WHAT'S IN THE FRAGILE FLORA DATABASE?

By
Diana Horton

The database is a compilation of information on rare Iowa plants from four sources. These sources include (see Literature Cited for bibliographic details):

• five Iowa Administrative Code lists of endangered and threatened plant species (Iowa Administrative Code 1977, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1994)

• 1998 list proposed to supercede the 1994 Iowa Administrative Code list (J. Pearson, Iowa DNR (Department of Natural Resources), in litt. 1998)

• 1998 candidate list (J. Pearson, Iowa DNR, in litt. 1998)

• lists from three endangered and threatened plant reports (Roosa & Eilers 1978, Roosa, Pusateri & Eilers 1986, and Roosa, Leoschke & Eilers 1989)

Five groups of plants/plant-like organisms -- vascular plants ('higher' plants), mosses, hepatics (liverworts), lichens, and fungi (mushrooms/toadstools) -- are included in the database; however, most of the data pertain to vascular plants, which is the only group included in the Iowa Administrative Code lists of endangered and threatened plants. Organized by plant/plant-like group, the data include:

Vascular Plants

• Latin species name according to source (see above). Source names are abbreviated as follows: Iowa Administrative Code (IA Adm. Code), proposed list of 1998 (DNR Prop. List 1998), candidate list of 1998 (DNR Cand. List 1998), and reports on endangered and threatened plants (E & T Report).
• Latin family name according to Eilers and Roosa (1994), The Vascular Plants of Iowa. If the family name in Kartesz (1999), A Synonymized Checklist and Atlas with Biological Attributes for the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland, is different, it is included in brackets.
• common name according to Eilers and Roosa (1994), and also Gleason and Cronquist (1991) ), Manual of Vascular Plants of the Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada, and Kartesz (1999), if the latter two differ from Eilers and Roosa.
• category (e.g., endangered, threatened, special concern, extirpated) assigned in each source (Iowa Administrative Code lists, 1998 proposed list, 1998 candidate list, and reports on endangered and threatened plants).
• Latin species name accepted by Eilers and Roosa (1994)
• Latin species name accepted by Gleason and Cronquist (1991)
• Latin species name accepted by Kartesz (1999)

Mosses

• Latin species name according to source
• Latin family name according to Anderson, Crum and Buck (1990), List of the mosses of North America north of Mexico, and Anderson (1990), A checklist of Sphagnum in North America north of Mexico.
• category assigned in 1998 proposed and candidate lists.
• Latin species name accepted by Anderson, Crum and Buck (1990) and Anderson (1990), except in a few instances when more recent taxonomic and nomenclatural changes have been incorporated.

Hepatics (Liverworts)

• Latin species name according to source
• Latin family according to Stotler and Crandall-Stotler (1977), A checklist of the liverworts and hornworts of North America.
• category assigned in 1998 proposed and candidate lists.
• Latin species name accepted by Stotler and Crandall-Stotler (1977)

Lichens

• Latin species name according to source                     
• category assigned in 1998 proposed and candidate lists.
• Latin species name accepted by Esslinger and Egan (1995)

Fungi (Mushrooms/Toadstools)

•Latin species name according to source
• Latin family according to Miller and Farr (1975), An index of the common fungi of North America.
• category assigned in 1998 proposed and candidate lists.
• Latin species name accepted by Miller and Farr (1975)

FRAGILE FLORA DATABASE SUMMARY

The tables below summarize data in five Iowa Administrative Code lists of endangered and threatened plant species (IA Adm. Code 1977, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1994), a 1998 list proposed by the Iowa DNR (Department of Natural Resources) to supercede the 1994 Iowa Administrative Code list (DNR Prop. List 1998), a 1998 candidate list by the Iowa DNR (DNR Cand. List 1998), and lists from three endangered and threatened plant reports (E & T Report 1978, 1986, 1989). Category abbreviations (e.g., E for endangered, T for threatened, SC for special concern, X for extirpated, etc.) correspond to those in the database.

VASCULAR PLANTS

Mosses

Hepatics

Lichens

Fungi