The Search for Linnaea borealis The Story of Expedition 1

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The Search for Linnaea borealis The Storyof
Expedition 1

• May 27-28, 2006

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The background

• The story of Linnaea in Tennessee

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Looking for LinnaeaOne of Tennessees N species
Linnaea borealis
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Linnaea in Tennessee First last observation
Sevier County in Mountain woods
Albert Ruth August 11, 1892
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A circumpolar plant Linnaeus knew in Sweden

• The green dot shows the range extension that the
  Ruth specimen represents

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A beautiful but delicate native wildflower is the
icon of Linnaeus himself
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Carolus Linnaeus 1707-1778 Father of taxonomy
the binomial Systema naturae (1735) Species
plantarum (1753) Genera plantarum (1754)
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Collected by Albert Ruth then living in
Knoxville Note he wrote the label after his move
to Texas
1844-1932
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Bought after Ruths death from his daughter in
Texas because the UTK Herbarium burned to the
ground in 1934
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1904-1997
Identity and significance recognized by renowned
UT Botanist Jack Sharp
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Location is equal to 25,000 acres! Need GPS!
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Ruth never brought the specimen to anyones
attention because he mis-ided it after moving to
Texas! We need DNA Barcodes!
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DNA Barcodes will challenge the nature of
Linnaean taxonomy
DNA Barcodes of life 1707-1778 Father of taxonomy
the binomial Systema naturae (1735) Species
plantarum (1753)
DNA Barcodes DNA segments that map well on
taxonomy
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Linnaea borealis,Pictures found by Julie
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The preparation

• Old maps Where was Ruth in 1892? Where did
  roads penetrate the high elevations in Sevier
  County, Tennessee?
• Answer 2 places, (1) vicinity of Newfound Gap
  Road but crossing mts at Indian Gap AND (2) road
  along Porters Creek from the thriving Greenbrier
  Communitythe road becoming a trail up and over
  Dry Sluice Gap

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• We target Porters Creek because it is so remote
  and because it harbors the Northern Tree,
  Heart-leaved Paper Birch (the only TN locale, not
  discovered until 1970s), which occurs with
  Linnaea in the North
• There are steep N-facing rocky places above 4000
  ft that would seem ideal for the hunt
• Also Greenbrier was a thriving community in
  Ruths day

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We found 2 old maps

• 1893 USGS Quad for Mt Guyot
• This map has some inaccuracies as you will see
• 1934 East Half of Great Smoky Mts National Park

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1893 USGS Mt Guyot Quad
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1893 USGS Mt Guyot Quad Closer-up Note LeConte is
NOT on the stateline!
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1893 USGS Mt Guyot Quad Closer-up again Note Road
follows creek to 3300 ft and becomes path
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1934 Park Map, E Half Path follows Porters Creek
to Dry Sluice Gap
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1934 Park Map, E Half Closer up
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The Start 830 am, May 27th Jess, Mark, Julie,
Gillian, Keith Lily, Rose, Carol Ann
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The picture Julie held up in the previous slide
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Oxalis montana
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Stream crossing 1Later we didnt bother taking
off our shoesRose, Julie, Carol Ann, Keith
(actually Keith didnt bother even here)
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Rose and Keith get interested in a snail at
Campsite 31If we had a video, we could show its
spinning behavior!
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Debris avalanche at 4360 ft Young pin cherry
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Julie in debris scarIt was BigDave Scanlon says
that this scar happened in 1984 because he hiked
the area before it occurred that year and the
Smoky Mt Hiking Club came to the fresh scar just
hrs or days after it happened later that same year
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Clintonia borealis
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On the Way Down Porters Creek TrailTree in
picture on Rightis World Champion Carya
cordiformis tho listed as Carya ovalis by AFA
(says Jess)
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Key elevations on the following maps

• Lester Prong jct with Porters Creek is at 3960 ft
• Branch to E to Porters Gap is at 3950 ft 1934
  map says BM 3967 ft
• Heart-lvd paper birch photographed by Peter ca.
  1980 is at 4310-4350 ft as recorded by altimeter
  back then
• This tree died (according to Janet Rock) and the
  area may have been affected by a larger debris
  avalanche
• Heart-lvd paper birch population mapped by Janet
  Rock in the 1990s is located W of the location of
  that tree at 4400 ft and just below
• Dry Sluice Gap is at 5375 ft

