considered rare
in the whole of New York State). Agastache scrophulariaefolia
(Willd.) Ktze. Purple Giant Hyssop [Z&P] Agrimonia parviflora Ait. Small-flowered Agrimony Anemonella thalictroides (L.) Spach.
Rue Anemone
Arabis canadensis L. Sickle-pod Arabis lyrata L. var. lyrata Lyre-leaved
Rock Cress Asclepias exaltata L. Poke Milkweed Asclepias
quadrifolia Jacq. Four-leaf Milkweed (Ontario) [Z&P] Asplenium
platyneuron (L.) Oakes Ebony Spleenwort [Z&P] Aster divaricatus L. White Wood Aster Aster prenanthoides Muhl. Crooked-stem Aster Aster
undulatus Mill.
Wavey-leaved Aster [Z&P] Aureolaria flava (L.) Farwell.
Smooth False Foxglove Aureolaria virginica (L.) Pennell. Downy False Foxglove Aureolaria pedicularia (L.) Raf. Lousewort Azolla caroliniana Wilid.
Carolina Azolla Betula lenta L. Black Birch Bidens coronata (L.) Britt. Tickseed Bromus purgans L. Hairy Wood Chess (Ontario) Campanula
americana L.
Tall Bellflower Cardamine douglassii (Torr.) Britt. Purple Spring Cress Carex oligocarpa Schkuhr. Few-fruited Sedge Carex prasina Wahl. Drooping Sedge Carex torta Boott. Twisted Sedge (Ontario) Carex trichocarpa Muhl. Hairy-fruited Sedge [Z&P] Carex virescens Muhl. Downy Green Sedge (Ontario) [Z&P] Carya glabra (Mill.) Sweet. Pignut Hickory (Ontario) Chimaphila maculata (L.) Pursh. Pipsissewa Cimicifuga
racemosa
(L.) Nutt. Black Snakeroot Cinna arundinacea L. Wood Reed Grass " Collinsoma canadensis L. Citronella Horsebalm Conopholis americana (L.) Wallr. Cancerroot Corallorrhiza
odontorhiza (Wilid.) Nutt. Autumn Coral-root
[Z&P] Coreopsis lanceolata Lance-leaved
Tickseed (Ontario) [Z&P] Corispermum
hyssopifolium L. Bugseed (Ontario) Cornus florida L. Flowering Dogwood [Z&P] Cubelium
concolor
(Forst.) Raf. Green Violet [Z&P] Desmodium
ciliare
(Muhl.) DC. Hairy Smallflowered Tick Trefoil Desmodium
cuspidatum (Muhl.) Loud. Pointedleaved Tick Trefoil Desmodium
rotundifolium (Michx.) DC. Roundleaved Tick Trefoil Dioscorea villosa L. Wild Yam Disporum
lanuginosum (Michx.) Nichols. Yellow Mandarin Elymus villosus Muhl. Slender Wild Rye Erythronium
albidum Nutt.
White Adder's Tongue
Euonymus atropurpureus Jacq. Wahoo [Z&P] Eupatorium
purpureum L.
Bluestemmed Joepye
Weed Floerkea
proserpinacoides Wilid. False Mermaid Galium
pilosum Alt.
Hairy Bedstraw [Z&P] Gaura biennis L. Biennial Gaura Hieracium
gronovii L.
Hairy Hawkweed [Z&P] Hieracium
paniculatum L. Panicled Hawkweed [Z&P] Hieracium
venosum var.
nudicaule (Michx.) Farw.
Rattlesmake Weed Hydrophyllum
canadense
L. Water Leaf Hypoxis hirsuta (L.) Cov. Star Grass (Ontario) [Z&P] lpomoea pandurata (L.) G.F. W. Meyer Man-ofthe-earth Juglans nigra L. Black Walnut Justicia americana (L.) Vahl. Water-willow [ZAT] Lespedeza intermedia (S. Wats.) Britt. Wandlike Bush-clover Liriodendron tulipifera L. Tulip Tree Lithospermum
latifolium Michx. Broad-leaved Gromwell [Z&P] Lupinus perennis L. Sundial Lupine [Z&P] Monarda didyma L. Oswego Beebalm Morus rubra L. Red Mulberry Muhlenbergia
schreberi J.F.Gmelin.
Nimble will Muhlenbergia sylvatica Torr. Woodland Dropseed, Forest Muhly Muhlenbergia tenuiflora (Wilid.) BSP. Slender Satin Grass [Z&P] Myosotis verna Nutt. Early Forget-me-not [Z&P] Nyssa sylvatica Marsh. Black Tupelo Panax
quinquefolium L. Ginseng [Z&P] Panicum
dichotomum L.
Forked Panicum Pedicularis lanceolata Michx. Swamp
Louse wort Polanisia
dodecandra (L.) DC. Clammyweed Polygonatum
biflorum (Walt.)
