Daily Activities:

Thursday, July 30 

Tracy Cook and Patrick Thompson joined Scott Pardue, a Manager at EBSCO Industries, to scout the EBSCO parcel North and East of Highway 280 in Shelby County. Scott gave access to the property and navigation aid throughout the parcel. He took us first to a scenic overlook, and nearby in the woods a single stoloniferous non-fruiting QUBO was located in a mowed clearing near along a ridgeline among Vaccinium arborescens, Quercus stellata, Quercus prinus, and Q. marilandica. The coppice of stems on this specimen were induced by the mowing in a way that historical fires may have once affected growth forms of this species. The team reached a promising sandstone glade referred to by EBSCO staff as Slick Rock by 11:30. A 45-minute search ensued via walking transects across the direction of the slope, but no QUBO were observed at that location. Eight rock outcrops that had been geo-located via satellite imagery were on the agenda, and travel on side roads required clearing of downed trees with a chainsaw on numerous occasions. Scouting promising habitat and the outcrops along the ridge of Double Oak Mountain throughout the day resulted in some scattered individuals located, although none were observed to be producing significant enough fruit to consider returning for collection this season. All occurrences were flagged in the GPS, and fruiting individuals noted for census data. The largest occurrence in terms of individuals located was recorded at a rock pile on the southern terminus of the ridge at 366 m above sea level (asl) on a 5% slope among Asimina parviflora, Carya glabra, Carya tomentosa, Pityopsis graminifolia, Quercus prinus, Gelsemium sempervirens, Quercus marilandica, Quercus stellata, Pinus palustris, Pinus taeda, Pycnanthemum muticum, Epimedium sp., Chionanthus virginicus, Vaccinium arboreum, Asplenium sp., Prunus alabamensis, Pteridum aquilinum, Vitus rotundifolia, Asclepias verticilata. Substantial dieback was observed on big stems of the 14 individuals recorded at this location. The parcel contained 10 km of ridgeline. Attempting to explore the entire property in a single day was ambitious, yet productive, resulting in 2 new EO’s for the species. 

Figure 2: Outcrops have been pinned as potential spots to find QUBO on the ridge of Double Oak Mountain. In this photo you can see Oak Mountain runs parallel to the west. The ridge habitat has been replaced with a string of houses. 

Figure 3: EBSCO East, Slick Rock site on Double Oak Mountain. This, like many suitable habitats the team searched, did not result in the location of new occurrences of QUBO. 

Friday, July 31 

Tracy Cook and Patrick Thompson met at Moss Rock Preserve in Jefferson County, documenting several individuals on the west side of the property on the South East face of Shades Mountain on a sandstone glade in a section that ranged in elevation from 213m – 236 m asl. QUBO observed included two fruiting individuals with 6 and 11 developing acorns respectively, which were noted for monitoring later in the season. The stoloniferous habit was highly evident at this locality and many of the larger trunks had varying degrees of dieback. While the property is managed for QUBO by volunteers from the Friends of Moss Rock Preserve and the Alabama Plant Conservation Alliance, threats noted included drought damage, woody encroachment, and invasion by non-native plant species - primarily Ligustrum sinense, Nandina domestica, Mahonia sp., and Lonicera japonica. Associate species at the site include Berchemia scandens, Vitis rotundifolia, Vitis cinerea, Hypericum gentianoides, Acer rubrum, Pinus taeda, Pinus palustris, Amelanchier arborea, Gelsemium sempervirens, Liquidambar styraciflua, Commelina communis, Vaccinium elliottii, Rhododendron canescens, Phemeranthus mengesii, Nyssa sylvatica, Fragaria racemosa, Magnolia grandiflora, Quercus stellata, Quercs marilandica, Carya tomentosa, Rhus copallinum, Callicarpa americana, Prunus alabamensis, Ulmus alata, Rubus sp., Myrica cerifera, Toxicodendron radicans, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Liatris chapmanii, Pleopeltis polypodioides, Aristida lanosa, Cornus florida, Smilax bona-nox, Quercus rubra, Asimina triloba, Hamamelis virginiana, Hypolepis repens, Bigelowia nuttallii, Agalinis purprea, Cheilanthese tomentosa, and Bignonia capreolata. 

