Difference between revisions of "Gordonia lasianthus"

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Common name: loblolly bay
+
Common name: Loblolly bay
<!--==Taxonomic notes==-->
+
==Taxonomic notes==
 +
Synonyms: none.<ref name="weakley">Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-atlantic states. Working Draft of 21 May 2015. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.</ref>
 +
 
 +
Varieties: none.<ref name="weakley">Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-atlantic states. Working Draft of 21 May 2015. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.</ref>
 +
 
 
==Description==  
 
==Description==  
 
<!-- Basic life history facts such as annual/perrenial, monoecious/dioecious, root morphology, seed type, etc. -->
 
<!-- Basic life history facts such as annual/perrenial, monoecious/dioecious, root morphology, seed type, etc. -->
 
A description of ''Gordonia lasianthus'' is provided in [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220005783 The Flora of North America].
 
A description of ''Gordonia lasianthus'' is provided in [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=220005783 The Flora of North America].
  
Loblolly bay is a perennial, evergreen tree with large, white, fragrant, cup-shaped flowers. The leaves are leathery, entire, oblong and oblanceolate and will turn scarlet in the fall<ref name="wildflower">[[http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GOLA]] Accessed: December 16, 2015</ref><ref name="uf">[[https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st284]]Accessed: December 16, 2015</ref>. It often grows with sweet bay, (''Magnolia virginiana'') and is easily distinguishable by having a light green underside while sweet bay has a white underside <ref name="floridata">[[http://www.floridata.com/Plants/Theaceae/Gordonia%20lasianthus/47]]Accessed: December 17, 2015</ref>.
+
Loblolly bay is a perennial, evergreen tree with large, white, fragrant, cup-shaped flowers. The leaves are leathery, entire, oblong and oblanceolate and will turn scarlet in the fall.<ref name="wildflower">[[http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=GOLA]] Accessed: December 16, 2015</ref><ref name="uf">[[https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/st284]]Accessed: December 16, 2015</ref> It often grows with sweet bay, (''Magnolia virginiana'') and is easily distinguishable by having a light green underside while sweet bay has a white underside.<ref name="floridata">[[http://www.floridata.com/Plants/Theaceae/Gordonia%20lasianthus/47]]Accessed: December 17, 2015</ref>
  
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
Found in hydric habitats throughout the Coastal Plain.
+
This southeast endemic is found in hydric habitats throughout the Coastal Plain. Its range extends from northeast North Carolina to southern peninsular Florida and west to southern Mississippi.<ref name="weakley">Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-atlantic states. Working Draft of 21 May 2015. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.</ref>
  
 
==Ecology==
 
==Ecology==
 
===Habitat=== <!--Natural communities, human disturbed habitats, topography, hydrology, soils, light, fire regime requirements for removal of competition, etc.-->
 
