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...patches, or as remnants of formerly more extensive occurrence. Many possess rare species, including several that in Indiana are mostly confined to the corridor. Examples include Tennessee milk-vetch (Astragalus tennesseensis), water locust (Gleditsia aquatica), Amazon sprangletop (Leptochloa panicoides), Lesquereux's mustard (Lesquerella globosa), cylindric-fruited seedbox (Ludwigia glandulosa), plains muhlenbergia (Muhlenbergia cuspidata), glade mallow (Napaea dioica), Canada burnet (Sanguisorba canadensis), Forbes' saxifrage (Saxifraga forbesii), and woodland pinkroot (Spigelia marilandica).
Keywords: Wabash River, Indiana rare vascular plants, Indiana rare natural communities
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Along its course through Indiana the Wabash River flows through a diversity of natural communities that is considerable for such a relatively short run. The context for these communities is the natural regions through which the river flows, viz., the Central Till Plain, Southwestern Lowlands, and Southern Bottomlands (Homoya et al. 1985). Other than the dissected topography created by the entrenchment of the river and its tributaries, the general area within these natural regions is relatively level. The landforms are a consequence of glacial activity, with ice having occupied almost all of the terrain except that within the last few miles of the current river's course (Gray 2000). The glacial landforms, along with bedrock exposure, climate, and environmental perturbations such as fire, have helped to mold the vegetation found in the Wabash River corridor.
This paper addresses those rare natural communities along the Wabash River corridor that were formerly common, e.g., tallgrass prairie, or always rare and localized, e.g., limestone cliff. [The corridor, as defined here, includes that area generally within 3 km horizontally perpendicular to the edge of the river's floodplain]. The order of discussion starts with the natural regions and rare communities in the upper portion of the Wabash River corridor, and ends at the river's confluence with the Ohio River. A partial list of associated rare flora is also provided, including (but not restricted to) species confined in Indiana mostly to the corridor. Emphasis is also placed on species occurring as disjuncts and those at the edge of their range.
METHODS
Most of the communities and species reported herein have been directly observed by members of the Division of Nature Preserves and subsequently documented and stored in the database and files of the Indiana Natural Heritage Program (2006). The number of extant occurrences statewide determines the state rarity categories of plants. These are state endangered (SE), with 1-5 known occurrences in the state; state threatened (ST), with 610 known occurrences in the state; and state rare (SR), with 11-20 known occurrences in the state. Additional information on many of these is discussed in Aldrich et al. (1986), Homoya (1983, 1988); Homoya & Abrell (1986); Homoya...
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