Ell. Great Solomon's
Seal [Z&P] Polymnia
canadensis L. Small-flowered Leafcup Polystichum
lonchitis
(L.) Roth Holly Fern ( Ontario) Prunus americana Marshall. Wild Plum Quercus bicolor Wilid. Swamp White Oak Quercus palustris Muench. Pin Oak Quercus prinoides Wilid. Dwarf Chestnut Oak Quercus muhlenbergli Engelm. Yellow Oak Quercus prinus L. Chestnut Oak Solidago arguta Ait. Cut-leaf Goldenrod Solidago patula Muhl. Rough-leaved Goldenrod Solidago ulmifolia Muhl. Elm-leaved Goldenrod [Z&P] Sporobolus
asper (Michx.)
Kunth. Rush-grass [Z&P] Swertia
caroliniensis (Walt.) Ktze. American Columbo [Z&P] Vicia caroliniana Walt. Carolina Vetch Spiranthes lucida (H.H.Eat.) Ames Wildleaf Lady's Tresses (Ontario). Thaspium
barbinode
(Michx.) Nutt. Hairyjointed Meadow Parsnip Triodanis perfoliata (L.) Nieuwl. Clasping Venus' Looking Glass (Ontario) Uvularia perfoliata L. Perfoliate Bellwort (Ontario) Vaccinium
stamineum L.
Deerberry Vaccinium
vacillans
Kalm ex Torr. Latefruiting Blueberry
Rare in both Canada and New York Status as given by
Natural Heritage Trust (DEC), Clemants (1988). Stations of these have been
recorded for both sides of the Niagara River. Agastache nepetoides Yellow Giant-Hyssop Aplectrum
hyemale (Muhl.)
Nutt. Putty-root Asclepias viridiflora Green Milkweed Asimina
triloba (L.)
Dunal. Pawpaw. Astragalus
neglectus (T.&
G.) Sheldon. Cooper's Milk-vetch. Carex complanata Torr. & Hook. Northern Hirsute Sedge. Canada, New
York Chamaelirium
luteum (L.)
Gray. Fairywand Cornus drummondii C.A.Meyer. Drummond's Dogwood Hydrastis canadensis L. Golden Seal Jeffersonia diphylla (L.) Pers. Twinleaf Pterospora
andromedea Nutt. Pine Drops (Ontario) Solidago
ohioensis Riddell.
Ohio Goldenrod Rare in New York
(Native) Status
according to the Natural Heritage Trust (DEC), Clemants (1988). Stations
recorded in New York State. Bidens laevis (L.) BSP. Larger Bur Marigold Carex retroflexa Muhl. Reflexed Sedge Cynoglossum
boreale
Fernald. Northern Wild Comfrey Cyperus odoratus L. Fragrant Cyperus Lathyrus ochroleucus Hook. Cream-colored Vetchling Onosmodium
virginianum (L.) DC. Virginia False Gromwell Scutellaria parvula Michx. Small Skullcap Solidago rigida L. Stiff Goldenrod Additional
rare alien species, cf. Mitchell (1986, no Ontario plants are noted for
bibliographic reasons). Cerastium
semidecandrum L. Small or Spring Mouse-ear Chickweed Cymbalaria
muralis
Gaertn., Mey. & Scherb. Kenilworth Ivy Diplotaxis
muralis (L.)
DC. Sand Rocket Diplotaxis
tenuifolia (L.) DC. Wall Rocket Plants rare only
in the Niagara Frontier Region This
area encompasses a circle with a fifty-mile radius with its center in Buffalo
(Zander & Pierce, 1979), an area of about 7,850 square miles, including
much of the eight westernmost counties of New York State, and the Regional
Municipality of Niagara, Province of Ontario. Stations recorded for either
side of the river or both. Arabis drummondii Drummond's Rock-cress Asclepias verticillata Whorled Milkweed Aster ptarmicoides (Nees) Torr. and Gray. Upland White Aster Bromus kalmii Gray. Kalm Brome Callitriche verna L. Water Starwort Camptosorus rhizophyllus (L.) Link. Walking Leaf Carex aquatilis Wahl. Northern Water Sedge Carex rostrata Stokes. Beaked Sedge Carex straminea Wilid. Straw Sedge Cassia marylandica L. Wild Senna Castilleia coccinea Spreng. Painted Cup Cerastium
nutans
Raf. Nodding Chickweed Cinna latifolia (Trev.) Griseb. Drooping Woodreed Desmodium
pauciflorum (Nutt.) DC. Fewflowered Tick Trefoil Convolvulus
spithamaeus L. Hedge Bindweed Corylus americana Walt. American Hazelnut Deschampsia flexuosa (L.) Trin. Common Hair Grass Dulichium
arundinaceum (L.) Britt. Dulichium Equisetum
laevigatum A. Br. Smooth Scouringrush Helianthemum
canadense
(L.) Michx. Frostweed Isanthus
brachiatus (L.) BSP. False Pennyroyal Monarda
clinopodia L. Basil Beebalm Polygala senega L. Seneca Snakeroot Potentilla
fruticosa L.