===Habitat=== <!--Natural communities, human disturbed habitats, topography, hydrology, soils, light, fire regime requirements for removal of competition, etc.-->
''Gordonia lasianthus'' has been found along margins of titi swamps, densely wooded hammocks, swampy depressions, cypress domes, an ecotone between a titi-sweet bay swamp and a pond pine flatwood, ravine bottoms, shrub bogs, wet pine flatwoods, mesic steepheads, pocosins, bayheads, and bald cypress/mixed hardwoods swamps. Seedlings have been observed to require significant site disturbance exposing mineral soil, to become established (Gresham and Lipscomb 1985). It has been found to occur in disturbed areas such as cut-over pinewoods and powerline corridors (FSU Herbarium). Grows in acidic, swampy soils, with an accumulation of organic matter. Soil types include Spodosols, Inceptisols, Ultisols, and Histosols<ref name="fs">[[http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/gorlas/all.html]]Accessed December 15, 2015</ref> and has been observed to grow in loamy sand (FSU Herbarium). Associated species include ''Stewartia, Illicium, Ilex opaca, Ilex glabra, Persea borbonia, Magnolia glauca, Rhus vernix, Clethra, Cliftonia, Nyssa sylvatica, Cyrilla racemiflora, Pinus elliottii, Quercus nigra, Liquidambar, Magnolia virginiana, Oxydendron, Illicium floridanum, Myrica cerifera, Liriodendron, Pickneya, Rhododendron viscosum, Lyonia lucida, Serenoa, Osmunda, Sphagnum'', and ''Lycopodium'' (FSU Herbarium).
+
''Gordonia lasianthus'' has been found along margins of titi swamps, densely wooded hammocks, swampy depressions, cypress domes, an ecotone between a titi-sweet bay swamp and a pond pine flatwood, ravine bottoms, shrub bogs, wet pine flatwoods, mesic steepheads, pocosins, bayheads, and bald cypress/mixed hardwoods swamps. Seedlings have been observed to require significant site disturbance exposing mineral soil, to become established. <ref name="Gresham and Lipscomb 1985">Gresham, Charles A., and Donald J. Lipscomb. “Selected Ecological Characteristics of Gordonia Lasianthus in Coastal South Carolina”. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 112.1 (1985): 53–58.</ref> It has been found to occur in disturbed areas such as cut-over pinewoods and powerline corridors. <ref name="FSU Herbarium">Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: [http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu]. Last accessed: October 2015. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Sarah Baxter, James R. Burkhaulter, N.H. Chevalier, Andre F. Clewell, H.S. Conard, H.A. Davis, Wayne R. Faircloth, A. Gholson Jr., R.K. Godfrey, D.W. Hall, Don Harrison, E.A. Hebb, R. Kral, O. Lakela, S.W. Leonard, Hui Lin Li, T. Myint, J.B. Nelson, Jackie Patman, James D. Ray Jr., C. Rhinehart, P.L. Redfearn Jr., Grady W. Reinert, Cecil R. Slaughter, A.G. Shuey, R.R. Smith, E. Tyson, D.B. Ward, Jean W. Wooten. States and Counties: Florida: Alachua, Baker, Bay, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Hamilton, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lake, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, Taylor, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton. Georgia: Clarke, Grady. Pennsylvania: Phillidelphia. South Carolina: Pickens. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.</ref> Grows in acidic, swampy soils, with an accumulation of organic matter. Soil types include Spodosols, Inceptisols, Ultisols, and Histosols<ref name="fs">[[http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/gorlas/all.html]]Accessed December 15, 2015</ref> and has been observed to grow in loamy sand. <ref name="FSU Herbarium"/> Loblolly bay is rarely observed to occur in pure stands (Gresham and Lipscomb 1985), but has been observed to be the dominate canopy in some Carolina bays. <ref name="Dimick et al. 2010">Dimick, B. P., J. M. Stucky, et al. (2010). "Plant-Soil-Hydrology Relationships in Three Carolina Bays in Bladen County, North Carolina." Castanea 75(4): 407-420.</ref>
 +
''G. lasianthus'' was found to increase its presence in response to soil disturbance by heavy silvilculture in North Carolina. It has shown regrowth in reestablished longleaf pine habitats that were disturbed by these practices.<ref>Cohen, S., R. Braham, and F. Sanchez. (2004). Seed Bank Viability in Disturbed Longleaf Pine Sites. Restoration Ecology 12(4):503-515.</ref> However, it does not respond to soil disturbance by clearcutting and chopping in North Florida flatwoods forests.<ref>Moore, W.H., B.F. Swindel, and W.S. Terry. (1982). Vegetative Response to Clearcutting and Chopping in a North Florida Flatwoods Forest. Journal of Range Management 35(2):214-218.</ref>
 +
 
 +
Associated species include ''Stewartia, Illicium, Ilex opaca, Ilex glabra, Persea borbonia, Magnolia glauca, Rhus vernix, Clethra, Cliftonia, Nyssa sylvatica, Cyrilla racemiflora, Pinus elliottii, Quercus nigra, Liquidambar, Magnolia virginiana, Oxydendron, Illicium floridanum, Myrica cerifera, Liriodendron, Pickneya, Rhododendron viscosum, Lyonia lucida, Serenoa, Osmunda, Sphagnum'', and ''Lycopodium''. <ref name="FSU Herbarium"/>
  
