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Conserving and restoring
America's native plants |
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CPC National Collection Plant Profile
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Amaranthus pumilus
| Family: |
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth Family) |
| Common Names: |
Seabeach amaranth, Seabeach pigweed |
| Taxon Synonym: |
Amaranthus pumulus |
| Growth
Habit: |
Annual |
| CPC
Number: |
100 |
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| Primary
custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered
Plants is: |
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Amaranthus pumilus
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The Seabeach amaranth is endemic to the Atlantic coastal plain beaches, where it is currently found in Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina. It historically occurred in nine states, but is now extirpated from the states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, Virginia, and Connecticut. (USFWS 1993; Lea 1999) The primary reason for this species decline, and a continual threat to the survival of this species, is shoreline development. (Lea 1999)
This species occurs on barrier island beaches in areas where there is low competition from other vegetation. This plant acts as a "sand binder", with a single large plant capable of creating a mini-dune up to 6 decimeters in height that contains up to 2 to 3 cubic meters of sand! (USFWS 1993)
| Distribution
& Occurrence |
|
State Range
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Maryland
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
South Carolina |
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Habitat
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Overwash flats at accreting ends of coastal islands, lower foredunes, and upper strands of noneroding beaches (landward of the wrackline) (USFWS 1993) |
Distribution
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Maryland, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina (USFWS 1993; Lea 1999) |
Number Left
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At the time of listing, this species was known from 13 populations in NY, 34 populations in NC and 8 populations in SC (USFWS 1993). In 1999, a plant was found in Maryland (Lea 1999) |
State/Area
Protection
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State/Area |
Rank |
Status |
Date |
|
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Connecticut |
SU |
SC |
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Delaware |
SH |
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1/16/1992 |
|
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Maryland |
S1 |
E |
4/30/2001 |
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Massachusetts |
SX |
- H |
6/2/1989 |
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New Jersey |
E |
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9/1/2001 |
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New York |
S2 |
E |
5/1/2002 |
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North Carolina |
S2 |
T |
1/1/2002 |
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Rhode Island |
SH |
FT/SH |
2/22/1990 |
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South Carolina |
S1 |
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5/1/2000 |
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Virginia |
SH |
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10/23/1990 |
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| Conservation,
Ecology & Research |
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Ecological
Relationships
Threats
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• Beach stabilization structures
• Off-road vehicles
• Beach erosion and tidal inundation
• Storm-related erosion, dune movement
• Fragmentation-surviving patches of suitable habitat tend to be too far apart for seeds to travel and recolonize
• Predation by webworms (reducing the length of the reproductive season for the plant)
(USFWS 1993) |
Current Research Summary
Current Management Summary
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The Maryland Department of Agriculture and the University of Kentucky have plans for an experimental restoration of this species in Maryland at the site it was discovered at in 1999. (Lea 1999) |
Research Management Needs
Ex Situ Needs
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| Books (Single Authors)
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| Brown, M.L.; Brown, R.G. 1984. Herbaceous plants of Maryland. Baltimore, MD: Port City Press, Inc. |
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| Gleason, H.A.; Cronquist, A. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Bronx: The New York Botanical Garden. |
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| Gray, A.; Fernald, M.L. 1987. Gray's manual of botany: a handbook of the flowering plants and ferns of the central and northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. Portland, Or.: Dioscorides Press. 1632p. |
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| Radford, A.E.; Ahles, H.E.; Bell, C.R. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press. 1183p. |
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| Small, J.K. 1933. Manual of the southeastern flora. New York, NY: Hafner Publishing Company. 1505p. |
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| Weakley, A.S.; Bucher, M.A. 1992. Status survey of seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus Rafinesque) in North and South Carolina, (after Hurricane Hugo). Asheville, North Carolina: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 178p. |
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| Books (Sections)
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| 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. |
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| Oldfield, M.L. 1984. The Genetic Improvement of Amaranth. The Value of Conserving Genetic Resources. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Washington, D.C. p 51-53. |
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| Journal Articles
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| Baskin, J.M; Baskin, C.C. 1998. Scientific Note: Seed Dormancy and Germination in the Rare Plant Species Amaranthus pumilus. Castanea. 63, 4: 493. |
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| Lamont, E.E.; Fitzgerald, J.M. 2000. Noteworthy plants reported from the Torrey Range - 2000. Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society. 128 |
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| Lea, C. 1999. Return of a Rare Species. Marilandica The Maryland Native Plant Society Quarterly. 7, 3: 8. |
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| Marcone, M.F. 2000. First report of the characterization of the threatened plant species Amaranthus pumilus (Seabeach Amaranth). Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry. 48, 2: 378-382. |
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| McMahan, L.R. 1988. CPC 1987--A Successful Collecting Year. The Center for Plant Conservation. 3, 2: Cover. |
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| Ramsey, S.; Tyndall, R.W; Lea, C. 2000. Scientific Note: The Federally Threatened Amaranthus pumilus Raf. (Seabeach amaranth, Amaranthaceae) Rediscovered on Assateague Island After 31 Years. Castanea. 65, 2: 165. |
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| Randall, J. 2002. Bringing Back a Fugitive. Endangered Species Bulletin. 27, 3: 16-17. |
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| USFWS. 1989. Regional News--Region 4. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 14, 1-2: 14. |
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| USFWS. 1993. Amaranthus pumilus (seabeach amaranth) determined to be threatened: Final rule. Federal Register. 58, 65: 18035-18042. |
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| Reports
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| USFWS. 1996. Recovery Plan for Seabeach Amaranth (Amaranthus pumilius Rafinesque). Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p.59. |
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| USFWS. 1999. U.S. Listed Flowering Plant Species Index By Lead Region and Status. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. |
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| Weakley, A.; Bucher, M. 1991. Status survey of seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus Rafinesque) in North and South Carolina, second edition (after Hurricane Hugo). Raleigh and Asheville, North Carolina: North Carolina Plant Conservation Program, North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Endangered Species Field Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. p.149. |
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