Hunting up a Dwarf

Dwarf Trillium

Todays adventure takes us to the lower Eastern Shore of Maryland where I am on the hunt for one of the areas prettiest wildflowers, the Dwarf Trillium (Trillium pusillum Michaux var. virginianum Fernald).

Trilliums are among wildflower enthusiasts’ favorite plants. These strikingly beautiful plants are quite diversite with approximately 50 species worldwide. Trilliums are found in the eastern United States, western United States and eastern China. If you took a trip south into the southern Appalachian Mountains you’d head into the center of diversity of the genus where more than 20 species can be found.  These plants are so unique they are sometimes placed in their own family of plants, the Trillium Family (Trilliaceae).

Here in Maryland we get 9 native species of Trillium. Of these 9 species, only one is found exclusively on the Coastal Plain physiographic province, the Dwarf Trillium. Where I’m located, on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, our forests aren’t very “rich”. Rich is a short hand term for nutrient richness. Often the richer the site, the more diverse the plants. Here on the Eastern Shore our forests are generally acidic and relatively nutrient poor. Because of this we don’t get as many beautiful spring wildflower displays as you find from the Piedmont physiographic province west. I say ‘as many beautiful spring wildflower displays’ because we do get some small pockets of wildflowers here on the coast. These are unusual habitats on the coast are referred to as “Rich Woods”. The only other species of Trillium found on the Eastern Shore of Maryland is the White Trillium (Trillium grandiflorum (Michaux) Salisb.). This is found at a single Rich Woods in Cecil County, MD. 

The Dwarf Trillium is a protected species in Maryland with fewer than 25 populations known, all of which are in Worcester County.  The rarity of the Dwarf Trillium in the United States is under investigation. Research suggests the plants that are found here on the Delmarva and in tidewater Virginia are a distinct species from what is being called var. pussilium. If this is true, the Dwarf Trillium is a much rarer plant globally that is currently believed. So rare in fact that it may qualify for Federal Listing.

The plants I photographed and inventoried today were in great display. The population consisted of hundreds of plants over a small few acre area. Though there were hundreds of plants I only saw about 20 in flower. The flowers are about 2-3 inches wide and range from white to pink/purple.

The life history of these plants is quite fascinating. Spotting a Dwarf Trillium in flower is pretty easy given the showy the flower. Most of the time however these plants don’t flower and are only detectable by their leaves. Young Dwarf Trilliums put up a single round leaf. Older individuals, who presumable have accumulated more energy over their lives, put up plants with three elliptic leaves. Only individuals who have stored enough energy produce a single small flower will do so. In the picture to the right you can see a single flowered plant, three leaved flowerless plants, and three leaved flowering plants.

This is among the earliest wildflowers you will find on the Eastern Shore. I saw the plants I photographed here in mid-April. By late April they are done flowering and are producing fruits. By late June the plants have died back and there is no evidence of them whatsoever.

Wes Knapp's CV

Wesley M. Knapp

(410) 924-6989

wmknapp@gmail.com

Education 

            2002-2005    M.S. in Plant Science with option in Plant Systematics, Delaware State                                                    University, Dover, Delaware

            1997-2001  B.S. in Environmental Sciences focus in Botany, Minor in Chemistry,   

                                Catawba College, Salisbury, North Carolina   
         
            1993-1997 Stevens High School, Claremont, New Hampshire

   

Employment Experience

2012-present   Instructor at Wetland Training Institute

2008-present   Eastern Region Heritage Ecologist/Botanist, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program.

2002-2008       Eastern Region Heritage Biologist/Botanist, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program.

2001-2002       Field Botanist, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program

          Summer 2000 Intern: Field Botanist/Botanical Instructor for the Missouri
                                            Department of Conservation.

Awards

2001                        The Catawba College Environmental Science Award

2012                W.E. Buker Travel Award; Carnegie Museum of Natural History

Professional Society Memberships

American Society of Plant Taxonomists

American Bryological and Lichenological Society

Association of Southeastern Biologists

Southern Appalachian Botanical Society

Maryland Native Plant Society

Lecture Delivered

21 September 2013     “Rare Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes of Western Maryland” – Maryland Native Plant Society Annual Fall Conference.

25 September 2010     “Eastern Shore Plant Communities and their Rare Species” – Maryland Native Plant Society’s Annual Fall Conference.

