2Department of Biological Sciences Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, IL

Lesquerella ludoviciana (Nutt.) S. Wats. (silvery bladderpod) is an endangered, sand prairie plant in Illinois, where its only known habitat is the Henry Allen Gleason Nature Preserve. Three colonies are found within the preserve: North Bowl – upper, North Bowl – lower, and South Bowl. Objectives were to compare seed production and germination in these colonies. Stages of plant development (seedlings, vegetative, and reproductive), flower stalks, flowers, and fruits were counted in each colony on May 4, June 1, June 16, and July 16, 2000. Seed was collected from each colony on June 1 and 16, 2000. On June 1, seed was divided into early (lower portion of the flower stalk) and late (upper portion of the flower stalk) flowering groups. On June 16, only seed of the late flowering group remained on plants. Thus, three seed lots of differing maturity were tested. Seeds were germinated in Petri dishes at 25ºC in continuous light, and counted every two to three days. Seed production was estimated using reproductive plant density, fruit numbers, and seeds per fruit. The three colonies varied greatly in seed production. The North Bowl – lower produced ten times more seed than the South Bowl, and sixty times more seed than the North Bowl – upper. Differences in seed production in each colony are due to many factors including: area (South Bowl – 270 m², North Bowl, upper – 1,025 m², North Bowl, lower – 3,248 m²), density of reproductive plants (South Bowl – 1.4 plants/m², North Bowl, upper – 0.1 plants/m², North Bowl, lower – 1.1 plants/m²), and presence of other plant species. Overall, germination percentages ranged from 20% to 66%. No colony differences in germination were observed. For each seed lot, a different colony exhibited better germination. Thus, no differences in germination were found due to colony but the seed production differed greatly between the colonies.

Lesquerella ludoviciana (silvery bladderpod) is a native plant that is endangered in Illinois. Other than descriptive information, habitat location, and reports of its existence, little is known about Lesquerella ludoviciana at the eastern edge of its range (Herkert, 1991). At present, the only place that it naturally occurs Illinois is in a sand prairie on the Henry Allen Gleason Nature Preserve in Mason County.

	Henry Allen Gleason Nature Preserve in Mason County
	A Lesquerella plant in its native habitat
	A Lesquerella plant in flower.

Three colonies of Lesquerella ludoviciana exist in the Nature Preserve with visible differences between them (Ebinger, 1999, Unpublished). One area (North Bowl, lower colony) is sparsely populated by plants with silvery bladderpod being the predominant species. In 1999, its area was 2,050 m² containing approximately 10,300 silvery bladderpod plants. The second area (South Bowl) had a few other species, was smaller (272 m²), and contained approximately 900 silvery bladderpod plants. The third area (North Bowl, upper colony) had many other plant species. It was 660 m² with approximately 220 silvery bladderpod plants (Coons, et al., 2000). The relative amount of open sand also varied with open sand decreasing as the number of plant species increased.

	North Bowl Lower Colony
	North Bowl - Lower Colony, note quadrats by orange flag.

In 1999, seeds were collected from only the North Bowl, lower colony. Vigor of harvested seed varied for seed collected in 1999 when differences were found between the seed collection dates and position on the flower stalk (Coons, et al., 2000). A large difference was found in germination between seeds developed later or earlier on the flower stalk for the first collection date (June 8, 1999), with those from the earlier portion having a higher percentage. This difference was likely due to seed maturity. Percent germination for seeds collected from the later portion of the flower stalk on the second collection date (June 22, 1999) was similar to that of seeds from the earlier portion on the first collection date. Again this response probably relates to seed maturity.

More knowledge of the plant’s reproductive strategy is needed to make sound management decisions to maintain the plant in Illinois. Due to the differences in plant populations between the three colonies, a study to compare the seed production and germination in these three colonies was undertaken.

The ultimate goal is to understand the germination strategy of Lesquerella ludoviciana to improve management decisions for its maintenance in Illinois.  The objectives were to compare the three different colonies of Lesquerella ludoviciana in the Henry Allen Gleason Nature Preserve for:

1) Seed production

2) Germination

Lesquerella ludoviciana is found in three colonies at the Henry Allen Gleason Nature Preserve in Illinois. In 2000, four trips were taken to the colonies. These trips occurred on May 4, June 1, June 16, and July 16, 2000. During all four trips, counts were taken of the number of seedlings (six leaves or less), vegetative, and reproductive plants present in each colony. The counts were taken using 0.25 m² quadrats, every meter for 45 m. The number of flower stalks, flowers, and fruits present on fifty plants from each colony also were noted. Seed was collected on June 1 and June 16, 2000. On June 1, seed was divided into early (lower portion of the flower stalk) and late (upper portion of the flower stalk) flowering groups. On June 16, only seed of the late flowering group remained on plants. This created three seed lots of different maturity. Seeds were stored at 4.5ºC and 40-50% relative humidity until germination was tested in October through November 2000.

Two sheets of filter paper (Whatman #1) were placed in a plastic Petri dish (10 x 1.5 cm) with 5 ml deionized water. The dishes then were sealed with Parafilm. Thirty seeds from each group (i.e. colony and seed maturity) were used. All seeds were dusted with Thiram (50% active ingredient, Tetramethylthiuram disulfide) for fungal control. Ten seeds from each group were placed in each dish, with three dishes (replications) per group. These dishes then were placed randomly in a plastic container (Rubbermaid, 41 x 28.5 x 17.5 cm) and placed in a controlled plant culture room at 25º C with 4.5 mmoles/m²/sec of light. Germinated seeds were counted with a seed considered germinated if the radicle was evident.

Data were analyzed using analysis of variance. The CoStat program was used for statistics, and to determine means and standard deviations of each seed group.

Graph 1	Graph 2	Graph 3
Overall germination was similar for all three locations (Graph 1, 2 and 3) with some variability among seed lots.

SUMMARY

North Bowl - Lower Colony produced approximately ten times more seed than the South Bowl and approximately sixty times more seed than the North Bowl - Upper Colony.  Differences in seed production in each colony are due to factors such as number of reproductive plants and number of fruits per plant.  No colony differences in germination were observed.

Coons, J.M., H.R. Owen, J.L. Franklin, and J.E. Ebinger. 2000. Reproductive potential of silvery bladderpod (Lesquerella ludoviciana). American Journal of Botany. 87(6): 41.

Ebinger, J., and W. McClain. 1999. Lesquerella. Unpublished.

Herkert, J.R. (ed.) 1991. Endangered and Threatened Species of Illinois: Status and Distribution, Volume 1-Plants. Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board, Springfield, Illinois. 158 p.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Environmental Council Special Undergraduate Research Experience Program

Jonathan Baldwin Turner Undergraduate Research Scholarship Program

Eastern Illinois University Council for Faculty Research

Illinois Department of Natural Resources