In this Issue

Over the last couple of centuries, vast tracts of natural communities have been converted to human use for agriculture, housing, industrial uses, and otherwise. Only in recent decades has a largescale effort been made to reclaim lost habitats by restoration activities, and this journal has published several articles on restoration in recent years. A related, though also important, process is that of re-generation of tree species for commercial harvest. The first article in the current issue is an exploration of the possibility of using mature pine plantations in southern Michigan as a site for the restoration of oaks. This is necessary, because it has proven difficult for oak species to regenerate in existing oak forests, since the process of succession favors the replacement of oaks in natural communities by more shade-tolerant species, as well as the operation of several other factors enumerated in the article. The authors, Christian Tibaudo, an undergraduate student at the time of this study, and David Rothstein, discuss in detail the reasons why mature pine plantations serve as a viable site for oak regeneration, report on their experimental plantings to confirm that these plantations are indeed a viable site for regeneration, and explain how such regeneration efforts can be managed for future success.

The second article in this issue is concerned with restoration efforts, in this case, the effect of latitudinal variation in seed sources for plantings used in restoration sites. Although conventional wisdom is that seeds should be sourced from areas near the restoration site, the authors posit that using more distantly sourced seeds may enhance the ability of the restored community to adapt to future climates and that using a mixture of seeds from various latitudes may enhance the evolutionary potential of the plants in the restoration. The authors, all of them experienced in plant conservation, examine the effect on phenology, pollination, and reproduction of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) in a common garden derived from three seed sources taken from a latitudinal gradient of 750 km in the Midwest and, based on their findings, discuss the advantages of mixed sourcing of seed sources for restoration efforts.

Two Noteworthy Collections articles follow. The first reports a new northward record for Aphyllon riparium (= Orobanche riparia) in Indiana, a species which has only recently been distinguished from the more common A. ludovicianum. The paper distinguishes the two species on both morphological and ecological grounds and also discusses the nomenclatural history and wider distribution of A. riparium. The second reports a moss species new to Wisconsin, Paludella squarrosa, along with a detailed description of the site, including both vascular and bryophyte associated species. The listing of bryophyte species at the site results in the report of 20 new county records for Oconto County.

Finally, Charlotte Gyllenhaal reviews Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer, a book that has garnered much attention in recent years by botanists and others interested in the natural world and that has sparked interest in indigenous approaches to and relationships with the natural world, specifically through stories of several plant species.

——Michael Huft