Shrubby Cinquefoil Puccinellia pallida (Torr.) Clausen. Pale Manna-grass Robinia viscosa Vent. Clammy Locust Senecio pauperculus Michx. Balsam Groundsel Sisyrinchium
montanum Greene.
Mountain Blue-eyed Grass Solidago uliginosa Nutt. Bog
Goldenrod Spiraea latifolia (Ait.) Borkh. Broad-leaved Meadow-sweet Sporobolus neglectus Nash.
Small Rush Grass Utricularia cornuta Michx. Horned Bladderwort Rare alien species: Butomus
umbellatus L. Flowering Rusl Camelina
microcarpa
Andrz. Small-fruited False Flax Camelina
sativa (L.)
Crantz. False Flax Centauria
maculosa Lam.
Spotted Centaurea Cerastium
arvense L.
Field Chickweed Cerastium
viscosum L.
Clammy Mouse-ear Chickweed Cynanchum
nigrum (L.)
Pers. Black Swallowroot Cynosurus cristatus L. Crested Dogtail Euphorbia peplus L. Petty Spurge Geranium
pusillum L.
Small-flowered Cranesbill Hibiscus
trionum L.
Flower-of-an-hour Lamium
amplexicaule L. Henbit Dead Nettle Lolium
temulentum L. Bearded Darnel Lycopsis arvense L. Small Bugloss Myosotis arvensis (L.) Hill. Field Forget-me-not, Mouse-ear Petasites hybridus (L.) Gaertn., Mey. & Scherb. Butterfly Dock Trifolium
arvense
L. Rabbit's Foot Clover Tripsacum
dactyloides (L.) L. Gamma Grass Veronica anagallis-aquatica L. Water Speedwell Veronica
chamaedrys L. Bird's-eye Speedwell Veronica longifolia L. Long-leaved Speedwell Bibliography Argus, G. W. & D. J. White. 1977. The Rare
Vascular Plants of Ontario. Natl. Mus. Nat. Sci., Botany Division, Ottawa. Bastedo, J. C. 1981. Niagara Statistics, in
Tesmer, 1. H. Colossal Cataract. SUNY Press, Albany, pp. 199-200. Calkin, P.E. & C. E. Brett. 1978. Ancestral
Niagara River drainage: Stratigraphic and Paleontologic Setting. Geol. Soc.
Am. Bull. 89; 1140-1154. Clemants, S. (ed.) 1988. New York Natural Heritage
Program Rare Plant Status Report; Spring 1988. Flora Online 16, ver. 1.0. Clinton, G. W. 1863. Preliminary list of the
plants of Buffalo and Its vicinity, 17th Ann. Rep. Regents, State Cabinet;
24-35. Albany. Collins, H. H. 1981. Harper & Row's Complete
Field Guide to North American Wildlife. Harper & Row, New York. Day, D. F. 1883. The Plants of Buffalo and Its
Vicinity. Series II. Cryptogamae. Bull. Buff. Soc. Nat. Sci. 4(4). Buffalo. —-——. 1888. Catalogue of the Niagara Flora.
Annual Report of the Commission for the State Reservation at Niagara for the
Year (1887), pp. 67-133. Also reprinted as a pamphlet, Troy, New York (1888).
The pamphlet has been consulted for this list. —-—-. 1901. The flora and fauna of Niagara Falls.
The Niagara Book, NY, pp. 158-177. Dore, W. G. & J. McNeill. 1980. The Grasses
of Ontario. Biosyst. Res. Inst., Monogr. 26. Res. Branch Agric. Canada,
Ottawa. Eaton, & E. F. Schrot. 1987. A Flora of the
Vascular Plants of Cattaraugus County, New York. Bull. Buffalo Soc. Nat. Sci.
17. Eckel, P.M. 1989. John Goldie in North America,
Part 1: Niagara Fails and the Theory of Evolution. Clintonia 4(5): 1-5. Hakansson, H. & S. Locker. 1981. Stephanodiscus Ehrenbert 1846, a
revision of the species described by Ehrenberg. Nova Hedwigia. Band 35.
Braunschweig. J. Cramer. Howell, E. A. & J. T. Sanford. 1947.
Trilobites from the Silurian Oak Orchard Member of the Lockport Formation of
New York. Wagner Free Inst. Sci. Bull. 22(4): 33-40. Kuechler, A. W. 1964. Potential Natural Vegetation
of the Conterminous United States. Am. Geogr. Soc. New York. Letson, E. J. 1901. Post-Pliocene fossils of the
Niagara River Gravels. N. Y. St. Mus. Bull. 45: 238-252. < |