Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2020

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Biology

First Advisor

Dr. Gretchen Ionta

Second Advisor

Dr. Christine Mutiti

Third Advisor

Dr. Samuel Mutiti

Abstract

A survey of the vascular plants of Andalusia, a historic preservation site located along Highway 441 north of Milledgeville in Baldwin County, Georgia, was conducted between August 2018 and February 2020. The site was the late home of esteemed author, Flannery O’Connor, and resides along the Georgia fall line, making it a historically significant area that could yield a unique plant community convergence, as well as rare endemic species. This floristic inventory provides baseline data on the species and plant communities of Andalusia for use in future studies regarding the flora of this area. A total of 191 vascular species were collected from the 212 ha (523.9 acre) property. Of these, 123 species are native to North America, and 68 species are exotic. Of the exotic species, 12 are considered invasive. The largest families included Poaceae (23), Asteraceae (20), Rosaceae (16), and Fabaceae (10). The natural areas of Andalusia, that majority of which have seen human disturbance over time, show characteristic species of oak-pine-hickory forest, small stream bottomland, and ruderal fields.

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