Solidago albopilosa

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Solidago albopilosa

Imperiled  (NatureServe)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Solidago
Species:
S. albopilosa
Binomial name
Solidago albopilosa
E.L.Braun

Solidago albopilosa is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name whitehair goldenrod.[2] It is a perennial herb that is endemic to the state of Kentucky in the southeastern United States. It is threatened by recreational activities in its habitat and is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.

Distribution and habitat

This plant species is only found in

Eastern Kentucky, in a single river canyon, the Red River Gorge. It grows there within the Daniel Boone National Forest, in Menifee, Powell, and Wolfe Counties.[3] There it is limited to rock shelters, open caves with overhanging rock formations.[1] It grows on sandy soil that has accumulated on the sandstone
floors of the rock shelters. It grows behind the drip line, out of direct sunlight but not in the darkest shadows of the caves.

Description

Solidago albopilosa is a perennial herb producing one or more erect stems from a woody caudex.[4] It grows 30 to 50 centimeters (12 to 20 inches) tall but it can reach 1 meter (39 inches) in height. It is covered in white hairs.[1]

The leaves have

oval or spatula-shaped serrated blades up to 8 or 9 centimeters (3.1 or 3.5 inches) long by 4 or 5 cm (1.5 or 2 in) wide, becoming smaller toward the end of the stem. The leaf blades are "so thin that coarse print is readable through [them]."[5]

The

pappus.[4] Blooming occurs in September through November.[1]

Ecology

Other plants in this type of habitat and the surrounding forest include

Indian cucumber-root (Medeola virginiana), Nepalese browntop (Microstegium vimineum), partridge berry (Mitchella repens), clearweed (Pilea pumila), Christmas fern (Polystichum acrostichoides), great rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum), poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), and maple-leaf viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium).[3] Roundleaf catchfly (Silene rotundifolia), and littleflower alumroot (Heuchera parviflora) are common associates.[6]

Conservation

Conservation activities include the installation of small fences around the plants and the redirection of trails through less sensitive habitat.[3]

The main threat to this species is damage to its habitat during recreational activities in this section of the

garlic mustard, and dig in the soil for archaeological artifacts. Logging opens the forest and increases light levels, decreases water, and increases the invasion of introduced species of plants, posing a further threat to the species.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Solidago albopilosa. The Nature Conservancy.
  2. ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Solidago albopilosa". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 18 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b c d Solidago albopilosa. Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
  4. ^ a b Solidago albopilosa. Flora of North America.
  5. ^ Braun, E.L. 1942. A new species and a new variety of Solidago from Kentucky. Rhodora. 44: 1-4. IN: Solidago albopilosa. Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
  6. ^ White, D. L. and N. C. Drozda. (2006). Status of Solidago albopilosa Braun (White-Haired Goldenrod) (Asteraceae), a Kentucky Endemic. Castanea 71:2 124.

External links

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