Journal of the Oklahoma Native Plant Society Volume 13, December 2013


Oklahoma Native Plant Record  3 
Volume 13, December 2013 
 

 

Foreword 
 

This year we have a special Critic’s Choice Essay, “A Cavalcade of Field Botanists in 
Oklahoma” by Ron Tyrl and Paula Shryock. It is a tribute to all those botanists who have 
contributed to the database of native plant species in Oklahoma. Many are native Oklahomans. 
Many have been members of the Oklahoma Native Plant Society. All have been dedicated to 
documenting the state’s botanical diversity. They have been compiling biographical and 
professional information to write this article for us for several years. We are excited to share it 
with you in Volume 13. 

One of those botanists Ron Tyrl writes about is Connie Taylor, author of our historical 
article in this volume. A Professor Emeritus at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, she 
submitted her Master’s thesis to the University of Oklahoma in 1961, based on research done in 
the Water Canyon Complex. It is a taxonomic comparison of the canyons, based on their 
ecology; their geology, microclimate, and habitat. She has revised her thesis and updated her 
species list so that we can make the data globally available. Her figures and detailed descriptions 
of the canyons help the reader picture the landscape and hypothesize about the causes and 
effects of the environmental conditions with which the species interact. Data from this study 
could provide an important building block for long term ecological studies and future research 
in climate change effects. 

While many researchers have reported on the effects of fire, a common environmental factor 
in Oklahoma, Stan Rice and Sonya Ross have been looking at several different effects of fire, 
including the effects of chemicals in smoke on plant establishment after a fire. It is a preliminary 
report that looks at germination rates of Phacelia strictifloria seeds that have been watered with 
smoke-produced chemicals dissolved in water.  

Also in this issue, Amy Buthod, of the Oklahoma Biological Survey and Oklahoma Natural 
Heritage Inventory, provides us with another valuable flora; that of the Oxley Nature Center in 
Mohawk Park in Northwestern Tulsa County. This study has provided voucher specimens for 
Oxley personnel to use in education and outreach, as well as a species list for their use and for 
your enjoyment when you visit there. 

Open access journals published by non-profit or not-for-profit organizations can provide a 
quick way to share data and bring valuable feedback to the author. They are a valid way of 
ensuring conflict of interest is not the issue that it can be when publication is profit driven. 
However, it depends heavily upon authors to review each other’s articles and upon volunteer 
editorial staff to proof-read and format them. Please volunteer to write, review, or serve on the 
editorial board of the Oklahoma Native Plant Record. We need your help to get more of 
Oklahoma’s native plant research out to the world.  

Remember to tell everyone that all volumes of the Record are now available online through 
Oklahoma State University’s Edmon Low Library as an e-journal publication. Our abstracts are 
indexed by the Centre for Agricultural Biosciences International (CABI). The journal is listed in 
the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). It can be accessed globally at 
http://ojs.library.okstate.edu/osu/   

  
Sheila Strawn 
Managing Editor 
 

http://ojs.library.okstate.edu/osu/