Floristic Results

The vascular flora from the Nulato Hills is documented with 882 herbarium collections representing 350 taxa. These taxa are listed along with their localities, collection numbers, and floristic notes as appropriate, in Appendix A of this report. The non vascular flora (mosses, lichens, liverworts) is documented with [] collections representing [] taxa, and is listed in Appendix B. Exact locality information and descriptions for all sites visited during this survey are listed in Appendix C.

No taxa listed as Threatened, Endangered, or a 'species of concern' by USFWS were documented by this survey. Twelve taxa ranked critically imperiled to rare (S1-S3) by the AKNHP and 10 taxa of floristic note are discussed below.

Two collections of Ranunculus auricomus, the goldilocks buttercup, represent the first known specimens of this Eurasian taxon from North America. It was found at two localities; below the alpine summit of Debauch Mountain and on an open, mid-elevation slope south of Unalakleet in the vicinity of VABM Cascade. It will probably be ranked as imperiled (S2) or critically imperiled (S1) by the AKNHP (R. Lipkin, pers. comm.).

Many minor range extensions and range connections (new records located within the gaps of the known range of distribution) are also documented. This is to be expected when a large, botanically unknown region is surveyed for the first time. These minor range extensions, most of which are approximately 150 miles or less in distance, represent extensions of the known range for each species as documented by previous collections at ALA, or by the maps published in Hultén (1968). Among the many taxa having minor range extensions or connections documented by this survey are Silene repens, Eritrichium splendens, Carex capillaris, Novosieversia glacialis (=Geum glacialis), Artemisia globularia, Phyllodoce coerulea, Kobresia sibirica, Agrostis trinii, Ranunculus gelidus, Ranunculus eschscholtzii, Oxytropis scammaniana, Cardamine microphylla ssp. blaisdellii and Veratrum album ssp. oxysepalum.

Ranunculus auricomus L., Goldilocks Buttercup
(Ranunculaceae, Buttercup Family)
= R. monophyllus Ovcz.

Our collections of this taxon represent the first known record for North America (Figures 4 and 5). One specimen was found in a lush alpine streambed meadow southwest of the summit of Debauch Mountain (Figure C- ). Only a few individuals were observed at this site. Associated species here included Artemisia tilesii, Mertensia paniculata, and Anemone richardsonii. A second specimen was collected in lush meadow patches intermixed with willow thickets (Salix novae-angliae) on an open, mid-elevation slope south of VABM Cascade, south of Unalakleet (Figures 6 and C- ). Associated species at this site included Iris setosa, Dryopteris dilatata, Angelica lucida, Epilobium angustifolium, Luzula parviflora, Arctagrostis latifolia, and Salix reticulata.

This buttercup belongs to a large species complex which is known to be apomictic (the seeds develop without fertilization, producing maternal clones) and its distribution reaches from eastern Greenland, eastward across northern Europe and northern Russia to the Bering Sea coast (Flora of North America 1997, Academy of Sciences of the USSR 1937). It is commonly found in moist meadows, along riverbanks, and in open, moist woodland understorys. Numerous geographic races or microspecies have been named (Ericsson 1992) but a well-accepted taxonomic treatment for the entire species complex does not exist. One of the larger recognized groups within this complex, to which our Alaskan material clearly belongs, is referred to as R. monophyllus by Russian and Scandinavian botanists (Academy of Sciences of the USSR 1937, R. Elven, pers. comm.).

A plant closely related to Ranunculus auricomus is R. pedatifidus ssp. affinis, a circumpolar arctic-alpine species usually found in dry, moderately disturbed sites in Alaska. The basal leaves of these two taxa are distinctly different, making correct identification easy if they are present on a specimen. However, if basal leaves are missing, more cryptic characters involving cauline leaf pubescence, seed head shape, and achene shape must be used. A thorough search of ALA collections uncovered four additional specimens of R. auricomus from the Seward Peninsula which had been misidentified as R. pedatifidus ssp. affinis. Three collections were from Bluff, a seabird colony site 50 miles (80 km) east of Nome and 120 miles (190 km) west of Debauch Mountain. An additional collection was from Serpentine Hot Springs located approximately 180 miles (290 km) northwest of Debauch Mountain. The habitat at both Seward Peninsula sites was moist to wet meadows.

Now known from four localities, and having a limited range within western Alaska, this species will probably be listed as critically imperiled (S1) or imperiled (S2) at the state level by AKNHP (R. Lipkin, pers. comm.).

