We examined the vascular flora of the Wachusett Mountain area in the towns of Princeton and Westminster, Massachusetts. The study area comprised the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation, Minns Wildlife Sanctuary, and a small municipal inholding, together covering 1275 ha. The summit of Wachusett Mountain, at 611 m, is the highest elevation east of the Berkshire Mountains in southern New England, and the site includes approximately 100 ha of old-growth forest and an active ski area. Using convenient physiographic features, we defined 34 sampling units in which we recorded all observed vascular plant species. Fieldwork took place during the 2019–2023 field seasons, with visits to each unit conducted systematically over the growing season. We also recorded information from more than 500 herbarium specimens previously collected from the mountain. In total, 861 species have been recorded from the mountain, of which 30% are nonnative. The total includes 10 state-listed and 18 watch-list species, an unusual concentration of rare species for central Massachusetts. Thirty-one species with historical records were not relocated by us. Numerous species show patterns of distribution related to elevation or slope/aspect, but most of these appear to reflect correlated variables, such as the presence of wetlands at lower elevations and the presence of ski trails on the north side of the mountain. Species indicative of site richness are heavily concentrated on the mountain's southern slopes, which we attribute to a combination of bedrock geology, glacial plucking, and colluvial processes. The ski trails support several dozen species not found elsewhere on the mountain, including three state-listed species.

Erythronium americanum (trout lily) is a common spring ephemeral in the deciduous forests of the northeastern United States. Toward the end of its growing season in late spring, senescing corms produce a dropper (modified rhizome) to reposition one or more new corms within the soil profile. These droppers usually place the new corms deeper in the soil than the senescing corm, but occasionally and near hiking trails, the dropper goes aboveground. This study addressed the cause of this aboveground pattern. When corms were grown experimentally in compacted soil and drought conditions, only the compacted soil resulted in shallower droppers than the control. In a descriptive field study, aboveground droppers were significantly more common near trails where soil was more compacted than away from the trail. The results of this study suggest that soil compaction associated with hiking trails causes droppers to be shallower than away from the trail. This pattern may reduce survivorship and asexual reproduction in populations of E. americanum near hiking trails.

A flora of the vascular plants of the Greater Mount Holyoke Range (GMHR) in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, was published in 2008. Brief, informal updates have been issued since then, but with the continued discovery of additional species, the impetus for a comprehensive update became apparent. This article reports all known changes since 2008 and discusses some of the factors contributing to these changes. The update added a net of 51 taxa to the current flora, including three new state-listed species, a county record, a species listed as historic in Massachusetts, and two taxa known from specimens but not found in the original survey. Five historical records were found. The updates came from new field collections, observations, redetermination of existing specimens, and historical records discovered subsequent to the 2008 flora. The current flora is now 878 taxa, of which 19% are considered nonnative or otherwise introduced to the GMHR. The combined current and historical flora is 918 taxa.