Ecological checklist of the Missouri flora for Floristic Quality Assessment

Abstract

An annotated checklist of the 2,961 vascular taxa comprising t he flora of Missouri is presented, with conservatism rankings for Floristic Quality Assessment . The list also provides standardized acronyms for each taxon and information on nativity, physiog nomy, and wetness ratings. Annotated comments for selected taxa provide taxonomic, floristic, and ecolo gical information, particularly for taxa not recognized in recent treatments of the Missouri flora. Sy nonymy crosswalks are provided for three references commonly used in Missouri. A discussion of the co ncept and application of Floristic Quality Assessment is presented. To accurately reflect ecological and taxonom ic relationships, new combinations are validated for two distinct taxa, Dichanthelium ashei and D. werneri , and problems in application of infraspecific taxon names within Quercus shumardii are clarified.