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Purple dots are Peters GPS pts on Porters Creek
ManwayHatched area is location of Heart-lvd
Paper Birch population (only one in TN)Brown
outline is debris avalanche from Vegetation
MapRed dot is Miller Plot (No. Hardwoods)
Map by Julie
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Peter, Julie, Jess got to 5000 ftJess ran out to
ATPeter and Keith GPSed base of large debris
avalanche
Map by Julie
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Map by Julie
Vegetation Map for Expedition area extracted by
UGA project map
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Heart-lvd Paper Birch -- Betula cordifolia
Photograph by Peter ca. 1980 Celebrator is Mary
English Janet Rock says that this tried has died
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End of Day 1

• Gillian has to turn around (after 3.7 miles) at
  Campsite 31 to get to the Atlanta Airport
• Mark, Carol Ann, Rose, Lily do an amazing number
  of stream crossing and unmaintained trails
  (including climbing over large trees and through
  Rhododdendron) and get back to cars at 530 (see
  next slide)
• Keith gets back to the car at 730 after 11 hrs
  of hiking (see next slide)
• Peter, Julie, Jess get back to the car,
  apparently just after Keith, missing him, but
  also about 730

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Notes found by Peter, Julie, Jess on the way
downNote important clue in signatures of note on
Right
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Plant list for Day 1

• Aruncus dioicus
• Clintonia umbellula
• Oxalis montana
• Dentaria diphylla
• Houstonia pubera
• Tiarella sp. (in bloom at high elevations)
• Claytonia carolinana (still in bloom at high
  elevations!)
• Clintonia borealis
• Streptopus roseus
• Trillium simile
• Vaccinium erythrocarpon (not in bloom)
• Menziesia pilosa
• Ribes
• Diphylleia cymosa (tons in bloom on steep wet
  slopes)
• Cardamone clematitis
• Parnassia asarifolia (not in bloom)
• Viola pallens (or V. McCroskeyi subsp. pallens)
• Saxifragum michauxii (not in bloom)
• Cardamine clematitis

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The UT Field Stationand the Chicken Coop Ghetto

• Well, for some reason, I neglected to take
  pictures of the chicken coop ghetto next to the
  UT field station that Peter, Julie, Carol Ann,
  Mark, Rose, and Lily stayed in near the
  Greenbrier entranceFriday and Saturday nights
• Or record the roosters at 430 am (Peter left the
  door open for fresh air and it would have been
  much quieter if he hadnt)
• The place must supply eggs to all restaurants in
  Gatlinburg and we looked suspiciously at our
  plates in the Black Bear Restaurant on Saturday
  morning before the hike
• There were a lot of Chicken and feather jokes

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May 28th Peter, Julie scout AT from Newfound Gap
to the Jumpoff View from the Jumpoff to the East
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Charlies Bunion from the Jumpoff
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Peter, Julie, Jess made it to here at 5000 ft and
Jess ran out to AT at 5375 ft in 5 or 10 minutes
White dots are hikers at Charlies Bunion
Actual spot they made it to is to Left of
Charlies Bunion and hidden by ridge coming down
from there
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Closer view of Charlies BunionErosion here
occurred in 1927 debris avalanches, conditioned
by a logging fire from the NC side
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Rugelia nudicaulis along the AT
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Plant list for Day 2

• Trillium simile
• Trillium erectum
• Rhododendron minus or caroliniana
• Erythronium
• Kalmia latifolia
• Claytonia caroliniana
• Houstonia
• Rugellia nudicaulis
• Solidago glomerata
• Clintonia borealis
• Streptopus roseus
• Potentilla
• Disporum maculosum
• Smilacina racemosa
• Denteria diphylla
• Viola pallens or (V. McCroskeyi subsp. pallens)
• Amelanchier laevis
• Viburnum latanoides

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The Tasty Food Peter was served after ordering
Green Beans in Maggie Valley
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Results

• Well, no Linnaea (yet)
• So it was a Spectacular Failure
• Make that a Spectacular failure
• And it lead to a new round of planning

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Expedition 2 PlanningAugust after ATBI Board
Meeting on August 19th

• Attempt to reserve spaces at Ice Water Springs
  Shelter along the AT because if offers access to
  several N-facing slopes at high elevation,
  including Dry Sluice Gap
• Plan to drop down to Heart-leaved Paper Birch and
  several other places to about 4000 ft and then
  back up from the Boulevard Trail to Porters Gap