A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina

✍ Scribed by Patrick D. McMillan, Richard Dwight Porcher Jr., Douglas A. Rayner, David B. White

• Publisher: University of South Carolina Press
• Year: 2022
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 655
• Edition: 2
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

A comprehensive and indispensable reference for identifying and appreciating native flora

From its summits to its shores, South Carolina brims with life and unparalleled beauty thanks to its abundant array of native and naturalized flora, all carefully documented in this revised and expanded edition of A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina. Dramatic advances in plant taxonomy and ecology have occurred since the guide's publication 20 years ago; new species have been discovered while others struggle to survive in the face of vanishing habitats and climate change.

The authors, all experienced botanists, offer essays on carnivorous plants, native orchids, Carolina bays, the roles and effects of fire and agriculture on the landscape, and detailed descriptions of the plant communities throughout the state's major natural regions. This expanded edition catalogs nearly 1,000 species organized by habitat, with descriptions, color photographs, range maps, and comments on pharmacological uses, suitability for garden cultivation, origin of common and scientific names, and conservation status.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover
A Guide to the Wildflowers of South Carolina
Title
Copyright
Dedication
CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES
PREFACE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Purpose and Scope
Our Shared and Threatened Natural Heritage
Physiographic Regions of South Carolina
Nature of the Flora
What Are Wildflowers?
Conservation of Native Wildflowers
How To Use This Field Guide
Origins of Plant Names
Rarity of Vascular Plants
Pronunciation Guide to Botanical Names
PART 1: The Nature of South Carolina’s Wildflowers
Selected Topics on Natural History and Ecology
Carnivorous Plants
Native Orchids
Succession in Natural Communities
Fire in the South Carolina Landscape
Carolina Bays of the Coastal Plain
Agriculture: Effects on South Carolina’s Physical Landscape
Marshes, Swamps, Peatlands, Bogs, and Fens
South Carolina’s Natural Wildflower Communities
The Mountains
Montane Rock Outcrop Communities
Granitic domes, mafic rock outcrops, and shallow soil glades
The Spray Cliffs and Humid Gorge Outcrops
Spray cliffs
Humid gorge outcrops
The Seepage Communities
Cataract fens
Southern Appalachian fens
Canebrakes
The Rocky Streamside Community
The Deciduous Forest Communities
Rich cove forests
Acidic cove forests
Chestnut Oak forests
Montane oak-hickory forests
Forest margins
Pine-oak heaths
The Piedmont
The Granitic Flatrocks Community
The Rocky Shoals Community
The Deciduous Forest Communities
Basic-mesic forests
Beech forests
Oak-hickory forests
The Early Successional Communities
Piedmont prairie
Oak savanna
Piedmont xeric hardpan forests
The Piedmont Springhead Seepage Forest Community
The Bottomland Forest Communities
Coastal Plain: The Fall-Line Sandhills
The Xeric Communities
Longleaf Pine-Scrub Oak sandhills
Longleaf Pine-Turkey Oak sandhills
The Sandhills Seepage Communities
Streamhead pocosins
Herbaceous seepage slopes
Atlantic white-cedar forests
Coastal Plain: The Inner and Outer Coastal Plain
The Xeric Communities
Longleaf Pine-Turkey Oak xeric ridges
Sandy, dry, open woodlands
The Mesic Pine Woodland Communities
Longleaf Pine flatwoods
Pine/Saw Palmetto flatwoods
Longleaf Pine savannas
The Depression Pond Communities
Pond Cypress savannas
Pond Cypress-Swamp Gum upland swamps
Depression meadows
The Peatland Community
Pocosins
The Calcareous Forest Communities
Calcareous bluff forests
Wet, flat, calcareous forests
The Bottomland Forest Communities
Bald Cypress-Tupelo Gum swamp forests
Hardwood bottom forests
Levee forests
The Freshwater Marsh Communities
Tidal freshwater marshes
Inland freshwater marshes
The Open Water Community
Coastal Plain: The Maritime Strand
The Maritime Communities
Coastal beaches
Coastal dunes and maritime grasslands
Maritime forests
Salt marshes
Salt flats
Maritime shell forests
PART 2: Species Descriptions and Color Plates
The Mountains
The Piedmont
Coastal Plain: The Fall-Line Sandhills
Coastal Plain: The Inner and Outer Coastal Plain
Coastal Plain: The Maritime Strand
The Ruderal Communities
GLOSSARY
APPENDIX: ILLUSTRATIONS OF PLANT STRUCTURES
GENERAL REFERENCES
LITERATURE CITED
INDEX
PHOTOGRAPHY CREDITS