INDIANA<\/p>\n
Scott Namestnik<\/p>\n
Brachyelytrum aristosum (Michx.) P. Beauv. ex Trel. (Poaceae). Northern\u00a0shorthusk, bearded short-husk or long-awned wood grass.<\/p>\n
Previous knowledge. Brachyelytrum aristosum is a perennial grass of moist\u00a0forests, steep wooded slopes, roadsides and fairly disturbed forest edges (Fernald\u00a01950; Saarela et al. 2003; Stephenson & Saarela 2007). Within North\u00a0America, B. aristosum is known from Ontario to Newfoundland and south to\u00a0Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania; it has also been observed in northwest\u00a0Indiana, northeast Ohio and south through the Appalachians to the intersection\u00a0of Tennessee, North Carolina and Georgia (Saarela et al. 2003; Stephenson &\u00a0Saarela 2007; USDA NRCS 2009). Prior to this collection, only two collections\u00a0of B. aristosum were known from Indiana, both from Porter County. The\u00a0first is a 1924 collection made at Keiser stored in the United States National\u00a0Herbarium at the Smithsonian Institution (Lyon s.n.) (Saarela et al. 2003). The\u00a0second is a 2007 collection made in sandy woods in Indiana Dunes State Park\u00a0(M. Homoya 07-07-07-78, with R. Hedge) (Homoya, pers. comm.). Common\u00a0synonyms for this species include B. aristosum var. glabratum Vasey and B.\u00a0erectum var. septentrionale Babel (Saarela et al. 2003; Tropicos 2009).\u00a0A native of northern North America, Brachyelytrum aristosum is a species\u00a0of concern in Tennessee, where it is listed as Special Concern (USDA NRCS\u00a02009). It is considered Globally Secure (G4G5) and locally secure throughout\u00a0much of its range, but is considered very rare and imperiled (S2) in Tennessee\u00a0(Crabtree 2008).<\/p>\n
Significance of the report. In many older botanical works, Brachyelytrum\u00a0aristosum is not taxonomically split from B. erectum (Schreb.) P. Beauv. or is\u00a0recognized only at the varietal level. Deam (1940) did not note B. aristosum in\u00a0Indiana, and Swink & Wilhelm (1994) made no mention of B. aristosum in the\u00a0Indiana counties of the Chicago Region, although they did note the presence of \u00a0specimens intermediate between B. erectum and B. aristosum in adjacent\u00a0Berrien County, Michigan (Stephenson 1971). Saarela et al. (2003) provided\u00a0evidence that B. aristosum and B. erectum are distinct species. Few collections\u00a0of B. aristosum from Indiana exist, although this typically northern species is\u00a0known to occur in states to the southeast of Indiana. This collection represents\u00a0a new record for LaPorte County, Indiana, and raises interest as to the full geographical\u00a0range of the species within the state. Populations of B. aristosum\u00a0are being monitored and tracked by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources,\u00a0and if warranted, the species will be added to the Indiana list of endangered,\u00a0threatened and rare plants (Homoya, pers. comm.).<\/p>\n