Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship
Authors: Elizabeth McMurchie and Andrea Weeks
Citation: McMurchie, E. 2018. "A floristic survey of the vascular plants of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, Purcellville, Loudoun County, Virginia" M.S. Thesis. George Mason University. 115 pp.
Locality: Loudoun County, Virginia
Abstract:

A floristic survey and analysis of community composition were conducted during the 2017 and 2018 growing seasons at the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship (BRCES), Purcellville, Virginia. The BRCES is an 895 acre park located in the "Between the Hills" region of Loudoun County between the Blue Ridge and Short Hill Mountain. The park contains several wetlands, including Gordon Pond, Piney Run, Sweet Run and an unshaded seep adjacent to Sweet Run, as well as a wetland that has developed in place of a formerly dammed pond. Parts of two meadows, Demory Field, and Sawmill Field, as well as a powerline cut, are maintained for native grasses and meadow plants. On June 14, 2016, the mostly wooded western 600 acres of the park were transferred to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation to form Loudoun County's first state park. In this study, 515 species belonging to 328 genera and 102 families were identified. Forty-four species and seven varieties and subspecies identified were new records for Loudoun County. Two species, Pycnanthemum torryei and Platanthera peramoena, are considered rare at the state level under the Virginia Natural Heritage Resources designations S2 (imperiled) and S1 (critical imperiled) respectively. Eleven plots were used to determine community types as defined by the Virginia Natural Heritage Program resulting in five distinct community types belonging to terrestrial and palustrine communities and a sixth, mixed terrestrial and palustrine community. The data collected in this survey and community type study provide a baseline for monitoring the impact of future park development at the BRCES on the park's flora.


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Families: 103
Genera: 328
Species: 515
Total Taxa: 514

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Toxicodendron radicans - Eastern Poison Ivy
Cicuta maculata - Spotted Water-Hemlock
Asclepias incarnata - Swamp Milkweed
Asclepias tuberosa - Butterfly Milkweed
Ilex opaca - American Holly
Arisaema triphyllum - Jack-in-the-Pulpit
Maianthemum racemosum - Feathery False Solomon's-Seal
Polygonatum biflorum - King Solomon's-Seal
Ageratina altissima - White Snakeroot
Carduus acanthoides - Spiny Plumeless-Thistle
Centaurea stoebe - Spotted Knapweed
Conyza canadensis - Canadian Horseweed
Erigeron philadelphicus - Philadelphia Fleabane
Erigeron strigosus - Prairie Fleabane
Galinsoga parviflora - Gallant-Soldier
Rudbeckia laciniata - Green-Head Coneflower
Rudbeckia triloba - Brown-Eyed-Susan
Solidago altissima - Tall Goldenrod
Solidago caesia - Wreath Goldenrod
Symphyotrichum laeve - Smooth Blue American-Aster
Symphyotrichum lanceolatum - White Panicled American-Aster
Symphyotrichum puniceum - Purple-Stem American-Aster
Cardamine parviflora - Sand Bittercress
Campanula aparinoides - Marsh Bellflower
Lobelia siphilitica - Great Blue Lobelia
Triodanis perfoliata - Clasping-Leaf Venus'-Looking-Glass
Dianthus armeria - Deptford Pink
Juniperus virginiana - Eastern Red-Cedar
Carex intumescens - Greater Bladder Sedge
Carex laxiculmis - Spreading Sedge
Carex scoparia - Pointed Broom Sedge
Carex stipata - Stalk-Grain Sedge
Desmodium paniculatum - Panicled-Leaf Tick-Trefoil
Vicia sativa - Garden Vetch
Hamamelis virginiana - American Witch-Hazel
Hypericum mutilum - Dwarf St. John's-Wort
Scutellaria elliptica - Hairy Skullcap
Erythronium americanum - American Trout-Lily
Erythronium umbilicatum - Dimpled Trout-Lily
Tilia americana - American Basswood
Circaea canadensis - Broad-Leaf Enchanter's-Nightshade
Onoclea sensibilis - Sensitive Fern
Mimulus ringens - Allegheny Monkey-Flower
Phryma leptostachya - American Lopseed
Phytolacca americana - American Pokeweed
Veronica serpyllifolia - Thyme-Leaf Speedwell
Andropogon virginicus - Chalky Bluestem
Arrhenatherum elatius - Tall Oat Grass
Arthraxon hispidus - Small Carp Grass
Bromus catharticus - Rescue Grass
Coleataenia anceps - Beaked Cut-Throat Grass
Dichanthelium commutatum - Variable Witch Grass
Dichanthelium dichotomum - Cypress Witch Grass
Echinochloa muricata - Rough Barnyard Grass
Eragrostis pectinacea - Purple Love Grass
Glyceria striata - Fowl Manna Grass
Panicum dichotomiflorum - Autumn Panic Grass
Panicum virgatum - Wand Panic Grass
Poa pratensis - Kentucky Blue Grass
Schizachyrium scoparium - Little False Bluestem
Setaria pumila - Yellow Bristle Grass
Tripsacum dactyloides - Eastern Mock Grama
Rumex crispus - Curly Dock
Anemone virginiana - Tall Thimbleweed
Crataegus crus-galli - Cock-Spur Hawthorn
Crataegus intricata - Copenhagen Hawthorn
Physocarpus opulifolius - Atlantic Ninebark
Potentilla canadensis - Dwarf Cinquefoil
Prunus serotina - Black Cherry
Rosa carolina - Carolina Rose
Populus deltoides - Eastern Cottonwood
Acer negundo - Ash-Leaf Maple
Solanum carolinense - Carolina Horse-Nettle