Botany
Since its inception as a public garden, the Morris Arboretum has served as a center for botanical research. Research staff at the arboretum study the evolution, phylogenetics, systematics/taxonomy, anatomy and morphology of plants. The Morris Arboretum also has a long-standing research program in floristics, or the study of what plants grow in a certain place in a particular time frame, with a major focus on the flora of Pennsylvania.
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Publication Characterization and Assessment of the Floristic Resources in Evansburg State Park, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.(2005-01-01) Khan, Nancy R; Rhoads, Ann F; Block, Timothy AThe central feature of Evansburg State Park is a 12.9 kilometer stretch of Skippack Creek that from a very focused perspective looks much the way it did three centuries ago before European settlers arrived. However, just beyond the narrow fringe of riparian vegetation the landscape is fragmented into small parcels of regenerated forest surrounded by agricultural land, shrub thickets, suburban development, and a well-developed network of roads. The floristic resources of the park are greatly stressed by a variety of competing uses making it difficult for the native vegetation to recover and regain its natural diversity. The lack of baseline documentation for the floristic resources has hindered the ability of land managers to develop a coordinated long-term strategy for the rehabilitation of the native flora. For this study, extensive field data collection occurred simultaneously with community mapping, the development of vegetation classifications, an assessment of the quality of regenerated forests, and an analysis of recovery potential. This report offers a fairly thorough assessment of the botanical and ecological value of the site and provides specific recommendations towards the restoration of natural habitat.Publication Natural Resource Inventory and Management Recommendations Whites Mill Property Salford Township, Montgomery County(2003-01-01) Rhoads, Ann F; Block, Timothy AThe Whites Mill Tract, approximately 100 acres in size, was purchased by Salford Township in 1998 as open space. It is located in a forested landscape comprising about 10,000 acres that stretches across upper Montgomery and Bucks Counties. Because of the extensive contiguous forested area, this region is the target of several efforts to protect the natural resources and its ecological integrity (see Figure 1). The Natural Lands Trust (NLT) and the Montgomery County Conservancy have collaborated to secure conservation easements on the 1700 acre Musser Scout Reservation in the Unami Creek Valley. NLT is also working with Milford Township, Bucks County to extend protection efforts upstream along the Unami and Ridge Valley Creeks. Marlborough Township, Montgomery County recently purchased the Camp Skymount property, which is located about three-quarters mile upstream from Whites Mill pond. NLT's Fulshaw-Craeg Preserve is located approximately one mile downstream. In addition NLT holds conservation easements on a number of private properties in the area.Publication Lehigh Gorge State Park Natural Resource Inventory(2004-01-01) Rhoads, Ann F; Block, Timothy ALehigh Gorge State Park occupies rugged forested terrain that extends for 30 miles along the Lehigh River. From the north to south the river drops 700 feet making it a prime whitewater rafting area. The gorge was the site of early timbering; a system of dams, locks, and canal segments that made the river navigable; and subsequent railroads. However, forests have returned, dams long since washed out, and an abandoned rail line has been converted to a bicycle trail. Today the steep slopes of the gorge are again forested, with oak dominating the south-facing exposures and hemlock forests on the northern exposures and in steep tributary ravines. The gorge contains a significant concentration of reptiles and amphibians including 33 species, two of which, timber rattlesnake and hognose snake, are classified by the Pennsylvania Natural Heritage Program. In addition the state threatened Allegheny woodrat is present at several locations in the gorge. No endangered, threatened or rare plants were found within the park, however a small population of a native orchid that is on the watch list is present. Non-native invasive plants are for the most part limited to edges along roads, rail lines, riverbanks, and sites of former settlements. The most widespread and abundant invasive plant is glossy buckthorn, a European shrub that has spread along the riverbanks and adjacent lower slopes from Port Jenkins south.Publication Nescopeck State Park Inventory of PNDI-Listed Plants and Plant Communities(2002-01-01) Rhoads, Ann F; Block, Timothy ANescopeck State Park is a 3,117-acre expanse of forests, former farm fields, and wetlands stretching for about 4 miles in the upper Nescopeck Valley. The park is currently undergoing development of day use areas; an environmental education facility and campground are also planned. Nescopeck does not have any designated natural areas, but several wetlands have been included in special management areas. The park is located in