Loblolly bay is rarely observed to occur in pure stands (Gresham and Lipscomb 1985), but has been observed to be the dominate canopy in some Carolina bays (Dimick et al. 2010).
+
''Gordonia lasianthus'' is an indicator species for the North Florida Wet Flatwoods community type as described in Carr et al. (2010).<ref>Carr, S.C., K.M. Robertson, and R.K. Peet. 2010. A vegetation classification of fire-dependent pinelands of Florida. Castanea 75:153-189.</ref>
  
 
===Phenology=== <!--Timing off flowering, fruiting, seed dispersal, and environmental triggers.  Cite PanFlora website if appropriate: http://www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ -->
 
===Phenology=== <!--Timing off flowering, fruiting, seed dispersal, and environmental triggers.  Cite PanFlora website if appropriate: http://www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ -->
The large, white fragrant flowers can be found flowering May through July (FSU Herbarium). The fruit is a hard, woody, five-valved capsule about 0.6 inches long; four to eight flat, winged seeds can be found in each valve <ref name="fs"/>.
+
The large, white fragrant flowers can be found flowering May through August with peak inflorescence in June and July.<ref name="FSU Herbarium"/> The fruit is a hard, woody, five-valved capsule about 0.6 inches long; four to eight flat, winged seeds can be found in each valve.<ref name="FSU Herbarium"/><ref>Nelson, G. [http://www.gilnelson.com/ PanFlora]: Plant data for the eastern United States with emphasis on the Southeastern Coastal Plains, Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/  Accessed: 12 DEC 2016</ref>
  
 
===Seed dispersal===
 
===Seed dispersal===
The majority of seeds fall with in a radius three times the height of the parent tree. Wind shakes the seeds out of the capsules; and the empty capsules will remain attached to the parent tree until peduncle and capsule abscission<ref name="fs"/>.
+
The majority of seeds fall with in a radius three times the height of the parent tree. Wind shakes the seeds out of the capsules; and the empty capsules will remain attached to the parent tree until peduncle and capsule abscission.<ref name="fs"/>
  
 
===Seed bank and germination===
 
===Seed bank and germination===
Germination of loblolly bay is epigeal and most seedlings do not live past the first growing season <ref name="fs"/>.
+
Germination of loblolly bay is epigeal and most seedlings do not live past the first growing season.<ref name="fs"/>
  
 
===Fire ecology=== <!--Fire tolerance, fire dependence, adaptive fire responses-->
 
===Fire ecology=== <!--Fire tolerance, fire dependence, adaptive fire responses-->
''Gordonia lasianthus'' usually occurs in areas that do not experience a lot of fire, such as bayheads . Swamps dominated by pondcypress can develop into bays dominated by ''G. lasianthus'' when fire is suppressed and there is an accumulation of organic matter. Organic matter accumulates in unburned areas, providing a desirable habitat for ''G. lasianthus'' to germinate and grow (Casey and Ewel 2006).  
+
''Gordonia lasianthus'' usually occurs in areas that do not experience a lot of fire, such as bayheads . Swamps dominated by pondcypress can develop into bays dominated by ''G. lasianthus'' when fire is suppressed and there is an accumulation of organic matter. Organic matter accumulates in unburned areas, providing a desirable habitat for ''G. lasianthus'' to germinate and grow. <ref name="Casey and Ewel 2006">Casey, W. P. and K. C. Ewel (2006). "Patterns of succession in forested depressional wetlands in north Florida, USA." Wetlands 26(1): 147-160</ref>
  
