Spring Foray to Brown,
Highland Counties. June 13-14, 2015
The 2015 OMLA Summer Foray was held in Brown and Highland counties. Brown County lies wholly within the area of Ordovician bedrock and most of the county was glaciated during Illinoian times. Ten OMLA members met on the morning of June 13th and visited the Indian Creek Wildlife Area. The area collected along Indian Creek contained young mixed hardwood forest, mainly white ash, American elm, sugar maple and box elder. A fairly dense understory of bush honeysuckle was present.
OMLA Spring/Summer Foray to Brown County.
In the afternoon the group traveled to the Grant Lake Wildlife area. This area contained a more open hardwood forest of sugar maple, white ash, oaks and hickories. Several persimmon trees in the parking area had rich lichen floras.
The next morning (June 14th) the group traveled to the Miller Nature Preserve in Highland County. This area is in Silurian age bedrock and has been glaciated during the Wisconsin time. The preserve lies along Rocky Fork Creek and contains fairly mature mixed hardwood forest. A moist to dry dolomite cliff along the creek provided good habitat for mosses.
A total of 31 species of lichens were recorded, 28 for Brown County and 18 for Highland. Of these, 6 were new county records for Brown and 1 for Highland. One species of note, Usnea mutabilis, was new for Brown, bringing the total counties for this species to 10. All species of Usnea are becoming more common in Ohio due to improved regional air quality.
Punctelia bolleriana is a lobulate foluliose lichen.
Forty-nine species of mosses were recorded for Brown County, of which 44 were new county records. All three species of liverworts collected were county records. Unusual mosses collected in Brown County include Trematodon longicollis. Previously, this species was known from Adams, Pike, Jackson and Hocking counties. Pleuridium subulatum, although not rare in Ohio, is infrequently collected.
Atrichum angustatum is a robust cushion moss.
The male plants develop splash cups.
Our brief stop at the Miller Preserve, Highland County, yielded 19 species of mosses, 6 of which were new county records. Brachythecium rotaeanum and Fontinalis hypnoides are unusual for Ohio.
–Ray Showman and Barb Andreas
For further information about this most excellent foray, look in Volume 12 (2015) of the Association’s newsletter, OBELISK.
Lichens of the 2015 Spring Foray in Brown and Highland Counties
* = new county record
BC = Brown County
MNP = Miller Nature Preserve, Highland County
Candelaria concolor BC, MNP
Canoparmelia crozalsiana BC, MNP
Cladonia apodocarpa BC
C. peziziformis BC
Dermatocarpon muhlenbergii BC*, MNP
Flavoparmelia caperata BC, MNP
Flavopunctelia soredica BC
Melanelixia subaurifera MNP*
Myelochroa aurulenta BC, MNP
M. galbina BC*, MNP
Parmelia sulcata BC, MNP
Parmotrema hypotropum BC, MNP
P. stuppeum MNP
Phaeophyscia hirsuta BC
P. pusilloides BC*, MNP
P. rubropulchra BC, MNP
Physcia adscendens BC*
P. aipolia BC
P. americana BC, MNP
P. millegrana BC, MNP
P. stellaris BC, MNP
Physciella chloantha BC
Physconia detersa BC
Punctelia bolliana BC
P. caseana BC*
P. missouriensis BC
P. rudecta BC, MNP
Pyxine sorediata MNP
P. subcinerea BC, MNP
Usnea mutabilis BC*
Xanthomendoza fallax BC
Total Species: BC 28, MNP 18
Bryophytes of the 2015 Spring Foray in Brown and Highland Counties
* = new county record
BC = Brown County
MNP = Miller Nature Preserve, Highland County
Mosses
Amblystegium varium BC*
Anomodon attenuatus BC*, MNP
A. rostratus BC*, MNP
Aphanorrhegma serratum BC
Atrichum altecristatum BC*, MNP
A. angustatum BC*
A. crispulum BC*
Barbula unguiculata BC*, MNP
Brachythecium acuminatum BC*
B. campestre BC*
B. falcatum BC*, MNP
B. laetum BC*, MNP*
B. plumosum BC*, MNP
B. rotaeanum MNP*
Bryoandersonia illecebra BC
Bryum argenteum BC*
B. lisae var. cuspidatum BC*
Calliergonella lindbergii BC*
Campylium chrysophyllum BC*
Climacium americanum MNP
Ctenidium molluscum BC*
Dicranella heteromalla BC*
Dicranum montanum BC
D. scoparium BC
Ditrichum pallidum BC*
Entodon seductrix BC, MNP
Eurhynchium hians BC*
E. pulchellum BC*
Fissidens minutulus MNP*
F. taxifolius BC*
Fontinalis hypnoides MNP*
Haplocladium microphyllum MNP*
Haplohymenium triste BC*
Homalotheciella subcapillata MNP
Hygroamblystegium tenax BC*, MNP
Leskea gracilescens BC*
Leucobryum albidum BC*
L. glaucum BC*
Leucodon julaceus BC*
Orthotrichum ohioense BC*
O. pumilum BC*, MNP*
O. stellatum BC*
Physcomitrium pyriforme BC*
Plagiomnium cuspidatum BC
Platygyrium repens BC*, MNP
Pleuridium subulatum BC*
Polytrichastrum ohioense BC*
Rhynchostegium serrulatum BC*
Schistidium apocarpum BC*
Sematophyllum adnatum BC*
Syntrichia papillosa BC*
Taxiphyllum deplanatum BC*, MNP
Thuidium delicatulum BC*, MNP
Tortella humilis BC*
Trematodon longicollis BC*
Total Species: BC 49, MNP 19
Liverworts
Conocephalum salebrosum MNP
Frullania eboracensis BC*, MNP
F. riparia MNP*
Lophocolea heterophylla BC*
Nowellia curvifolia BC*, MNP
Total Species: BC 3, MNP 4
Hornworts
Phaeoceros laevis BC*