Floristic survey of The Nature Conservancy's Pennington Creek preserve in Johnston County, Oklahoma 1997

Abstract

This study was conducted as one part of an overall biological assessment of The Nature Conservancy’s Pennington Creek site. A 9.6 hectare area was surveyed during the 1995 and 1996 growing seasons for plants in fertile condition. They were collected, identified and voucher specimens were deposited in the OSU Herbarium (OKLA). Physiographic and ecological aspects of the site were described using Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques. Two hundred-three species representing 157 genera and 63 families were collected. Four plant communities are present: forest, grassland, granitic outcrop, and riparian. Characteristic taxa of the forest community include Quercus stellata, Q. marilandica, Carya texana, C. cordiformis, Symphoricarpos orbiculatus, and Elymus canadensis. Tridens flavus, Setaria lutescens, Sorghastrum nutans and Gaillardia pulchella are dominants found in the grasslands. The granitic outcrop areas provide habitat for: Sedum pulchellum, S. nuttallianum, Krigia virginica, Chaetopappa asteroides, and Polypodium polypodioides. Characteristic species of the riparian community include Carex spp., Cyperus spp., Chasmanthium latifolium, Platanus occidentalis, and Alnus maritima.