crc. malitiigy A Synopsis of Interesting Facts iecervane abeut 2700 species of plants recorded from Massachusetts ilo; py lusett 1700 are native -. 1000 are introduced, adventive, or otherwise alien 241 native species are on the 1987 list of rare plants of Massachusetts This represents about 14% of the native flora 81 are Endangered (may become extirpated if trends continue) 59 are Threatened (may become endangered if trends continue) 55 are Special Concern (may become threatened if trends continue) 46 are possibly extirpated (no recent records, feared lost from state) 1 is also federally listed as Endangered o 43 species have been added to the state's rare list since first published in 1978 o 45 species have been dropped since 1978 due to inventory work by the Massachusetts Natural Heritage Program Selected plant groups represented on the rare plant list Group # species examples Ferns 9 Braun's Holly-fern, Smooth Woodsia Grasses (uf Hairgrass, Sea Lyme-grass Sedges 45 includes 26 in genus Carex; Walter's Sedge, Long's Bulrush Lilies { Devil's-bit Orchids ile Showy Lady's-slipper, Putty-root Roses & Shadbushes 8 Northern Prickly Rose, Nantucket Shadbush Peas & Clovers 1 Sessile-leaved Tick-trefoil Figworts 8 Winged Monkey-flower, Sandplain Gerardia Composites ‘We Eastern Silvery Aster, New England Boneset Trees 5 Sweetbay Magnolia, Yellow Oak Shrubs & Woody Vines 19 Hairy Honeysuckle, Swamp Birch Distribution of our rare species (includes current and historical records) Oo Rare plants occur from Salisbury to Mt. Washington and from Nantucket to Williamstown Oo Of the 351 towns and cities in the Commonwealth, rare plants have been documented (historically or currently) from 314 Oo The county distribution looks like this: Berkshire 113 species ESSeXx 48 species Hampshire 70 Worcester 47 Franklin 69 Nantucket 43 Middlesex 61 Bristol 39 Hampden Bh Norfolk 35 Barnstable 53 Dukes 34 Plymouth 52 Suffolk 17 Oo The towns with the most rare species are: Sheffield 50 species Barnstable fy) Nantucket 43 West Stockbridge 26 Stockbridge | 37 Amherst 24 Williamstown 36 Hol yoke 24 Sunderland 28 Deerfield,Plymouth 21 o 47 rare plant species are known only from a single current site. Examples are: Fir Clubmoss - Amherst Silverling - Salisbury Acadian Quillwort - Plymouth Sweetbay Magnolia - Gloucester Lake Quillwort - Concord Long's Bitter-cress - Wareham Smooth Wocdsia - Cheshire Purple Cress - Sheffield Spiked False-oats - Hol yoke Sand Violet - Ashburnham Chestnut-colored Sedge -Pittsfield Mountain Cranberry - Adams Glaucous Sedge - Lynnfield Spurred Gentian-Cummington/Chesterfield Few-flowered Sedge - Hawley Sea Pink - Dartmouth Three-angled Spike-rush-Nantucket Basil Mountain-mint - Canton Ram's-head Lady's-slipper-Sunderland Snowberry - Deerfield Heartleaf Twayblade - Yarmouth Sclerolepis - Douglas Some habitats of our rare plant species seabeaches, saltmarshes 18 species’ rivers, estuaries 34 species acid bogs 10 floodplain forests, oxbows 11 lime fens Be rich, mesic forests 15 coastal plain ponds 22 pine barrens 9 rock ledges 26 heathlands, sandplains 16 Protection needs are centered arourd specific vulnerable habitats O HEATHLANDS AND SANDPLAIN GRASSLANDS - occur primarily on Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and outer Cape Cod; diminishing due to lack of grazing, Suppression of natural fires, and development o COASTAL PLAIN PONDS - mostly Plymouth and Barnstable Cos.; increasingly threatened by pondshore development and recreation o LIME FENS - occur in Berkshire Co.; experiencing filling ard other development pressures o FLOODPLAIN FORESTS - mostly along Connecticut and Housatonic Rivers; many examples have been converted to agricultural land o PINE BARRENS - occur in Plymouth Co., Barnstable Co., Martha's Vineyard, Montague, Westfield, and Chicopee; becoming increasingly fragmented and replaced over large areas by housing developments and altered by forest succession If you know of locations of rare plants, please contact us For further informaticn or a copy of the list of "Rare Native Plants of Massachusetts", contact Bruce A. Sorrie, Prccram Botanist, Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife, 100 Cambridge St., Boston, MA 02202 (617) 727-9194