The vascular flora of cedar glades of the southeastern United States and its phytogeographical relationships

In the southeastern United States, true open cedar glades, i.e., the type first described in the Central (Nashville) Basin of Tennessee, occur in nine physiographic regions in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia. Our compiled-checklist of vascular plants of these glades includes 448 native and 96 nonnative taxa. The largest families are the Asteraceae and Poaceae, and the largest genera are Carex, Hypericum, and Panicum. The most distinct floristic element of the southeastern glades is the 21 endemic/near-endemic taxa, but the species with centers of distribution north and west of the glade region (including several disjuncts) also contribute to the uniqueness of the flora. However, the majority of native taxa occur in a variety of habitats throughout eastern/southeastern North America.