Pontotoc Ridge Floristic Survey: 1999

Abstract

In 1997, the Oklahoma Biological Survey and the Oklahoma Native Plant Society undertook an unusual joint project: the surveying of the plant resources of a preserve recently acquired by The Nature Conservancy. In part this was because of the deep attachment of some of the participants for this nearby and very interesting place. During the early exploration of the '4Smith Ranch Site", as it was called, amateurs and interns were brought in to call out the names of plants as they walked, or in some cases, rode past in trucks. As a rapid assessment, that was probably a good thing, but it certainly wasn't scientific, and none of those names called could be verified for publication. The Biological Survey allotted the necessary manpower and equipment to conduct a survey structured after the ones being done for several military bases in the area. Frequent, disciplined visits were made to view the diverse habitats as the plants thereon developed over the course of the growing year. One or two specimens of each species was taken, processed, identified and preserved in a public herbarium for the use of future researchers. The herbariurn chosen was the Robert Bebb Herbarium (OKI..) at the University of Oklahoma, host institution for the Biological Survey.