Following a disturbance, such as fire, ''G. lasianthus'' is a sprouter, recovering vegetatively from roots or stems. Sprouters invest more energy into below ground structures and produce fewer seeds, and are favored in systems with severe and frequent disturbance. ''G. lasianthus'' occurs commonly in bayheads, which have one of the lowest fire frequency of any forested wetland in Florida, but due to the deep organic soil, it can ignite during the dry season. The thin bark of ''G. lasianthus'' does not provide much insulation from smoldering heat, causing a low survival rate in bayhead interiors, where there is a lot of smoldering post-fire. ''G. lasianthus'' has the highest survival rate near bayhead edges, where char heights are the greatest, causing ''G. lasianthus'' to basally resprout (Matlaga et al. 2010). Severe disturbance promotes basal sprouting and mild disturbance promotes sprouting in the tree crown (Bond and Midgley 2001).
+
Following a disturbance, such as fire, ''G. lasianthus'' is a sprouter, recovering vegetatively from roots or stems. Sprouters invest more energy into below ground structures and produce fewer seeds, and are favored in systems with severe and frequent disturbance. ''G. lasianthus'' occurs commonly in bayheads, which have one of the lowest fire frequency of any forested wetland in Florida, but due to the deep organic soil, it can ignite during the dry season. The thin bark of ''G. lasianthus'' does not provide much insulation from smoldering heat, causing a low survival rate in bayhead interiors, where there is a lot of smoldering post-fire. ''G. lasianthus'' has the highest survival rate near bayhead edges, where char heights are the greatest, causing ''G. lasianthus'' to basally resprout. <ref name="Matlaga et al. 2010">Matlaga, D. P., P. F. Quintana-Ascencio, et al. (2010). "Fire mediated edge effects in bayhead tree islands." Journal of Vegetation Science 21(1): 190-200.</ref> Severe disturbance promotes basal sprouting and mild disturbance promotes sprouting in the tree crown (Bond and Midgley 2001).
  
 
Seedlings have been observed in plowed fire lines around a site that received a winter burn, but none were observed within the burned area (Gresham and Lipscomb 1985).
 
Seedlings have been observed in plowed fire lines around a site that received a winter burn, but none were observed within the burned area (Gresham and Lipscomb 1985).
  
 
===Pollination===
 
===Pollination===
Flowers are pollinated by bees, flies and hummingbirds <ref name="fs"/>.
+
Flowers are pollinated by bees, flies and hummingbirds.<ref name="fs"/> The plant bug ''Orthotylus kanakanus'' (family Miridae) has been observed on ''G. lasianthus'',<ref>Discoverlife.org [https://www.discoverlife.org/20/q?search=Bidens+albaDiscoverlife.org|Discoverlife.org]</ref> and various pollinator species were observed at the Archbold Biological Station to visit its flowers. These pollinators include thread-waisted wasps from the Sphecidae family (''Ectemnius rufipes ais'') and wasps from the Vespidae family (''Pachodynerus erynnis'' and ''Polistes dorsalis hunteri'').<ref name="Deyrup 2015">Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.</ref> Deer eat the foliage.<ref name="wildflower"/>
  
The following Hymenoptera families and species were observed visiting flowers of ''Gordonia lasianthus'' at Archbold Biological Station (Deyrup 2015):
+
<!--===Herbivory and toxicology===-->
  
Sphecidae:  ''Ectemnius rufipes ais''
+
===Diseases and parasites===
 
+
''G. lasianthus'', ''M. virginiana'' and ''Persea borbonia'' can be found growing together in bayheads and Carolina Bays. Laurel wilt disease is a fungal disease transmitted by ''Xyleborus glabratus'', a non-native beetle, that causes ''Persea borbonia'' to die. With the death of ''Persea borbonia'' there is an increase in open canopy gaps, which ''G. lasianthus'' and ''M. virginiana'' encroach and cause an alteration of the community composition and structure. More seedlings of ''G. lasianthus'' have been observed at these sites, suggesting that it will become the most dominant species over time. <ref name="Spiegel and Leege 2013">Spiegel, K. S. and L. M. Leege (2013). "Impacts of laurel wilt disease on redbay (Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng.) population structure and forest communities in the coastal plain of Georgia, USA." Biological Invasions 15(11): 2467-2487.</ref> It has been observed that ''G. lasianthus'' is not effected by laurel wilt disease. <ref name="Mayfield and Hanula 2012">Mayfield, A. E. and J. L. Hanula (2012). "Effect of Tree Species and End Seal on Attractiveness and Utility of Cut Bolts to the Redbay Ambrosia Beetle and Granulate Ambrosia Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)." Journal of Economic Entomology 105(2): 461-470.</ref>
Vespidae: ''Pachodynerus erynnis, Polistes dorsalis hunteri''
 