17 August 2010           “What’s the Rush – the genus Juncus in Maryland” – Maryland Native Plant Society.

17 November 2005      “Morphology and Distribution of Juncus longii – Clarifying its Status as a Species”, Philadelphia Botanical Club

         27 August 2001           “Rare Plants of the Delmarva Peninsula” - NRCS, Adkins

                                                 Arboretum, Ridgely, Maryland.

 

Specialized Training

24-30 June 2007                     “Bryophytes and Bryophyte Ecology”, Humboldt Field Research Institute, Stueben, Maine.

10–14 February 2003              “Rx-310 Introduction to Fire Effects” hosted by The Nature Conservancy, Browns Mills, NJ.

5-9 August 2002                     “Basic Wildland Fire Fighting (S130/190)” hosted by Maryland Forestry at the Wicomico Demonstration Forest, Wicomico County, MD

28 April-2 May 2002              “Core Heritage Methodology Training” hosted by NatureServe, Arlington, VA

 

Training Sessions Conducted

20-23 May 2013         “Identifying Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes” for Wetlands Training Institute, Norfolk, VA

7-9 September 2012    “Juncus identification workshop” for the New York Flora Association

12-13 June 2012         “Sedge Identification Workshop with Chris Frye of the Maryland Natural Heritage Program for the Maryland Native Plant Society at Towson University

21-24 May 2012         “Identifying Grasses, Sedges, and Rushes” for Wetlands Training Institute, at Wetlands Studies and Solutions, Gainesville, VA

28-30 April 2004         “Grass and Sedge Identification Workshop” with Chris Frye of the Maryland Natural Heritage Program, University of Maryland Centre of Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory, Frostburg, MD

21 May 2003               “Herbaceous and Woody Plant Identification Workshop” for Maryland Forest Service employees, Dorchester County, MD           

21-24 April 2003         “Grass and Sedge Identification Workshop” with Chris Frye of the Maryland Heritage Program, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Appalachian Laboratory, Frostburg, MD

            7 April 2002                “Field Identification of Flowering Plants,” for           

Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge employees, Cambridge, MD.

Panels and Committees

3-4 April 2014                         Botanical Society of America-Southeast Section Award Judge

3-4 April 2014                         North Carolina Botanical Garden Award Judge – Given during the Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting.

April 2013-Janruary 2014       Maryland Botanical Heritage Work Group – Governor appointed Work Group tasked with writing report on the current state of Maryland’s Botanical Heritage. (Chapter 655, Acts of 2013).

September 2012 – present       Invasive Plant Advisor Committee: Tasked to advise the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Agriculture of risk assessment protocol for invasive plants and to establish a list of invasive plants for control within the State of Maryland.

6-7 April 2012                         North Carolina Botanical Garden Award Judge – Given during the Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting.

4-5 January 2012                    Mid-Atlantic Region Seed Bank organizational committee

June 2010 – Present                Maryland Invasive Species Committee Member

13-16 November 2010            Mid-Atlantic Floristic Quality Index Assessment committee member, Canaan Valley Resort, Davis, WV

June 2008 – May 2009           “Natural Areas Program Development Committee” – Founding member. Assessing necessity and drafting regulation toward implantation of a Natural Areas Program across Maryland.

February 2008 – Jan 2009      “Natural Heritage Program Data Evaluation Committee” – Team Leader. An internal evaluation and assessment of the functionality and effectiveness of the MD Natural Heritage Program Data Information Program.

March 2004 – present             Non-Vascular Plant Technical Committee – Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program/Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

January 2003 – present           Vascular Plant Technical Committee - Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program/Western Pennsylvania Conservancy.

Noteworthy Scientific Service

2013                            Smithsonian Institution Contributions to Botany, manuscript reviewer

2012 - 2013                 Castanea (Journal of the Southern Appalachian Botanical Society), manuscript reviewer

2010                            Preslia (Journal of the Czech Botanical Society) manuscript reviewer

2010 – present             Flora of North America Reviewer, Southeastern Region

Papers Presented at Scientific Meetings

3 April 2014                “A reexamination of Juncus validus var. fascinatus, a Texas Endemic, and Notes on Closely Related Species” – Association of Southeastern Biologists Annual Meeting, Spartanburg, SC

9 October 2012           “Orchid Decline in the Catoctin Mountains, Frederick Co., Maryland as Documented by a Long-term Dataset”. Natural Areas Association Annual Meeting, Norfolk, VA.