Douglasia beringensis S. Kelso, Jurtzev, & D.F. Murray
(Primulaceae, Primrose Family)

Ranked S1, this species was first described from north-central Seward Peninsula (Kelso et al. 1994) (Figure 7) where it was found at two localities growing on exposed marble outcrops. A small, poorly preserved specimen collected in the Kokrines Hills, central interior Alaska, and held at ALA may also represent this species (Kelso, et al. 1994). Our 1997 specimens of this species were collected on a west-facing loose alpine scree below the summit of Debauch Mountain (Figure C- ). This scree was composed of deep fines with pebbles and cobbles on the surface, and supported poorly-developed vegetation and stone stripes. Plants were scattered, but the taxon was common on this large slope with an estimated population size of 1,000-2,000 individuals. Associated species at this site included Podistera macounii, Dryas octopetala, Papaver alaskanum, Artemisia globularia, Luzula spp., Poa pseudoabbreviata, and Saxifraga bronchialis.

During the 1998 field season, two additional populations were located on the alpine ridges on opposite sides of the upper North Fork Unalakleet River valley. One of these sites was a southeast-facing slaty scree with poorly-developed vegetation stripes above the east side of the valley (Figure C- ). Individual plants were scattered and growing with Draba stenopetala, Cardamine bellidifolia, Phlox alaskensis, Saxifraga bronchialis, and other forbs. At a third site on the west side of this valley, Douglasia beringensis was found growing in a variety of rock-dominated habitats (Figures 8 and C- ). Several scattered plants were found on each of three different habitats; a fine, platy, moist, north-facing scree, a northeast-facing rock outcrop, and a pocket of coarse scree within a southeast-facing slope of well-developed Dryas stripe vegetation. A fourth population of an estimated several thousand plants was found on a large, southeast-facing, shaly fine scree at the same locality. D. beringensis was one of the most common taxa on this scree which supported a rich diversity of scattered alpine forbs including Dianthus repens, Silene acaulis, Eritrichium aretioides, Saxifraga reflexa, and Phlox alaskensis. Total vegetation cover at all Douglasia beringensis sites in the region ranged from 3% to 8%.

This survey has documented robust populations of D. beringensis from three new localities in the central Nulato Hills. Based on these findings, its ranking with AKNHP will probably be changed to imperiled (S2) (R. Lipkin, pers. comm.). Individuals at each of these sites are distinctive in displaying a more elongated growth form than was observed at the Seward Peninsula localities where all plants had a small, tight cushion habit. Plant tissue for molecular analysis, and live plants were collected for study by Drs. Elena Conti, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and Tass Kelso, Department of Biology, Colorado College, Colorado.

Minuartia biflora (L.) Schinz & Thell
(Caryophyllaceae, Chickweed Family)

A northern circumpolar taxon ranked S2. This tiny chickweed, which may often be overlooked by collectors, was found in a west-facing, alpine snowmelt area on Debauch Mountain (Figure C- ). Only a few plants were noted at this locality.

Eleocharis kamtschatica (C. Meyer) V. Komarov
(Cyperaceae, Sedge Family)

This amphi-Pacific sedge of coastal and saline marshes is ranked S2 and is very rarely collected in Alaska. Bright purple stem bases and a large tubercle on the achene distinguish this species from the common E. uniglumis of interior Alaska. Our specimen was collected in a wet depression within a moist sedge meadow in the vicinity of the Unalakleet airport (Figure C- ).

Douglasia alaskana (Colville & Standley) S. Kelso
= Androsace alaskana Colville & Standley
(Primulaceae, Primrose Family)

An East Beringian alpine endemic ranked S2S3. Documented from several widely scattered localities in central and coastal Alaska, D. alaskana has also been collected from the Seward Peninsula and the Kuskokwim Mountains (ALA, Kelso 1983). Therefore its appearance in the Nulato Hills should be expected. Plants were found scattered on unstable, alpine screes below the summit of Debauch Mountain (Figure C- ) in association with Papaver alaskanum, Artemisia globularia, Podistera macounii, and other forbs. An additional population was found on the alpine ridges west of the North Fork Unalakleet River valley (Figure C- ) growing on north-facing shaly scree.

Plant tissue for molecular and morphometric analysis was collected for study by Drs. Elena Conti, University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and Tass Kelso, Department of Biology, Colorado Collage, Colorado.

Potentilla rubricaulus Lehm.
(Rosaceae, Rose Family)

Ranked S2S3, this plant is part of a circumpolar species complex which includes P. hookeriana (Section Niveae) and its affiliates and has long been a problematic group for taxonomists. Our specimen, first tentatively identified as P. furcata (=P. hookeriana ssp. hookeriana var. furcata) by this author, has since been determined as P. rubricaulus by Bente Eriksen, a Swedish botanist working on this group (see Eriksen 1997). Several scattered plants were growing in a northwest-facing lush subalpine meadow on a slope west of the South River valley, south of Unalakleet (Figure C- ). Associated species included Alnus viridis ssp. crispa, Salix planifolia, Carex podocarpa, Heracleum lanatum, Epilobium angustifolium, and Veratrum album ssp. oxysepalum.