  
===Use by animals=== <!--Herbivory, granivory, insect hosting, etc.-->
+
Root rot can be a problem for this species when young.<ref name="wildflower"/>
Deer eat the foliage<ref name="wildflower"/>.
 
  
===Diseases and parasites===
+
==Conservation, cultivation, and restoration==
''G. lasianthus'', ''M. virginiana'' and ''Persea borbonia'' can be found growing together in bayheads and Carolina Bays. Laurel wilt disease is a fungal disease transmitted by ''Xyleborus glabratus'', a non-native beetle, that causes ''Persea borbonia'' to die. With the death of ''Persea borbonia'' there is an increase in open canopy gaps, which ''G. lasianthus'' and ''M. virginiana'' encroach and cause an alteration of the community composition and structure. More seedlings of ''G. lasianthus'' have been observed at these sites, suggesting that it will become the most dominant species over time (Spiegel and Leege 2013). It has been observed that ''G. lasianthus'' is not effected by laurel wilt disease (Mayfield and Hanula 2012).
 
  
Root rot can be a problem for this species when young<ref name="wildflower"/>.
+
==Cultural use==
<!--==Conservation and Management==-->
 
<!--==Cultivation and restoration==-->
 
 
==Photo Gallery==
 
==Photo Gallery==
 
<gallery widths=180px>
 
<gallery widths=180px>
 
</gallery>
 
</gallery>
 +
==References and notes==
  
==References and notes==
 
Casey, W. P. and K. C. Ewel (2006). "Patterns of succession in forested depressional wetlands in north Florida, USA." Wetlands 26(1): 147-160
 
  
 
Cypert, Eugene. 1973. Plant succession on burned areas in Okefenokee Swamp following the fires of 1954 and 1955. In: Proceedings, annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1972 June 8-9; Lubbock, TX. Number 12. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 199-217.  
 
Cypert, Eugene. 1973. Plant succession on burned areas in Okefenokee Swamp following the fires of 1954 and 1955. In: Proceedings, annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1972 June 8-9; Lubbock, TX. Number 12. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 199-217.  
 
Deyrup, M.A. and N.D. 2015. Database of observations of Hymenoptera visitations to flowers of plants on Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA.
 
 
Dimick, B. P., J. M. Stucky, et al. (2010). "Plant-Soil-Hydrology Relationships in Three Carolina Bays in Bladen County, North Carolina." Castanea 75(4): 407-420.
 
 
Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: [http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu]. Last accessed: October 2015. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Sarah Baxter, James R. Burkhaulter, N.H. Chevalier, Andre F. Clewell, H.S. Conard, H.A. Davis, Wayne R. Faircloth, A. Gholson Jr., R.K. Godfrey, D.W. Hall, Don Harrison, E.A. Hebb, R. Kral, O. Lakela, S.W. Leonard, Hui Lin Li, T. Myint, J.B. Nelson, Jackie Patman, James D. Ray Jr., C. Rhinehart, P.L. Redfearn Jr., Grady W. Reinert, Cecil R. Slaughter, A.G. Shuey, R.R. Smith, E. Tyson, D.B. Ward, Jean W. Wooten. States and Counties: Florida: Alachua, Baker, Bay, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Hamilton, Hardee, Highlands, Hillsborough, Jefferson, Lake, Leon, Liberty, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Nassau, Okaloosa, Orange, Polk, Putnam, Seminole, Taylor, Volusia, Wakulla, Walton. Georgia: Clarke, Grady. Pennsylvania: Phillidelphia. South Carolina: Pickens. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.
 
