The Flora of Mead Island (Wichita, Sedgwick County, Kansas)

A floristic inventory of Mead Island in Wichita, Kansas, is presented. This 1.87 hectare man-made island in the Little Arkansas River consists of non-flooded and seasonally flooded areas. A total of 15 visits over parts of two growing seasons resulted in 109 collections, representing 51 families, 88 genera, and 98 species (species + infraspecific taxa). The flora exhibits relatively high proportions of woody (35%) and non-native plants (26%) and a relatively low average coefficient of conservation value (1.7) for native species. Many dominant and characteristic species of the Floodplain Forest and Savannah vegetation type were observed. Collectively, these observations are indicative of a highly-invaded Arkansas River floodplain forest. Several notable invasive species observed on the island are discussed.