the Ridge and Valley Physiographic Province near the boundary of the Wisconsinan terminal moraine. It contains areas of glacial till and other areas that were not glaciated (Braun 1999a and b; Crowl and Sevon 1980). Bedrock of the entire park is Mauch Chunk Formation (DCNR 1980). Beaver have been a major factor in shaping the wetland communities of the Nescopeck Creek floodplain. A series of present and former beaver ponds is present along the main stem of the Nescopeck and several tributaries. McMaster and McMaster (2001) described a series of successional beaver-determined wetlands in western Massachusetts that show patterns of development very similar to those seen in the Nescopeck valley. While these must be considered temporary or successional in nature, they provide habitat for several rare plants and other species.Publication East Goshen Township Wetland Vegetation Inventory and Management Recommendations(2004-01-01) Rhoads, Ann F; Block, Timothy AThis report concerns a tract of approximately 20 acres located at the intersection of Route 352 and Boot Road in East Goshen Township, Chester County, PA. The site is bounded on the east by Ridley Creek and on the south by an unnamed tributary, which enters Ridley Creek at the southeast corner. Most of the site is an open herbaceous wetland, however a narrow forested riparian strip extends along the stream corridors. The underlying geology is felsic gneiss; the land slopes very gradually to the creeks. A sewer right-of-way parallels Ridley Creek along the east side of the tract. An elevated boardwalk, and a paved trail along Boot Road have been constructed to enhance recreational uses of the site. Several historic buildings and a parking lot occupy the northwest corner. We were contacted in the winter of 2003 and asked to complete an inventory of the plants on the tract. Three visits were made to the wetland on May 20, 2004, July 2, 2004, and September 22, 2004 for this purpose.Publication Survey of Tidal Marsh Natural Area, Neshaminy State Park(2002-01-01) Rhoads, Ann F; Block, Timothy ANeshaminy State Park is the only unit of the Bureau of State Parks that lies in the Atlantic Coastal Plain. There is little coastal plain in Pennsylvania, and only a few remnants that retain natural vegetation. As a result any significant fragments that remain are very likely to contain PNDI-listed plants and/or plant communities. This is certainly true of Neshaminy State Park. In addition the park lies along both sides of the Neshaminy Creek at its confluence with the Delaware River Estuary. Some of the best remaining fresh water tidal marsh habitat on the Pennsylvania side of the estuary lies along the Neshaminy Creek in the park. An 8-acre tract of tidal marsh adjacent to the park along State Road has recently been purchased by the Natural Lands Trust and will soon be transferred to the park. The park also includes populations of several rare coastal plain plants of upland areas or non-tidal wetlands including willow oak, wild bean, jointweed, broom-sedge, and round-leaved eupatorium. In addition we discovered populations of smartweed dodder and American holly.Publication Natural Resource Inventory and Management Recommendations : Lower Morrisville Road Wetlands (Price Tract) Falls Township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania(2003-01-01) Rhoads, Ann F; Block, Timothy APublication Reestablishment of Crataegus Species Associated With Tennessee Gas Pipeline LLC’s Northeast Upgrade Project Loop 323 in High Point State Park(2016-01-01) Block, Timothy A; Skema, C.The Botany Department of the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania was contracted by CH2M to provide, in as much as possible, identifications to species level of Crataegus (hawthorn) trees growing in proximity to the expanded natural gas pipeline right-of-way,designated Northeast Upgrade Project Loop 323 (NEUP Loop 323), through High Point State Park in Sussex County, New Jersey. In addition to species identification, seed collection was identified as a task to be completed in the initial phase of this project.Publication Resource Recovery Plan for Glade spurge Euphorbia purpurea (Raf.) Fernald in Pennsylvania(2013-01-01) Block, Timothy A; Rhoads, Ann F; Loeffler, CarolPublication Baseline Studies of Aquatic Plants and Water Quality in Selected State Park Lakes(2014-01-01) Block, Timothy A; Skema, C.This project was undertaken as a baseline study of aquatic plant species and water quality in a set of six state parks lakes selected by the Pennsylvania Bureau of State Parks. Inventories were conducted at these lakes during the field season of 2014. Water quality parameters were measured in these lakes by staff from Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s Clean Lakes Program between 2007 and 2015. Specimens of all species observed were collected and deposited in the herbarium at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania. For various reasons cited in this report, the value of conducting detailed aquatic plant species/water quality analyses at these lakes was very limited. Nonetheless, this project accomplished its main goal of serving as a plant diversity baseline against which future studies can be compared.