 
Gresham, Charles A., and Donald J. Lipscomb. “Selected Ecological Characteristics of Gordonia Lasianthus in Coastal South Carolina”. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 112.1 (1985): 53–58.
 
  
 
George B. Landman, and Eric S. Menges. “Dynamics of Woody Bayhead Invasion into Seasonal Ponds in South Central Florida”.  
 
George B. Landman, and Eric S. Menges. “Dynamics of Woody Bayhead Invasion into Seasonal Ponds in South Central Florida”.  
Castanea 64.2 (1999): 130–137.
+
Castanea 64.2 (1999): 130–137.
 
 
Matlaga, D. P., P. F. Quintana-Ascencio, et al. (2010). "Fire mediated edge effects in bayhead tree islands." Journal of Vegetation Science 21(1): 190-200.
 
 
 
Mayfield, A. E. and J. L. Hanula (2012). "Effect of Tree Species and End Seal on Attractiveness and Utility of Cut Bolts to the Redbay Ambrosia Beetle and Granulate Ambrosia Beetle (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)." Journal of Economic Entomology 105(2): 461-470.
 
 
 
Spiegel, K. S. and L. M. Leege (2013). "Impacts of laurel wilt disease on redbay (Persea borbonia (L.) Spreng.) population structure and forest communities in the coastal plain of Georgia, USA." Biological Invasions 15(11): 2467-2487.
 

Latest revision as of 16:11, 30 June 2022

Gordonia lasianthus
FL 4002.jpg
Photo taken by Gil Nelson
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Order: Theales
Family: Theaceae
Genus: Gordonia
Species: G. lasianthus
Binomial name
Gordonia lasianthus
(L.) Ellis
Gord lasi dist.jpg
Natural range of Gordonia lasianthus from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: Loblolly bay

Taxonomic notes

Synonyms: none.[1]

Varieties: none.[1]

Description

A description of Gordonia lasianthus is provided in The Flora of North America.

Loblolly bay is a perennial, evergreen tree with large, white, fragrant, cup-shaped flowers. The leaves are leathery, entire, oblong and oblanceolate and will turn scarlet in the fall.[2][3] It often grows with sweet bay, (Magnolia virginiana) and is easily distinguishable by having a light green underside while sweet bay has a white underside.[4]

Distribution

This southeast endemic is found in hydric habitats throughout the Coastal Plain. Its range extends from northeast North Carolina to southern peninsular Florida and west to southern Mississippi.[1]

Ecology

Habitat

Gordonia lasianthus has been found along margins of titi swamps, densely wooded hammocks, swampy depressions, cypress domes, an ecotone between a titi-sweet bay swamp and a pond pine flatwood, ravine bottoms, shrub bogs, wet pine flatwoods, mesic steepheads, pocosins, bayheads, and bald cypress/mixed hardwoods swamps. Seedlings have been observed to require significant site disturbance exposing mineral soil, to become established. [5] It has been found to occur in disturbed areas such as cut-over pinewoods and powerline corridors. [6] Grows in acidic, swampy soils, with an accumulation of organic matter. Soil types include Spodosols, Inceptisols, Ultisols, and Histosols[7] and has been observed to grow in loamy sand. [6] Loblolly bay is rarely observed to occur in pure stands (Gresham and Lipscomb 1985), but has been observed to be the dominate canopy in some Carolina bays. [8] G. lasianthus was found to increase its presence in response to soil disturbance by heavy silvilculture in North Carolina. It has shown regrowth in reestablished longleaf pine habitats that were disturbed by these practices.[9] However, it does not respond to soil disturbance by clearcutting and chopping in North Florida flatwoods forests.[10]