6 June 2012                 “Orchid Decline in the Catoctin Mountains, Frederick Co., Maryland as Documented by a Long-term Dataset”. Society of Economic Botany Annual Meeting, Frostburg, MD

5 April 2012                “Orchid Decline in the Catoctin Mountains, Frederick Co., Maryland as Documented by a 25+ Year Dataset”. Association of Southeastern Biologists, Athens, GA.

9 April 2010               “The Liverworts and Hornworts of the Delmarva Peninsula’s 

                                    Atlantic Coastal Plain.” Association of Southeastern Biologists

                                    Annual Meeting, Asheville, NC.

29 July 2008               “Systematics of the Rhynchospora plumosa group (Cyperaceae)”, presented at the American Society of Plant Taxonomists Annual meeting, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

9 July 2007                 “Circumscription of Rhynchospora section Plumoseae (Cyperaceae), based on Morphologic Data” at the American Society of Plant Taxonomists Annual meeting, Chicago, Illinois.

3 August 2004             “Taxonomy of Juncus longii, a putative taxon within the Juncus marginatus complex” at the American Society of Plant Taxonomists Annual meeting, Snowsburg, Utah.

15 April 2004              “Taxonomy of Juncus longii, a putative taxon within the Juncus marginatus complex” at the Association of Southeastern Biologist Annual meeting, Memphis, Tennessee.

24 March 2001             “The Flora of Dunn Mountain, Rowan County, North Carolina before and after granite quarrying,” North Carolina Academy of Sciences, 98^th Annual Meeting, University North Carolina-Greensboro.

Undergraduate Research Project   

2000-2001                   Study and comparison of the flora and natural communities of Dunn Mountain, Rowan County, NC and their response to a recent quarry operation. Advisor: Dr. Michael Baranski.

Graduate Research Project

2002-2005                   The Systematics of Juncus longii Fern. A putative taxon within the Juncus marginatus complex. Advisor: Dr. Robert F.C. Naczi

Papers/Reports Published

Knapp, W.M. Juncus fascinatus (Juncaceae) a new combination in sect. Ozophyllum and notes on morphologically similar species. [submitted Phytotaxa]

Knapp, W.M. & R. Wiegand. 2014. Population decline of orchids (Orchidaceae) in the                               Catoctin Mountains, Frederick County, Maryland as documented by a long-term                                dataset. [in press] Biodiversity and Conservation.

Allen, C & W.M. Knapp 2014. More than a ‘Pygmy’ discovery. The Plant Press

                        Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. Vol 17(1): 9

Knapp, W.M. 2014. Juncaceae in The New Manual of Vascular Plants of the Northeastern United State and Adjacent Canada by R.F.C. Naczi. New York Botanical Gardens. [in prep]

Maryland Botanical Working Group Report: for the Governor and the General Assembly

of Maryland concerning the preservation of Maryland’s Botanical Heritage. 15 Jan 2014. http://nmnh.typepad.com/files/vol17no1.pdf

Knapp, W.M. & B.A. McAvoy. 2012. Sphagnum cyclophyllum New to Delaware and Maryland. Evansia 29(4): 101-103.

Sorrie, B.A., W.M. Knapp, L.D. Estes, & D.D. Spaulding. 2012. A new Sisyrinchium (Iridaceae) from cedar glades in northern Alabama. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. 6(2):323-329

Naczi, R.F.C., W.M. Knapp, & W.W. Thomas. 2012. Rhynchospora marliniana (Cyperaceae), a new species of Rhynchospora sect. Plumosae, from northern Central America and southeastern North America (Cyperaceae), Kew Bulletin 67:1-8. 

Knapp, W.M., R.F.C. Naczi, W.D. Longbottom, C.A. Davis, W.A. McAvoy, C.T. Frye, J.W. Harrison, & P. Stango III. 2011. Floristic Discoveries in Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Phytoneuron. 2011-64:1-26.

McAcoy, W.A., W.M. Knapp & L.T. Biechele. 2011. An annotated Checklist of Liverworts and Hornworts of the Delmarva Peninsula. Torrey Botanical Society, 138 (2): 239-251.

