Distribution of Lactarius in the High-Elevation Forests of the Southern Appalachians

ABSTRACT

The Lactarius flora of the spruce-fir-birch forests of the Southern Appalachians was compared to that expected in boreal forests of northeastern North America. The Lactarius flora of the Appalachian forests exhibits strong affinities to boreal forests but appears to be depleted in species. This depletion is consistent with hypotheses that explain the post-Pleistocene distributions of boreal forests in North America and hypotheses that consider the high-elevation forests of the Southern Appalachians as insular islands.

Key Words:

• biogeography
• Appalachian Mountains
• Lactarius
• Picea rubens
• Abies fraseri