National Collection of Imperiled Plants

CPC National Collection Plant Profile

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Rebecca Sucher

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Astragalus bibullatus

Family:	Fabaceae
Common Names:	Guthrie's ground-plum, limestone glade milkvetch, Pyne's Ground Plum, Pyne's ground-plum
Author:	Barneby & Bridges
Growth Habit:	Perennial
CPC Number:	8648

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Photographer: Rebecca Sucher

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Photographer: Kimberlie McCue

Astragalus bibullatus is Fully Sponsored

Primary custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered Plants is:

Missouri Botanical Garden

Kimberlie McCue, Ph.D. contributed to this Plant Profile.

Astragalus bibullatus

Pyne's ground-plum is a beautiful legume that is endemic to the Central Basin of Tennessee. First described in 1987, the plant is found only in a cedar glade habitat (Barneby and Bridges 1987). The ground-plum gets its name from the fruits produced in late May to early June. While the lavender flowers are borne on upright stalks, as the fruits develop the stalks bend back towards the ground. The fruits turn a reddish orange color and appear larger than one would expect, given the overall size of the plant.

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

Tennessee

Habitat

Pyne's ground-plum is endemic to the cedar glades of middle Tennessee. All sites are associated with thin-bedded, fossiliferous Lebanon limestone outcroppings that support the unique cedar glade communities found in Tennessee's central basin (USFWS 1991).

Common associates include Juniperus virginiana, Pediomelum subacaule, Hypericum sphaerocarpum, Manfreda virginica, Glandularia canadensis, and Onosmodium molle (USFWS 1991).

Distribution

All known populations of A. bibullatus occur in Rutherford County, Tennessee (USFWS 1991).

Number Left

There are three known wild populations (USFWS 1991).

Protection

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Global Rank:	G1	2/24/2006	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:	LE	9/26/1991	Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	No

State/Area Protection

State/Area	Rank	Status	Date

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

This species has a long-lived seed bank. (Morris et al. 2002)

Threats

� Primary threats include residential or commercial development, possible loss of pollinators, livestock grazing, and encroachment of more competitive vegetation (USFWS 1991).
� Rabbit herbivory and all-terrain vehicles (ATV's) also pose significant threats to this species.

Current Research Summary

� Population genetic studies have determined that populations of the ground plum are very similar (Baskauf and Snapp 1998).
� Workers at Missouri Botanical Garden have been working with this species for a number of years, and have established reliable protocols for propagating A. bibullatus from seed. (McCue et al. 2001)
� Genetic studies using allozymes demonstrated that higher genetic diversity is found in the resident seed bank for this population than in vegetative populations, and determined that seeds in the uppermost layer of the seed bank showed increased inbreeding and decreased relative levels of gene flow. (Morris et al. 2002)

Current Management Summary

Attempts to establish a new population of A. bibullatus began in 2001. Plants grown from wild collected seed were transplanted into secure habitat in Rutherford County during different times of the year. In 2002, plants that had been transplanted in the fall flowered, and the hopes are high that this new population will be self-sustaining. (Plant Conservation 2002)

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation is monitoring all known sites.

Research Management Needs

Management and research needs include locating new populations, understanding reproductive biology and ecology, seedling recruitment, life history traits and habitat requirements.

Ex Situ Needs

Maintain seed collections

References

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Books (Single Authors)

Isely, D. 1990. Vascular flora of the southeastern United States. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. 258p.

Pyne, M.; Gay, M.; Shea, A. 1995. Guide to rare plants - Tennessee Division of Forestry District 5. Nashville: Tennessee Dept. Agriculture, Division of Forestry.

Books (Sections)

Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the U.S., Canada, and Greenland. In: Kartesz, J.T.; Meacham, C.A., editors. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden. Chapel Hill, NC.

Electronic Sources

(2002). New York Botanical Garden--The Virtual Herbarium. [Searchable Web site] New York Botanical Garden. Fordham Road Bronx, New York. http://scisun.nybg.org:8890/searchdb/owa/wwwspecimen.searchform. Accessed: 2002.

Baskauf, C.J. (2002). Research interests: Comparative population genetics and ecophysiology of rare and widespread species. Austin Peay State University--Department of Biology. http://www.apsu.edu/baskaufc/. Accessed: 2002.

USFWS. (1990). Endangered and Threatened Species Accounts. [Web page] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Endangered Species. http://ecos.fws.gov/servlet/TESSSpeciesQuery. Accessed: 2002.

Journal Articles

2002. Biologist reintroduces Pyne's ground plum to Tennessee glade. Plant Conservation: A Publication of the Center for Plant Conservation. 15, 3: 3.

Barneby, R.C.; Bridges, E.L. 1987. A new species of Astragalus (Fabaceae) from Tennessee's Central Basin. Brittonia. 39, 3: 358-363.

Baskauf, C.J.; Snapp, S. 1998. Population genetics of the cedar-glade endemic Astragalus bibullatus (Fabaceae) using isozymes. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 85, 1: 90-96.

McCue, K.A.; Belt, E.; Yurlina, M. 2001. Propagation protocol for Astragalus bibullatus. Native Plants Journal. 2, 2: 131-132.

McCue, K.A.; Shea, A. 2002. Battlefield Harbors a Rare Tennessee Plant. Endangered Species Bulletin. 27, 3: 18-19.

Morris, A.B.; Baucom, R.S.; Cruzan, MB. 2002. Stratified analysis of the soil seed bank in the cedar glade endemic Astragalus bibullatus: evidence for historical changes in genetic structure. American Journal of Botany. 89, 1: 29-36.

USFWS. 1990. Proposed endangered status for the plant Astragalus bibullatus (Guthrie's ground-plum). Federal Register. 55, 196: 41245-41248.

USFWS. 1991. Astragalus bibullatus (Guthrie's ground-plum) determined to be Endangered. Federal Register. 56, 187: 48748-48751.

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This profile was updated on 3/4/2010