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Endangered
Plant Found Along Scioto Brush Creek
Rick Gardner, Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of
Natural Areas and Preserves
Fall 2007
In Ohio,
Appalachian Quillwort can only be found on the Scioto Brush
Creek Nature Preserve near McDermott and a location near
Youngstown.
During a plant survey of the ODNR Division of Natural Areas and
Preserves’ Scioto Brush Creek Preserve near McDermott this June,
staff and volunteers discovered a new endangered plant species –
Appalachian Quillwort (Isoetes engelmannii). This obscure
group of primitive plants is rare in Ohio. Approximately 150
species of quillworts have been discovered worldwide,
twenty-four are found in North America, and only two of those
species are known to be in Ohio. Appalachian Quillwort is the
most wide ranging quillwort in eastern North America. A cluster
of 51-100 plants were found on a couple of muddy pools on a
gravel bar.
Their common name “quillwort,” refers to the quill-like shape of
the leaves. Leaves of the plant resemble rush leaves, but close
examination of the plant’s base reveals a strange cavity
containing hundreds of small spores (about ½ a millimeter in
size). Fossils of quillwort-like plants have been found dating
back 200 million years to the Triassic Period. They are believed
to be related to plants of the coal-forming swamps of the
Carboniferous Period which occurred 280-345 million years ago.
 Always
associated with water, Quillworts grow in either permanent or
temporary aquatic environments. Although they are aquatic
plants, they share an unusual adaptation with desert plants in
that they both absorb carbon dioxide through their roots. Desert
plants do this so they can absorb carbon dioxide at night,
reducing water loss during photosynthesis. This process gives
quillworts a slight advantage over other aquatic plants by
allowing them to accumulate more carbon dioxide for
photosynthesis.
Quillworts are found on all
continents except Antarctica. Prior to the discovery on Scioto
Brush Creek, Appalachian quillwort in Ohio had only been found
north of the glacial boundary. It has been found in glacial
lakes and ponds in west-central and northeast Ohio, but has
disappeared from these sites due to water pollution. Currently,
the Scioto Brush Creek Preserve and a site near Youngstown are
the only locations where this plant species can be found in
Ohio. Division of Natural Areas and Preserves crews plan to
search the area for additional populations of this strange plant
from a distant past.
Submitted by: Rick Gardner—Rick is a professional botanist
with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of
Natural Areas and Preserves and is a member of the Friends of
Scioto Brush Creek, Inc. |
