Botanical exploration of the Soper River: plant discoveries in the Canadian Arctic

Lynn J. Gillespie, Paul C. Sokoloff, Jeffery M. Saarela, Roger D. Bull

Sokoloff

KatannilikTerritorial Park

– centered on the Soper Heritage River

VMC

J. Dewey Soper – first botanical exploration of the river

40 collections by Soper (1931)27 collections by Aiken (2002)

Gillespie

Gillespie

Mount Joy

0KM

Google

Sokoloff

Cabin 7

9KM

Sokoloff

Livingstone Falls

20KM

Sokoloff

Big Bend

35KM

Sokoloff

Soper Falls49

KM

Sokoloff

Kimmirut 60KM

Sokoloff

898 collections – ca. 250 vascular plant species

= one collection

36 vascular plant families

20% Cyperaceae 13% Poaceae 7% Salicaceae

Gillespie

Salix planifolia – tea-leaved willow

BullSalix planifolia – tea-leaved willowBullBull

NEW DISCOVERIES7 species new to the

Canadian Arctic Archipelago

• Cryptogramma stelleri (Pteridaceae) * • Carex brunnescens (Cyperaceae)• Triglochin palustris (Juncaginacaeae) *• Platanthera obtusata (Orchidaceae)• Primula egalikensis (Primulaceae)• Utricularia ochroleuca (Lentibulariaceae)• Coptidium ×spitsbergense (Ranunculaceae) * new families for

the Arctic Islands

BullTriglochin palustris – marsh arrowgrassBullBull

Primula egaliksensis – Greenland primroseGillespie

Platanthera obtusata – northern bog orchidBull

Gillespie

Cryptogramma stelleri (Pteridaceae) – Steller’s rockbrakeGillespie

Coptidium × spitsbergense – Svalbard buttercupGillespie

Coptidium × spitsbergense Svalbard buttercup

Cody, Blondeau & Cayouette1988 Rhodora 90: 27-36

sterile triploid hybrid between C. lapponicum and C. pallasii

Gillespie

Utricularia ochroleuca (Lentibulariaceae)

NEW DISCOVERIES4 species new to the

Eastern Canadian Arctic Archipelago

• Andromeda polifolia (Ericaceae)• Orthilia secunda (Ericacae)• Calamagrostis stricta subsp.

stricta (Poaceae) • Salix fuscescens (Salicaceae)

Sokoloff

Andromeda polifolia – bog rosemary

Orthilia secunda – one-sided wintergreenBull

NEW DISCOVERIESnew records of rare species - SE Baffin I

• Viscaria alpina (Caryophyllaceae)• Plantago maritima (Plantaginaceae) • 5 sedges (Carex arctogena, C. bicolor, C. gynocrates, C. vaginata, C. williamsii)• 3 rushes (Luzula wahlenbergii, L. multiflora subsp. frigida, Juncus trifidus • 2 grasses (Calamagrostis canadensis subsp. langsdorfii, C. purpurascens),

Bull

Corallorhiza trifida – early coralroot

Bull

Hordeum jubatum subsp. jubatum – foxtail barley

• accurate information on species distributions• complete floristic inventories

NEW ARRIVALS OR LONG ESTABLISHED?

Most new records likely long established species

Cryptogramma perhaps recent natural spread N?

Arctic floristic research – significance

1. baseline data for monitoring climate-induced change in arctic vegetation

2. update published floristic works on the Canadian Arctic

3. new data for the Arctic Flora of Canada and Alaska Project

4. samples for systematic and phylogeographic studies

5. samples for Arctic Flora barcoding project

http://arcticplants.myspecies.info/

Acknowledgments Tommy AkavakJulie Beauchesne

Louis-Phillipe Pothier