Verbena stricta Vent.

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/19345/thumbnail.jp

Phemeranthus rugospermus (Holz.) Kiger

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/20838/thumbnail.jp

Phemeranthus rugospermus (Holz.) Kiger

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/20839/thumbnail.jp

Glandularia canadensis (L.) Nutt.

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/18964/thumbnail.jp

Phemeranthus rugospermus (Holz.) Kiger

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/20838/thumbnail.jp

Phemeranthus rugospermus (Holz.) Kiger

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/20840/thumbnail.jp

Phemeranthus rugospermus (Holz.) Kiger

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/20839/thumbnail.jp

Verbena urticifolia L.

https://thekeep.eiu.edu/herbarium_specimens_byname/19298/thumbnail.jp

Phosphorus Improves Leaf Nutrient Concentrations in Wheat, Oat, and Cereal Rye

Core Ideas: Increased P availability increases leaf P and Mg in wheat, oat, and rye. The grass tetany ratio is improved with greater P availability in these species. Unlike cereal rye and oat, wheat increases shoot growth with high P levels. Winter annual species grown for forage are prone to mineral imbalances that could result in animal nutritional disorders, such as grass tetany. Adequate soil P has been found to be critical for the growth and adequate nutrient content of Mg, Ca, and K in other forages for grazing animals. This study examined the effect of P availability on growth and leaf nutrients in annual cereal grains commonly grown for winter forage. Winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), oat (Avena sativa L.), and cereal rye (Secale cereal L.) were grown hydroponically in greenhouse conditions in complete nutrient solutions with P treatments of 0, 200, 400, and 800 µmol L−1 P. After 32 d, plants were harvested and analyzed for P, Mg, Ca, and K content. Shoot growth of all three species increased from 0 to 200 µmol L−1 P; however, only wheat shoots increased incrementally with the other P treatment concentrations. Leaf P also responded incrementally to increased P treatments in all three species. Wheat and cereal rye exhibited increases in leaf Mg and improved grass tetany ratio from 200 to 400 µmol L−1 P, whereas oat showed these improvements from 0 to 200 µmol L−1 P treatments. This study suggests increased P availability could improve the grass tetany ratio, with or without increased shoot growth, in winter annual forage production on low P soils

Vegetation and Flora of the Sand Deposits of the Mississippi River Valley in Northwestern Illinois

This study was undertaken to determine vascular plant species composition, vegetation structure, and floristic quality of the major plant communities in the windblown sand deposits of northwestern Illinois during the growing seasons of 2002 through 2005. The major plant communities of the Ayers Sand Prairie Nature Preserve in Carroll County, Big River State Forest in Henderson County, Lost Mound Unit of the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge in Carroll and Jo Daviess counties, and the Thomson-Fulton Sand Prairie Nature Preserve located in Whiteside County were examined and the importance values determined for the plant species present. Located on broad terraces of the Mississippi River, these nature preserves and natural areas are remnants of a larger grassland/savanna/forest complex that contained extensive marsh; wet, mesic, and dry sand prairie; sand savanna; and sand forest communities. Most of the sand deposits are now cultivated and the original vegetation is found only in protected remnants, some of which are relatively large. The mature dry sand prairies were dominated by Schizachyrium scoparium; other important species were Opuntia macrorhiza, Dichanthelium villosissimum, Ambrosia psilostachya, and Tephrosia virginiana. Other assemblages of prairie and exotic species were encountered in successional sand prairie communities. Generally, the mature prairie communities in these preserves and natural areas had 35 or more species present in the study plots. Savanna and closed canopy forest communities were also examined. The dry sand savannas were dominated by Quercus velutina and Q. marilandica, dry sand forests were dominated by Q. velutina, and dry-mesic sand forests were dominated by Q. alba and Q. velutina.Illinois Department of Natural Resources; Illinois Nature Preserves Commissionpublished or submitted for publicationis peer reviewe