This taxon is very rare in arctic Alaska and our collection represents a southwestward range extension of over 500 miles (800 km). Although it appears to be a North American species, its true range will not be understood until the taxonomy of this group is improved for the entire circumpolar region. Regardless of its eventual taxonomic placement, this collection will remain as a major range extension as no closely related taxa are yet known from this area.

Festuca lenensis Drobov
= F. ovina L. ssp. alaskensis Holmen in part
(Poaceae, Grass Family)

Beringian endemic ranked S2S3. This grass was collected on a south-facing, subalpine scree east of the South River valley, south of Unalakleet (Figure C- ). Screes here were composed of marine sandstones and shales and had a thick layer of fines under a sparse mulch of platy fragments. These habitats were well vegetated with scattered forbs and supported taxa not common elsewhere within the surveyed area. Several scattered tufts were found growing in association with Anemone drummondii, Smelowskia calycina, Dianthus repens, Bromopsis pumpelliana ssp. arctica, Astragalus aboriginum, Bupleurum triradiatum, and Artemisia borealis.

Festuca lenensis, long familiar to Russian botanists working in arctic and subarctic regions, has only recently been recognized as occurring in the North American flora (Aiken et al. 1997, Aiken and Darbyshire 1990). It had been previously reported within Alaska as F. ovina ssp. alaskana (Holmen 1964, Hultén 1968) and F. auriculata (Frederiksen 1983). It is known from dry, rocky, sandy, and steppe habitats throughout boreal and northern Alaska. Our collection represents the western-most known locality within Alaska, but its occurrence is certainly to be expected considering its occurrence in the Russian Far East.

Koeleria asiatica Domin
(Poaceae, Grass Family)

This is a predominantly arctic, Asian grass whose distribution extends across the north coast of Alaska and Yukon, Canada, but includes a few disjunct localities in interior Yukon as well. Ranked S2S3 as its range is restricted and its occurrence is rare to uncommon in Alaska. The Nulato Hills collection was growing on south-facing, shaly, soft-textured calcareous scree on the subalpine ridges east of the South River valley (Figure C- ). This specimen documents a southwestward range extension of approximately 200 miles (320 km), expanding its range to well outside its characteristically arctic distribution.

Cystopteris montana (Lam.) Bernh.
(Athyriaceae, Lady Fern Family)

A northern circumpolar taxon ranked S3. This dainty fern was collected at Christmas Mountain (Figure C- ) and on the slopes east of the South River valley (Figure C- ). At both localities, several plants were growing in very moist pockets on northward-facing subalpine herbaceous slopes under shrub alders. Its occurrence in western Alaska is rare but not unexpected.

Zannichellia palustris L.
(Potamogetonaceae, Pondweed Family)

A cosmopolitan taxon ranked S3 in Alaska due to the few, widely scattered known localities, which are primarily in south-central and western Alaska. Our specimen was growing with Potamogeton filiformis in a shallow pond within the moderately disturbed wet meadows around the Unalakleet airport (Figure C- ).

Papaver nudicaule L. ssp. americanum Randel ex D.F. Murray
(Papaveraceae, Poppy Family)

A large-flowered, yellow poppy endemic to East Beringia and ranked S3. Most commonly found in open, gravely, low elevation sites of interior Alaska, but occasionally found in alpine habitats as well. Our specimen was collected on an east-facing, unstable alpine scree in the vicinity of VABM Chiroskey (Figure C- ) and represents a minor westward range extension for the taxon. Very few plants were growing at this site. Showy cultivars of this species, the 'Iceland Poppy', are frequently seeded along Alaskan highways.

Taraxacum carneocoloratum A. Nels.
(Asteraceae, Aster Family)

East Beringian endemic ranked S3. Known from several widely scattered sites in the Alaska Range, Chugach and Ogilvie mtns., and the southern Kuskokwim Mtns. Our collection was from a south-facing calcareous shaly scree on subalpine ridges east of the South River valley (Figure C- ) and represents a westward range extension of approximately 200 miles (320 km). Associated species included Anemone drummondii, Smelowskia calycina, Bupleurum triradiatum, and Artemisia borealis.

Festuca brevissima Jurtzev
(Poaceae, Grass Family)

A small Beringian fescue ranked S3. This taxon is closely related to F. brachyphylla, but recent taxonomic treatments (Aiken et al. 1997, Aiken and Darbyshire 1990) have distinguished it from its more common relative based on narrower glumes, fewer spikelets per spike, a shorter flag leaf, and an open branched panicle at anthesis. The distinction remains difficult to make, especially for immature specimens. Our collections came from Debauch Mountain (Figure C- ) and the vicinity of VABM Chiroskey (Figure C- ). At both localities, a few plants were found growing on rocky, alpine, semi-stable slopes and ridge tops.

