First Flowering Date Trends in Clay County, Minnesota and Pollination and Life History Characteristics of Hoary Puccoon (Lithospermum Canescens)

Abstract

Plant species in Clay County, Minnesota have been changing their first flowering dates (FFDs) in response to climate changes. To document those shifts, in 2011 and 2012 I recorded phenological data for Clay County, Minnesota. I added that data to data which had been collected since 1910 for two locations in Minnesota and found that, on average, plants flowered 1 day later than their historical averages in 2011 and 16.1 days earlier in 2012. I also performed experiments upon Lithospermum canescens, a native prairie forb which has shifted its first flowering date (FFD) significantly earlier than in the past century and which is underrepresented in tallgrass prairie restorations. I found that this species does not appear to be pollen limited, that the concurrently blooming plant species have changed noticeably since the early 1900s, and that this species is able to be grown by hand from seed (the first known attempt).