By midday, the team was headed to Oak Mountain State Park in Shelby County to meet with the Park Naturalist to discuss project and obtain permits to collect. The meeting had to be postponed until later 

that day, so Tracy and Patrick took the Les Miller Memorial (blue) Trail to scout for occurrences reported near King’s Chair. Six trees were located along the northeastern end of the ridgeline that had a range of morphology ranging from clearly QUBO to clearly Q. margarettae (see Figure 35 under Project Accomplishments). This subpopulation was the first of many recorded as containing possible hybrids. None were fruiting. Associate species observed included Quercus marilandica, Quercus stellata, Quercus margarettae, Vaccinium arboreum, Heuchera americana, Carya tomentosa, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Vaccinium elliottii, Vitis rotundifolia, Asclepias linearis, Cheilanthes tomentosa, Toxicodendron radicans, Celtis tenuifolia, Hamamelis virginiana, Tradescautia sp., Rhus copallinum, Packera sp., Ptelea trifoliata, Pleopeltis polypodioides, Helianthus porteri, Asclepias tuberosa, Bignonia capreolata, Schizachyrium scoparium, Chasmanthium sessiflorum, and Toxicodendron pubescens. 

As heavy rain and thunderstorms moved in, the team conducted a socially distanced meeting with Park Naturalist Lauren Muncher at the Peavine Falls Trailhead parking pavilion to discuss plans. Lauren was excited about the project and stated that while the park staff monitor the known occurrences monthly and plan to use fire as a management tool within the next two years to reduce the duff present, they did not have a baseline dataset from which to gauge the response to management efforts. A break in the weather allowed a brief survey of the closest glade, which had an abundance of QUBO individuals, including several that had many developing acorns. 

Figure 4: Specimens growing on the ridge of Double Oak Mountain overlooking the Belcher Tract and across the valley, Double Mountain. Tracy Cook included for scale, showing how these achieve the character of an aged tree while maintaining a relatively short stature. 

Thursday, August 20 

Tracy Cook, Patrick Thompson, and Frank Thompson met at the Peavine Falls trailhead parking to scout and document the QUBO at the southwestern end of the ridge in Oak Mountain State Park and scout for fruiting individuals for collection later in the season. Around midday, the crew was joined by Noah Yawn. Fifty two individuals, including six juveniles, were recorded. It became apparent that there is a distinct separation in the growth habit of larger trunks and stoloniferous stems from the same crown, so the team began recording number of trunks, DBH of the largest living trunk, and number of stems per individual at this site. A condition code was assigned to each individual recorded to denote vigorous, average, or declining health of the individual. Any crowns with only stoloniferous stems under 61cm (2 ft) tall and wide were considered juvenile individuals and evidence of recruitment. 

Figure 5: Only 2% of the QUBO inspected during this project were observed to have produced more than 100 acorns in 2020. Of those 11 plants that produced >100 acorns, 8/11 of them were in the Oak Mountain and Double Oak Mountain population. 

Friday, August 21 

Tracy Cook and Patrick Thompson met at Oak Mountain State Park Peavine Falls parking to finish scouting and documenting the glade begun the day before. Fifty-three individuals, including two juveniles were recorded, bringing the total to 105 QUBO recorded at the Peavine Falls glade, about 1/3 of trees were reproductive (34 individuals had developing acorns), but almost half of those (44%) had fewer acorns than CPC guidelines suggest harvesting. Threats noted at the site included seasonal drought, invasion by Ligustrum sinense, woody overgrowth/encroachment, and fuel loads that could result in injury of fire adapted species in the event of ignition. 