The following species are of floristic note, but are not currently ranked greater than S3 by the Alaska Natural Heritage Program.

Papaver sp.
(Papaveraceae, Poppy Family)

One specimen (Parker et al. 8057) collected on an alpine scree in the North Fork Unalakleet River headwaters has been tentatively identified as Papaver radicatum ssp. alaskanum by the author, but was noted by David Murray (ALA) as differing significantly from that taxon. This specimen, along with several others from southwestern Alaska displaying similar distinctive character traits, will be studied by him in the near future in an effort to determine its correct identification. These specimens may represent a previously undescribed species (D. Murray, pers. comm.).

Papaver macounii Greene ssp. macounii
(Papaveraceae, Poppy Family)

This robust, large-flowered poppy is endemic to the eastern Bering Sea district, known only from the Pribilof Islands (type locality is St. Paul I.) and from a very few sites along coastal western Alaska. It was found to be abundant on low sandy ridges along the coast immediately north of Unalakleet and in the vicinity of the airport. It is easily distinguished from P. macounii ssp. discolor, the common narrow-capsuled poppy found throughout Alaska, by its robust appearance, large blossoms, numerous persistent leaf bases, broad capsule, and hispid leaves.

Primula anvilensis S. Kelso
(Primulaceae, Primrose Family)

This tiny white primrose was first described from the Seward Peninsula (Kelso 1987) where it is known from several localities. Additional records at ALA include populations from the Squirrel and Noatak river valleys in northwestern Alaska. Our collection from Christmas Mountain represents a small southeastward range extension of approximately 70 miles (110 km) for this narrowly restricted East Beringian endemic. Plants were growing in the moist, bare soil of frost boils on a north-facing, subalpine slope.

Cardamine microphylla Adams ssp. blaisdellii (Eastw.) D.F. Murray & S. Kelso
= C. blaisdellii Eastw.
= C. microphylla Adams in part
(Brassicaceae, Mustard Family)

This narrowly restricted Beringian endemic was known previously only from Chukotka, the Seward Peninsula, and northwestern Alaska. Our collections from Debauch Mountain and the North Fork Unalakleet River headwaters represent a minor southeastward range extension of approximately 100 miles (160 km). Plants were growing in sheltered, herbaceous alpine snowmelt areas. This nomenclatural combination and taxonomic treatment have been recently published (Murray and Kelso 1997) and it is uncertain if this taxon will be ranked S3 by AKNHP, the current listing for C. microphylla s.l.

Claytonia scammaniana Hultén
(Portulacaceae, Spring Beauty Family)

This East Beringian endemic spring beauty was named for Edith Scamman who pioneered collecting in interior Alaska in the 1930's. It is known from a few localities in the Yukon-Tanana uplands, Alaska Range, and southern Kuskokwim Mountains region. Our collection from near the summit of VABM Chiroskey represents a northwestward range extension of approximately 250 miles (400 km). Several plants were found growing on a north-facing, shaly, alpine scree associated with other scattered alpine forbs.

Oxytropis scammaniana Hultén
(Fabaceae, Pea Family)

East Beringian endemic also named for Edith Scamman who first collected it at Eagle Summit in the Yukon-Tanana uplands. It is also found in the Alaska Range, Brooks Range, and interior side of St. Elias Range. Our collection was found growing on alpine screes and ridge tops east of the North Fork Unalakleet River valley and represents a minor westward range extension

Agrostis trinii Turcz.
(Poaceae, Grass Family)

This Beringian endemic grass is widespread in eastern Russia but only known in Alaska from a few collections in the western Alaska-Bering Sea area. Our collections are from wet meadows near the Unalakleet airport and from moist, lichen-Dryas tundra in the uplands east of the South River valley.

Poa malacantha V. Komarov
(Poaceae, Grass Family)

This Beringian endemic grass is more commonly found at low elevations in wet, disturbed soils of arctic and coastal Alaska, but does occasionally appear in the alpine. Our collections were found on disturbed alpine slopes of Debauch Mountain and on the ridges east of the North Fork Unalakleet River valley. They represent a minor range extension into central western Alaska.

Salix chamissonis Andersson
(Salicaceae, Willow Family)

A Beringian endemic dwarf willow that is known from Chukotka, the Seward Peninsula, Brooks Range, and in the Yukon-Tanana uplands. Our collection was from a mesic, lush heath-shrub alpine slope above the North Fork Unalakleet River valley and represents a minor southeast range extension into western Alaska.