Associated species include Stewartia, Illicium, Ilex opaca, Ilex glabra, Persea borbonia, Magnolia glauca, Rhus vernix, Clethra, Cliftonia, Nyssa sylvatica, Cyrilla racemiflora, Pinus elliottii, Quercus nigra, Liquidambar, Magnolia virginiana, Oxydendron, Illicium floridanum, Myrica cerifera, Liriodendron, Pickneya, Rhododendron viscosum, Lyonia lucida, Serenoa, Osmunda, Sphagnum, and Lycopodium. [6]

Gordonia lasianthus is an indicator species for the North Florida Wet Flatwoods community type as described in Carr et al. (2010).[11]

Phenology

The large, white fragrant flowers can be found flowering May through August with peak inflorescence in June and July.[6] The fruit is a hard, woody, five-valved capsule about 0.6 inches long; four to eight flat, winged seeds can be found in each valve.[6][12]

Seed dispersal

The majority of seeds fall with in a radius three times the height of the parent tree. Wind shakes the seeds out of the capsules; and the empty capsules will remain attached to the parent tree until peduncle and capsule abscission.[7]

Seed bank and germination

Germination of loblolly bay is epigeal and most seedlings do not live past the first growing season.[7]

Fire ecology

Gordonia lasianthus usually occurs in areas that do not experience a lot of fire, such as bayheads . Swamps dominated by pondcypress can develop into bays dominated by G. lasianthus when fire is suppressed and there is an accumulation of organic matter. Organic matter accumulates in unburned areas, providing a desirable habitat for G. lasianthus to germinate and grow. [13]

Following a disturbance, such as fire, G. lasianthus is a sprouter, recovering vegetatively from roots or stems. Sprouters invest more energy into below ground structures and produce fewer seeds, and are favored in systems with severe and frequent disturbance. G. lasianthus occurs commonly in bayheads, which have one of the lowest fire frequency of any forested wetland in Florida, but due to the deep organic soil, it can ignite during the dry season. The thin bark of G. lasianthus does not provide much insulation from smoldering heat, causing a low survival rate in bayhead interiors, where there is a lot of smoldering post-fire. G. lasianthus has the highest survival rate near bayhead edges, where char heights are the greatest, causing G. lasianthus to basally resprout. [14] Severe disturbance promotes basal sprouting and mild disturbance promotes sprouting in the tree crown (Bond and Midgley 2001).

Seedlings have been observed in plowed fire lines around a site that received a winter burn, but none were observed within the burned area (Gresham and Lipscomb 1985).

Pollination

Flowers are pollinated by bees, flies and hummingbirds.[7] The plant bug Orthotylus kanakanus (family Miridae) has been observed on G. lasianthus,[15] and various pollinator species were observed at the Archbold Biological Station to visit its flowers. These pollinators include thread-waisted wasps from the Sphecidae family (Ectemnius rufipes ais) and wasps from the Vespidae family (Pachodynerus erynnis and Polistes dorsalis hunteri).[16] Deer eat the foliage.[2]


Diseases and parasites

G. lasianthus, M. virginiana and Persea borbonia can be found growing together in bayheads and Carolina Bays. Laurel wilt disease is a fungal disease transmitted by Xyleborus glabratus, a non-native beetle, that causes Persea borbonia to die. With the death of Persea borbonia there is an increase in open canopy gaps, which G. lasianthus and M. virginiana encroach and cause an alteration of the community composition and structure. More seedlings of G. lasianthus have been observed at these sites, suggesting that it will become the most dominant species over time. [17] It has been observed that G. lasianthus is not effected by laurel wilt disease. [18]

Root rot can be a problem for this species when young.[2]

Conservation, cultivation, and restoration

Cultural use

Photo Gallery

References and notes

Cypert, Eugene. 1973. Plant succession on burned areas in Okefenokee Swamp following the fires of 1954 and 1955. In: Proceedings, annual Tall Timbers fire ecology conference; 1972 June 8-9; Lubbock, TX. Number 12. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 199-217.

George B. Landman, and Eric S. Menges. “Dynamics of Woody Bayhead Invasion into Seasonal Ponds in South Central Florida”.

Castanea 64.2 (1999): 130–137.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-atlantic states. Working Draft of 21 May 2015. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
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