With Peavine Falls glade survey completed by midafternoon, the team drove to Irondale to scout and document a QUBO EO on private property near Rock Ridge Road in Jefferson Co. Eleven individuals were found and recorded, although none was producing acorns. Although the resident owner is interested in protecting QUBO, the majority of the population is in a utility easement that is heavily impacted by invasive plant species and overgrown woody species with housing on all sides. Liriope spicata, Toxicodendron radicans, Prunus caroliniana, Prunus serotina, Cercis canadensis, Carya pallida, Liquidambar styraciflua, Lonicera japonica, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, Vitis rotundiloba, Nandina domestica, Rubus sp., Pinus echinata, Pinus taeda, Hedra helix, Calicarpa americana, Ulmus alata, Phytolacca decandra, Smilax bona-nox, Firmiana simplex, and Yucca flaccida co-occurred at this location. 

Figure 6: A remnant population of QUBO in Irondale severely impacted by a suite of non-native invasive plant species. Here Ligustrum sinense crowds the QUBO from roots to crown. 

Thursday, August 27 

Tracy Cook, Patrick Thompson, Noah Yawn, and Katie Kucejko met at a church in Autauga County and caravanned to private property to scout for unconfirmed QUBO occurrences at a locality the team referred to as Turnpike 2. The team recorded seven individuals (including three saplings) that had characteristics consistent with QUBO, but may be hybridized or simply an expression of the spectrum leaf morphology within Q. margarettae. Two trees had under 10 developing acorns each. Vouchers were collected to help resolve identification ambiguity. An indisputable ID will hopefully be achieved with future genomic investigation. Associate species included Acer rubrum, Antennaria plantaginifolia, Asclepias amplexicaulis, Asplenium platyneuron, Callicarpa americana, Carya pallida, Carya tomentosa, Chionanthus virginicus, Crataegus sp., Croton willdenowii, Dichanthelium sp., Elephantopus carolinianus, Euphorbia sp., Gelsemium sempervirens, Hypericum gentianoides, Hypericum sp., Ilex vomitoria, Juniperus virginiana, Lespedeza cuneata, Ligustrum sinense, Liquidambar styraciflua, Agave virginica, Muscadinia rotundifolia, Packera anonyma, Parthenocissus quinquefolius, Pinus taeda, Pityopsis graminifolia, Polygala nana, Pseudognaphalium obtusifolium, Quercus stellata, Quercus falcata, Quercus margarettae, Quercus nigra, Rhus copallinum, Smilax glauca, Smilax rotundifolia, Spiranthes sp., Vaccinium arboreum, and Yucca filamentosa. 

After pressing vouchers, the team drove to the EBSCO Belcher tract to record occurrences and scout for fruit. Jason Blackerby from EBSCO met the team and gave access to the property. Twenty-three QUBO individuals were documented including 12 with developing acorns, although half of those had fewer acorns than CPC guidelines suggest harvesting. One of the subpopulations surveyed on the Belcher Tract is inside a prescribed burn unit. The fire had been planned and executed by the Alabama Chapter of The Nature Conservancy in 2018. TNC’s Mountain Longleaf Pine Conservation Coordinator Alex Varner had included Thompson on a follow up assessment of the burn in 2019, specifically to observe effects on QUBO. This follow up visit showed that the understory was still more open than areas outside the burn unit, and the Q. boyntonii continued to thrive. Acorn set within the burn unit was similar to other sites observed this season. The team ran out of daylight before completing full coverage of the intended scouting area. 

Figure 7: Autauga County QUBO. 

Friday, August 28 

Effects from Hurricane Laura impacted field work, but after a planning meeting, Tracy Cook, Patrick Thompson, and Katie Kucejko caravanned to the Moss Rock Preserve’s boulder field parking and hiked in to the sandstone glade on the south end of the Preserve to scout for fruiting individuals. Two trees in average to vigorous condition were located and marked with the GPS, but neither held acorns. As the weather deteriorated, the team regrouped to plan and prioritize the remaining scouting and collection trips. 

Figure 8: QUBO in the rain of Hurricane Laura. 

