Plant records, announcements, reviews, publications of interest

• Dichanthelium clandestinum (Poaceae) New to Wisconsin
  During this past summer, in Vilas County, northern Wisconsin, a 1-m-tall panic grass, unrecognized but resembling Dichanthelium latifolium, was collected by Josh Sulman, who brought it to the Wisconsin State Herbarium (WIS) for identification. I quickly keyed the plant to D. clandestinum (L.) Gould, deer-tongue grass. It is the first known collection of this species from the state. The population presumably was introduced recently, but whether as a result of human activities or other disturbance or natural dispersal is unknown. It grew near a hunting stand in a small grassy clearing in a sandy white pine-trembling aspen woods and was associated with Pteridium aquilinum var. latiusculum, bracken fern, and Festuca arundinacea, tall fescue. A voucher specimen has been deposited in WIS: Vilas Co.: near a hunting stand in a clearing in a sandy white pine-trembling aspen woods, Marena�s Woods, about 7 mi. due NE of Eagle River, SW Sec. 4, T40N, R11E, 4 Sep 2006, Sulman s.n. Theodore S. Cochrane, 13 Sep 2006


• Publication of Interest
  Senior Academic Curator Theodore S. Cochrane and Senior Artists Kandis Elliot and Claudia S. Lipke, of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Department of Botany, have completed a 3-year project, Prairie Plants of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, a guide to 360 selected horsetails, ferns, rushes, sedges, grasses, shrubs, vines, weeds, and wildflowers. The book illustrates and describes native and introduced species that grow and bloom on the Arboretum prairies and briefly discusses or casually mentions many additional species, infraspecific taxa, and hybrids. With comprehensive descriptions by Ted, full-color photos by Claudia, and layout and design by Kandis, the guide provides a beautiful and informative sample of the flora of the Arboretum and of the southern Wisconsin landscape. The authors hope it will increase awareness of and respect for our last remaining small prairie remnants, motivate readers to work for prairie preservation, and encourage the planting of native Wisconsin species in yards and gardens. This is a companion book to Spring Woodland Wildflowers of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Arboretum, authored by Andrew L. Hipp, also with photos by Claudia and layout and design by Kandis. Prairie Plants is scheduled for publication in late September and will be available at the end of October at the University Book Stores and the Arboretum Bookstore in Madison and online from The University of Wisconsin Press and the Arboretum Bookstore. - K. Elliot and T. S. Cochrane, 06 Oct 2006
• First Wisconsin Collection of Lechea mucronata, Hairy Pinweed (Cistaceae)
  Josh Sulman March 26, 2007    While conducting land surveys for The Prairie Enthusiasts on Oct. 13, 2006, Josh Sulman collected a species of unusual interest in a dry prairie and white oak savanna near Hollandale, in southeastern Iowa County.
  
  Lechea mucronata was not previously known from the state, although Wisconsin has long been listed as being within its range. The habitat was an extensive pasture of degraded oak savanna and moderate-quality dry prairie over sandstone. The Lechea mucronata population consisted of one to two dozen individuals on a southeast-facing exposure, under partial shade of open grown white oaks. Associates recorded for the one-to-two-acre site include: Chamaesyce sp., Cyperus sp., Digitaria cognata, Hedeoma hispida, Malus ioensis, Monarda fistulosa, Polygala sanguinea, Potentilla simplex, Pycnanthemum virginianum, Ranunculus fascicularis, Schizachyrium scoparium, Selaginella rupestris, Sorghastrum nutans, and Viola sagittata.
  
  A voucher specimen has been deposited in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Herbarium (WIS). According to USDA Plants, the nearest record of Lechea mucronata is from Winnebago County, Ill., less than 80 miles away from the Wisconsin station. Swink and Wilhelmalso note its presence in northeastern Illinois in a similar habitat ("acid sterile sandflats often in partial shade") Lechea mucronata has a spreading pubescence, bright green, elliptic leaves, and glabrous (except sometimes the keel) inner sepals.