Echinacea laevigata
Smooth purple coneflower | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Asterids |
Order: | Asterales |
Family: | Asteraceae |
Genus: | Echinacea |
Species: | E. laevigata
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Binomial name | |
Echinacea laevigata (
Beadle) Blake 1929 | |
Synonyms[5] | |
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Echinacea laevigata, the smooth purple coneflower, is a federally listed threatened species[3] of plant found in the Piedmont of the eastern United States. Most populations are found on roadsides and other open areas with plenty of sunlight, often on calcium- and magnesium- rich soils.
Description
Echinacea laevigata is a
Habitat
The natural habitat for Echinacea laevigata is sunny openings in forested habitat. Open areas of this kind were made by wildfire, fires set by Native Americans,[1] and the grazing activity of animals.[6] The plant's preferred soils are rich in calcium and magnesium, and include limestone and marble, gabbro, and diabase.[3] Plants that share the habitat included eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) and rattlesnake master (Eryngium yuccifolium). There are several species of oak, but these are stunted allowing sunlight to reach the understory.[7] When human impacts began to reduce the amount of forest habitat remaining in the region, the plant survived in other open, sunny habitat types, such as cedar barrens, clearcuts, roadsides, cleared areas around utility equipment, and limestone bluffs. Two-thirds of the populations known since the plant was first discovered are now gone.[1]
The plant is
Distribution
Its current range is within the states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, and it was historically also found in Pennsylvania and Maryland. It has been rare as long as it has been known, but a number of human activities and associated processes have reduced its range further.[6] Today there are about 100 occurrences, and many of these are in poor condition.[1] The amount of appropriate habitat available for this plant has been greatly reduced and it continues to decline.[6]
Conservation
Continuing threats to Echinacea laevigata include further destruction and degradation of the land, collecting of the plant by flora enthusiasts,
Populations of Echinacea laevigata were lost when the habitat was destroyed, or when it was degraded as natural processes of disturbance were prevented. The plant requires open habitat where it can receive sunlight. When fire suppression is practiced, the habitat becomes overgrown, and the open areas close; this has led to the extirpation of several historical populations.[3] Habitat has also been destroyed outright during development, agricultural operations, road construction, and installation of utilities such as gas lines.[3]
Conservation efforts underway include research on the most effective method of restoring the natural cycle of disturbance to the land, for example, by initiating controlled burns.[6][9]
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reclassified the listing for Echinacea laevigata in 2022 under the Endangered Species Act to threatened.[4] This means it has made a significant recovery since 1992, when it was declared in danger of extinction.[10]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g NatureServe (2 June 2023). "Echinacea laevigata". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ "Smooth coneflower (Echinacea laevigata)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h USFWS (8 October 1992). "Echinacea laevigata (Smooth Coneflower) Determined To Be Endangered". Federal Register. 57 (196): 46340–46344. 57 FR 46340
- ^ a b USFWS (6 July 2022). "Reclassification of Smooth Coneflower From Endangered to Threatened With a Section 4(d) Rule". Federal Register. 87 (128): 40100–40115. 87 FR 40100
- ^ The Plant List, Echinacea laevigata (F.E.Boynton & Beadle ex C.L.Boynton & Beadle) S.F.Blake
- ^ a b c d e f Echinacea laevigata. Archived 2010-12-15 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
- ^ a b c USFWS. Smooth Coneflower Recovery Plan. April 1995.
- ^ Gadd, L. E. (2006). Pollination biology of the federally endangered Echinacea laevigata, smooth coneflower, in small, isolated populations. Master's thesis, North Carolina State University. pg 13.
- ^ Echinacea laevigata. Archived 2011-07-22 at the Wayback Machine North Carolina Natural History Program.
- ^ Hammack, Laurence (8 July 2022). "Flower that rerouted Smart Road removed from endangered list". The Roanoke Times. Retrieved 18 June 2023.