Thursday, October 15 

Tracy Cook, Patrick Thompson, Noah Yawn, and Zac Napier met at a private residence in Blountsville, AL to scout and document reported occurrences of QUBO from Blount County. The property owners led the team down a trail to open sandstone bordering the Locust Fork River near wide waterfalls. The team counted 64 individuals in a two-hour search, and documented and collected acorns from four individuals. The majority of trees observed on the site were mature and a higher proportion than average had abundant acorns. Associate species included Vaccinium arboretum, Cephalanthus occidentalis, Spiranthes sp., Platanus occidentalis, Betula nigra, Bignonia capriolata, Sphagnum sp., Mitchella repens, Gelsemium, Liquidambar styraciflua, Acer rubrum, Ulmus alata, Biglowea, Prunus virginiana, Pinus taeda, Quercus montana, Smilax bona-nox, Liatris microcephala, Chionanthus virginica, Chasmanthium sessiliflorum, Andropogon sp., Juniperus virginiana, Packera ambigua, Vitis sp., Solidago sp., Rhus copallinum, Chasmanthium latifolium, Lonicera pileata, Fagus grandifolia, Ilex opaca, Viburnum acerifolium, Berchemia scandens, and Callicarpa americana. 

Figure 9: The first acorn collections of the project were the first known of QUBO from Blount County. 

After lunch, the team scouted Mardis Mill Falls (Blount Co.) which had promising sandstone glade habitat. No QUBO were located at the site. 

Patrick Thompson called ahead to the property manager of a hunting club parcel on Lynch Lake Road in St. Clair County, who permitted access. The team parked at the gate and hiked in on the dirt road to a glade seen from satellite imagery. Abundant Quercus georgiana were seen on the way to the glade, and Patrick Thompson collected coordinates for a few individuals to mark the location. Forty-seven QUBO were counted at the Lynch Lake Road property and an estimated 80% of individuals were fruiting among Acer rubrum, Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Amelanchier cf. laevis, Asplenium platyneuron, Bignonia capreolata, Calycanthus floridus, Carya pallida, Castanea dentata, Celtis tenuifolia, Chionanthus 

virginicus, Chrysopsis mariana, Crataegus sp., Helianthus porteri, Liatris microcephala, Ligustrum sinense, Lonicera japonica, Myriopteris tomentosa, Nyssa sylvatica, Opuntia cf. humifusa, Packera anonyma, Pinus taeda, P. virginiana, Prunus alabamensis, P. serotina, Quercus alba, Q. georgiana, Q. nigra, Q. falcata, Q. stellata, Symphyotrichum georgianum, S. patens, Tiarella cordifolia, Vaccinium arborescens, V. pallidum, V. elliottii, and Viburnum cf. rufidulum. Abundant seedling recruitment was observed at the site. Acorns and vouchers were collected from two individuals as dusk was closing in. 

Figure 10: Noah Yawn stands on outcrop looking into a wall of Q. georgiana and Q. boyntonii. 

Friday, October 16 

Tracy Cook and Patrick Thompson met early to plan the collection strategy for the remaining localities based on acorn abundance earlier in the growing season and taking into consideration previous collections made by the PCN Quercus multisite partners – priority was given to locations from which fewer samples had been collected. Zac Napier had identified QUBO on a new home site and arranged a meeting with the Mountain Brook property owner in Jefferson County midmorning. The owner was enthusiastic about protecting native species on the property, especially the two (average-condition, non-fruiting) QUBO the team documented. Thompson was enthusiastic about the numerous Q. georgiana encountered on all sides of the property this is only the 3rd site where the rare oaks co-occur. The site was heavily impacted by invasive plant species and under construction. Associate species observed on the site included Ligustrum sinense, Clematis terniflora, Nandina domestica, Lonicera tatarica, Sicyos angulatus, Lonicera japonica, Berchemia scadens, Ilex vomitoria, Liatris, Opuntia sp., 

Magnolia grandiflora, Pinus taeda, Quercus georgiana, Quercus geminata(?) or Quercus phellos, Photina sp., Quercus nigra, Chionanthus virginica, Clematis sp., and Prunus caroliniana. 

From there, Tracy Cook and Patrick Thompson met Noah Yawn at Oak Mountain State Park to collect acorns from the trees documented earlier in the season. The majority of acorns seen previously had already dropped, but the team collected three maternal lines. 