Sorrie, B.A. & W.M. Knapp. 2011. Juncus pp. 185-192. In A. Weakley, ed. Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States (Working Draft 15 May 2011).

R.F.C. Naczi, W.M. Knapp & G. Moore. 2010. Rhynchospora galeana, a new name for

            Rhynchospora breviseta (Gale) Channell (Cyperaceae). Brittonia 62(1):96-97.

Harrison J.W. & W.M. Knapp. An Ecological Classification of Groundwater Seepage Wetlands of Maryland’s Coastal Plain. Maryland Department of Natural Resources Report. June 2010. 96 pp.      

Knapp, W.M. & R.F.C. Naczi. 2008. Taxonomy, Morphology, and Geographic Distribution of Juncus longii (Juncaceae) Systematic Botany 33(4): 685-694.

Lendemer, J.C. & W.M. Knapp. 2007. Contributions to the Lichen Flora of Maryland: Recent Collections from the Delmarva Peninsula. Opuscula Philolichenum. 4:23-34.

Knapp, W.M. & D. Estes 2006. Gratiola brevifolia (Plantaginaceae) New to the Flora of Delaware, the Delmarva Peninsula and the Mid-Atlantic. SIDA 22(1): 825-829.

McAvoy, W.A., L.T. Biechele, & W.M. Knapp. 2006. New Records for the Leafy Liverwort Calypogeia peruviana Nees et Mont. (Calypogeiaceae) on the Delmarva Peninsula. Evansia 23(1): 19-20

Knapp, W.M. & C.T. Frye. 2002. Ecologically Significant Areas of Somerset County, MD. Maryland Dept. Nat. Res. 41 pp.

Knapp, W.M. & C.T. Frye. 2002. Protection Area Boundaries of Somerset counties Ecologically Significant Areas. Maryland Dept. Nat. Res. 24 Pp

Knapp, W.M. & C.T. Frye 2002. Ecologically Significant Areas of Worcester County, MD. Maryland Dept. Nat. Res.  111 pp.

Knapp, W.M. & C.T. Frye 2002. Protection Area Boundaries of Worcester counties Ecologically Significant Areas. Maryland Dept. Nat. Res.  45 Pp

Select Field Work and current research projects

2013                Florida sand scrub habitat for revision of Rhynchosproa sect. Plumosae

2011-present   Reevaluation of infraspecific variation within Juncus validus.

2009-present   work towards the Juncaceae treatment for the revision of the Manual of the Vascular Plants of the Northeastern United States and adjacent Canada [in prep.]

2009-2011       work towards the Juncaceae and Rhynchospora treatments for the Flora of Tennessee project [in prep.]

            2008                Rhynchospora sect. Plumosae in Apalachicola National Forest, Florida.

2006-2007       Work towards a formal revision of Rhynchospora sect. Plumosae in North Carolina and New Jersey.

2005-present   Work towards a Checklist of the Maryland Flora and associated state-wide fieldwork.

Winter 2005    Vascular plant surveys in Belize, focusing on Cyperaceae.

2004-present   Examination of the Extirpated Flora of the Delmarva Peninsula

2004-present   Studies toward and Atlas of the Juncaceae of Maryland, Delaware, and the Eastern Shore of Virginia

August 2004    Vascular Plant Surveys in Nevada and Utah

July 2004        Surveys for species within the Juncus marginatus complex in the southeastern, U.S. (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee)

2003-2011       Studies toward an Atlas of the Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of the Delmarva Peninsula

2003                A complete survey of the Wetlands of Special State Concern in the Coastal Bays Watershed of Worcester County, MD

2003                County updates for Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of flora and fauna in Caroline County, MD

2003                Preliminary surveys/collections of the Bryoflora of Maryland’s Eastern Shore

2003                Surveys for species within the Juncus marginatus complex in MA, NC, NH, NJ, PA, SC, VA, and VT.

2002                          Surveys for Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of flora and fauna in Dorchester and Wicomico counties, Maryland.

            2001-2002       Bog Turtle (Clemmys muhlenbergi) surveys in the Piedmont of Maryland. 

2001                Ecologically Significant Area Surveys for Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species in Somerset and Worcester counties.

2001-2007       Field Surveys for the Juncus marginatus complex.