Aquatic Plant Survey and Field and Herbarium Studies of Tentatively Undetermined Plant Species

We carried out aquatic plant surveys at 22 sites and documented 85 occurrences of PNDI listed vascular plants of which 63 were new records and 22 were updates of earlier reports submitted by ourselves and others. Field reports have been submitted to DCNR Bureau of Forestry and PNDI-East. Data on distribution and abundance of aquatic plants gathered during these surveys resulted in recommendations for a change in the status of 7 species. Five of these, Elatine minima, Eleocharis olivacea, Orontium aquaticum, Potamogeton robbinsii, and Sporobolis cryptandrus, will be dropped from the PNDI list following action by the Rare Plant Forum and the Vascular Plants Technical Committee, which met on March 23, 2002. One other will remain on the list but eastern populations will not be considered natural. We presented three aquatic plant identification workshops and three slide lectures to foster an appreciation of the diversity and ecological importance of aquatic plants. We also met with lake residents at many of the lakes we surveyed. We conducted additional field surveys in Delaware, Bucks, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties resulting in the discovery and documentation of 8 new occurrences of PNDI listed species. Four field visits and numerous telephone consultations were held regarding PNDI reviews.