After pressing vouchers, they travelled to EBSCO Corporate headquarters, where four non-fruiting QUBO were documented and acorns and vouchers collected from one individual. This site had a large number of Quercus that display some morphology of QUBO, but appear to be heavily introgressed with the Q. margarettae which are prevalent on the property. 

Figure 11: Acorn shape and coverage of cupule varied greatly within populations. 

Friday, October 23 

Tracy Cook and Patrick Thompson met at the Belcher Tract where Jason Blackerby, an EBSCO employee, granted access to a gated road. Acorns collections from four maternal lines identified to have heavy acorn set during the scouting trip over the summer proved to be the most fruitful of the entire project. From there, the team drove to Oak Mountain State Park, arriving at the north trailhead parking midday. The team placed permits in vehicle windows, processed vouchers, placed acorns from the Belcher Tract and pickles in the cooler, had lunch, jettisoned any redundant gear from the hiking packs, and organized documentation to assist with post-trip reports. The Red Road and Red-Blue Connector (South) were used to backpack up to the south ridge, where Cook and Thompson made camp in Shackleford Gap by late afternoon. There was just time before dusk to scout “Rock 2,” one of a series of 16 rock outcrops identified from satellite imagery and chosen to maximize distribution across the South face of the ridge. By the end of the next day, the team will have hiked across 8 miles of slope and ridgeline if they had walked in a straight line. It was not a straight path, raining most of the time, trying not to slow down to a botanists pace. The presence of Q. margarettae required inspection of every QUBO before marking specimens with a GPS unit. The amount of ground that needed to be covered required that the team only stop to record coordinates of QUBO at 10 minute intervals, many individuals had to be passed by to hit all the outcrop targets. 

Figure 12: Image of the series of rock outcrops identified from aerial imagery and labeled with coordinate pins Rock 1 – Rock 14 for scouting between known occurrences of QUBO within Oak Mountain State Park along the southeast ridge of Double Oak Mountain. 

Saturday, October 24 

Tracy Cook and Patrick Thompson waited out a band of thunderstorms in the tents, using the time to plan the search route for the day based on topographic maps. When the rain slackened, the team hiked the blue trail to “Rocks 4-7” before going off-trail to scout the ridge line to “Rock 10.” The rain never let up, but numerous QUBO and suspected hybrids were documented by GPS along the ridgeline, connecting the previously recorded occurrences. If the trees had acorns, the storm knocked them all down. One QUBO individual found on a sandstone rock on a 45 degree slope still had an abundance of acorns. The team collected acorns and a voucher before sloshing back to camp by dusk. 

Figure 13: QUBO coming out of a soil pocket on a slope. 

Figure 14: Watch your step! 

Sunday, October 25 

Tracy Cook and Patrick Thompson broke camp at Shackleford Gap, backpacked down the ridge to the vehicles, and drove to the Peavine Falls trailhead where Noah Yawn and Lynn Purser joined them to scout the south ridge from the other end to where they had left off the day before. The team collected coordinates for a number of QUBO and suspected hybrids in an oak savanna, including one massive individual with hundreds of trunks on the apex of the ridge near an old chimney. Only one tree had enough acorns to collect from, near Peavine Falls. When the crew returned to the vehicles, the acorn collection counts from the whole trip were confirmed and divided up according to the distribution plan. 

Figure 15: QUBO groundcover with a pair of vertical leaders in a pine oak hickory savannah on the crest of Double Oak Mountain. 

Thursday, November 12 

Permitting to collect at Hinds Rock was delayed due to COVID past the time of acorn drop, so Tracy Cook and Patrick Thompson met to record information about the QUBO population to extrapolate size and demographics, rather than to collect plant material. The population at this location is substantial and merits future census, acorn collection, and habitat management effort. 

Figure 16: QUBO stems persisting in a small soil pocket with mosses, Opuntia humifusa, and a recently deceased Pinus virginiana that had been naturally bonsaied by the limited root space and perhaps decades of root competition with the QUBO.