Floristic Records in the Platte and Loup River Bottomlands of Platte County, Nebraska

A recent inventory of vascular plants in the Loup and Platte riverbottoms in Platte County has greatly increased knowledge of the area\u27s flora. Of the 542 species of vascular plants now known to grow in the county, 289 were discovered after 1977, with more than 100 of those after 1990. 425 native and 117 naturalized species are known so far. Nearly 700 native and naturalized alien species are expected to occur in the county, based upon totals from nearby counties. Thus, almost 150 years after European settlement, more than 20% of the species remain unverified; of those, many are undoubtedly nonnative. The riverbottoms of the county have the bestpreserved native flora and are today much richer in species than the uplands, which are more heavily impacted by agricultur