Vascular flora of the remnant Blackland prairies and associated vegetation of Georgia

Blackland prairies are a globally imperiled, rare plant community only recently discovered in central Georgia. A floristic inventory was conducted on six remnant blackland prairie sites within Oaky Woods Wildlife Management Area. The 43 ha site complex yielded 354 taxa in 220 genera and 84 families. Four species new to the state of Georgia were documented. Eight rare species, one candidate for federal listing, and one federally endangered species are reported here as new records for the Oaky Woods WMA vicinity. Twelve plant communities are described. A literature review was performed for six states containing blackland prairie within the Gulf and South Atlantic Coastal Plains of the United States. Geology, soils, and vegetation were compared, and cluster analysis was performed using floristic data to assess similarities.