 |
Conserving and restoring
America's native plants |
|
CPC National Collection Plant Profile
|
|
|
Lysimachia asperulifolia
| Family: |
Primulaceae (Primrose Family) |
| Common Names: |
dough-leaved loosestrife, roughleaf yellow loosestrife |
| Author: |
Poir. |
| Growth
Habit: |
Perennial |
| CPC
Number: |
2750 |
|
| |
| Primary
custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered
Plants is: |
| |
Lysimachia asperulifolia
|
Rough-leaved loosestrife is a perennial herb endemic to the coastal plain and sandhills of North Carolina and South Carolina. It grows to about 24 inches tall, has whorled leaves in 3’s and 4’s, and displays 5-petaled yellow flowers from late May to early June (USFWS 1995). Jean Louis Poiret first discovered L. asperulifolia in 1814. Rough-leaved loosestrife occurs mostly in ecotones between longleaf pine uplands and pond pine pocosins. It is associated with six different community types; low pocosin, high pocosin, sandhill seep, wet pine flatwoods, pine savanna, and streamhead pocosin (USFWS 1995). It is a federally endangered species with only 64 populations left, all but one in being in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Rough-leaved loosestrife is a misnomer since it has smooth leaves. Its leaves are actually named for their resemblance to Asperula ororata of Europe.
| Distribution
& Occurrence |
|
State Range
| |
North Carolina
South Carolina |
|
|
Habitat
| |
Ecotones between longleaf pine uplands and pond pine pocosins typically and occasionally lake and pond margins, hillside seeps, boggy seeps and meadows, and low pocosins (USFWS 1995). |
Distribution
| |
Southern coastal plain and sand hills of North Carolina and the sand hills of South Carolina (USFWS 1995). |
Number Left
| |
• 64 total extant populations (USFWS 1995).
• Several new populations in Camp Lejeune, Fort Bragg, and Sunny Point Military Ocean Terminal in NC and Fort Jackson, SC. |
State/Area
Protection
| |
State/Area |
Rank |
Status |
Date |
|
| |
North Carolina |
S2 |
E |
9/22/1987 |
|
| |
South Carolina |
S1 |
B |
10/17/1991 |
|
| Conservation,
Ecology & Research |
|
Ecological
Relationships
| |
• Adapted to fire, this species is often found well within the shrub zone of its preferred habitats (USFWS 1995).
• Reproduces from cloning and sexual reproduction rates seem to be poor.
• Many populations may consist of one or very few individuals.
• An obligate outcrosser, it is pollinated by solitary bees, usually in the genus Dialictus (USFWS 1995). |
Threats
| |
• Drainage and development of habitat
• Fire suppression
• Land conversion |
Current Research Summary
| |
• Frantz (1983, 1984) studied aspects of basic and reproductive biology of Rough-leaved loosestrife.
• Thorough surveys through North Carolina have been conducted.
• Research has also been conducted through NCSU investigating changes in flowering stem distribution, pollinator behavior, and seed production following prescribed burns. |
Current Management Summary
| |
• Most sites are under some sort of management (generally prescribed fire) by a Federal or State agency or a private conservation organization. These include The Nature Conservancy, the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Army, U.S. Marine Corps, NC State Parks, the NC Wildlife Resource Commission, and Carolina Power and Light (USFWS 1995) |
Research Management Needs
| |
• Research needs include population biology studies such as flower incompatibility, artificial pollination, seed dispersal and establishment, genetic variability, and comparisons between individuals and groups of individuals (TNC 1999).
• Management needs include more inclusive site protection and habitat management (prescribed fire). |
Ex Situ Needs
| |
• Seed collection from all extant populations |
|
| Books (Single Authors)
|
| |
| Godfrey, R.K.; Wooten, J.W. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States: Dicotyledons. Athens: University Georgia Press. 933p. |
| |
| 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. |
| |
| Small, J.K. 1933. Manual of the southeastern flora. New York, NY: Hafner Publishing Company. 1505p. |
| |
| 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). NC-ES Plant profiles. [Web pages] North Carolina Ecological Services--U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services--Southeast Region 4. http://nc-es.fws.gov/plant/plant.html. Accessed: 2002. |
| |
| Journal Articles
|
| |
| USFWS. 1986. 18 Plants Proposed for Listing Protection. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 11, 5: 1-13. |
| |
| USFWS. 1987. Determination of endangered status for Lysimachia asperulaefolia. Federal Register. 52, 113: 22585-22589. |
| |
| USFWS. 1987. Twelve Listings. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 12, 7: 1, 7-8. |
| |
| Reports
|
| |
| 1995. 1995 Annual report on taxa in the national collection for North Carolina Botanical Garden. Annual report to the Center for Plant Conservation. p.1. |
| |
| Frantz, V.L. 1983. Rare plant and habitat monitoring program Green Swamp Nature Preserve. Carrboro: North Carolina Nature Conservancy. |
| |
| Frantz, V.L. 1984. Reproduction biology of the Atlantic Coastal Plain endemic, Lysimachia asperulaefolia (Primulaceae). Raleigh, NC.: North Carolina Plant Conservation Program. |
| |
| Hudson, B.D. 1984. Soil survey of Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina. Washington, DC.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. p.155 + maps. |
| |
| Kral, R. 1983. A report on some rare, threatened, of endangered forest-related vascular plants of the south. Atlanta, GA: USDA Forest Service, Southeast Region. Technical Publication R8-TP2. |
| |
| Smith, I. 1992. Element stewardship abstract for Lysimachia asperulifolia. Chapel Hill, N. C.: The Nature Conservancy. Unpublished. |
| |
| Sutter, R.D. 1994. Unpublished Report: Summary of "The effect of varied fire frequency on Lysimachia asperulifolia" study in North Carolina, 1987 - 1992. Chapel Hill, N.C.: The Nature Conservancy. Unpublished. |
| |
| TNC. 1993. Rare and endangered plant survey and natural area inventory of Fort Bragg and Camp MacKall military reservations, North Carolina. Sandhills Field Office: Final report by The Nature Conservancy. |
| |
| TNC. 1999. Element Global Ranking Form for Lysimachia asperulifolia. The Nature Conservancy. |
| |
| USFWS. 1995. Rough-leaved loostrife recovery plan. Atlanta, GA.: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p.32. |
| |
| Weakley, A.S. 1993. North Carolina Natural Heritage Program list of the rare plant species of North Carolina. Raleigh: Natural Heritage Program, North Carolina Dept. Environment, Health and Natural Resources. |
| |
|
