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Conserving and restoring
America's native plants |
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CPC National Collection Plant Profile
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Rayjacksonia aurea
| Family: |
Asteraceae (Sunflower Family) |
| Common Names: |
Houston camphor daisy, Houston machaeranthera |
| Taxon Synonyms: |
Haplopappus aureus, Machaeranthera aurea |
| Author: |
(Gray) Hartman & Lane |
| Growth
Habit: |
Annual |
| CPC
Number: |
2763 |
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| Primary
custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered
Plants is: |
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| Dave Berkshire contributed to this Plant Profile. |
Rayjacksonia aurea
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The Houston camphor daisy's range spans only Galveston and Harris counties. It is a tap-rooted annual member in the sunflower family with attractive golden-yellow camphor-scented flowers in October and November. Although it can grow up to waist high in cultivation, in its characteristically harsh native environment, it is often found hugging the ground and growing only a few inches high. Houston camphor daisy is often associated with the rare endemic plants, Texas windmill grass, Chloris texensis and prairie dawn, Hymenoxys texana.
| Distribution
& Occurrence |
|
State Range
Habitat
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Coastal prairies of Harris and Galveston Counties, Texas. Historically occurs on "pimple" or "mima" mounds, natural bare spots in these native coastal prairies. |
Distribution
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Coastal prairies of Harris and Galveston Counties, Texas. Historically occurs on "pimple" or "mima" mounds, natural bare spots in these native coastal prairies. Poole(2000) reports that there are 26 records from Texas, approximately 50% from 1980 or later. Sites occur on both private and public lands. |
Number Left
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Less than 20 populations (Wieland 1996). Some sites in E. Texas in Harris and Galveston Counties. Six sites in Harris County have had seeds banked.
Poole(2000) reports that there are 26 records from Texas, approximately 50% from 1980 or later. Sites occur on both private and public lands.
This plant is under current review for possible federal listing as either endangered or threatened. |
State/Area
Protection
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State/Area |
Rank |
Status |
Date |
|
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Texas |
S2 |
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1/7/1987 |
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| Conservation,
Ecology & Research |
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Ecological
Relationships
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• Camphor-scented flowers reported to be deer-resistant. |
Threats
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• A major threat comes from development of the coastal prairie habitat that this species relies upon, especially in and around Houston.
• Current populations are under threat from competition by woody vegetation and require mowing or controlled burning (Price 2000). |
Current Research Summary
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• Mercer Arboretum maintains a thriving permanent public display of this plant in the Endangered Species Garden. These display plants vigorously reseed themselves within this Endangered Species Garden.
• Seed has been harvested at Mercer from its off-site conservation beds.
• Germination and growth to maturity studies performed at Mercer by Greg Wieland. Plants are propagated by seed.
• Seeds from several sites within Harris County were collected by Dr. Larry Brown of Houston Community College and Ralph Taylor of the Harris County Flood Control District and are stored at Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. Banked seeds date to 1994. Mercer also banks subsets of rare seeds collected from field surveys and from propagation work with our collaborating CPC institution, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Austin, TX and the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation (NCGRP) in Ft. Collins, CO (formerly called the National Seed Storage Laboratories). |
Current Management Summary
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• Monitoring is being coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Office in Houston. |
Research Management Needs
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• This plant is under current review for possible federal listing as either endangered or threatened. Poole (2000) states that a survey of all sites should determine the population, viability, threat and land ownership. The establishment of a conservation agreement with the Corp of Engineers in lieu of listing may protect the majority of the populations. |
Monitoring Efforts
Ex Situ Needs
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• Expansion of seed bank.
• Identification of potential reintroduction sites.
• Public education of these plants and associated endemics. |
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| Books (Single Authors)
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| Correll, D.S.; Johnston, M.C. 1970. Manual of the vascular plants of Texas. Renner: Texas Research Foundation. 1881p. |
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| Poole, J.M.; Carr, W.R.; Price, D.M.; Singhurst, J.R. 2007. Rare Plants of Texas. College Station, TX. Texas A&M University Press. 640p. |
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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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| Journal Articles
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| Determann, R.; Kirkman, L.K.; Nourse, H. 1997. Plant conservation by propagation: the cases of Macranthera and Schwalbea. Tipularia. 12: 2-12. |
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| Lane, M.A.; Hartman, R.L. 1996. Reclassification of North American Haplopappus (Compositae: Asterae) completed: Rayjacksonia gen. nov. American Journal of Botany. 83: 356-370. |
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| Mahler, W.F. 1981. Notes on rare Texas and Oklahoma plants. Sida. 9, 1: 76-86. |
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| Mahler, W.F. 1983. Rediscovery of Hymenoxys texana and notes on two other Texas endemic. Sida. 10, 1: 87-91. |
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| Nesom, G.L. 2000. Generic conspectus of the tribe Astereae (Asteraceae) in North & Central America & the Antilles & Hawaii. Sida Bot. Misc. 20: 1-100. |
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| USFWS. 1976. Proposed Endangered Status for 1700 U.S. Plants. Federal Register. 41: 24523-24572. |
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| Magazine Articles
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| Julien, P. 2001. Monitoring the threatened Houston daisy. The Texas Nature Tracker: Spring newsletter. p. 5. |
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| Linam, L.A. 2000. Two for the prairie...gophers and daisies. The Texas Nature Tracker: Spring newsletter. p. 10. |
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| Personal Communications
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| Price, D. 2000. Personal communication to Kathy Nemec of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Jim Barrows of the Corps of Engineers. Wildlife Diversity Program. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Austin, TX. |
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| Reports
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| Brown, L.E. 1985. An annotated checklist of the vascular plants of the Armand Bayou Nature Park and vicinity, southeastern Harris County, Texas. Revised 1985. Austin, TX. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department files. |
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| Linam, L.A. 2003. Texas Nature Trackers unpublished data. Austin, TX. Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. files. |
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| Mahler, W.F. 1980. Status report [on Machaeranthera aurea]. Albuquerque, New Mexico: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. |
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| Nemec, K. 1995. Conservation guidance for plant candidate species with the Clear Lake, Texas, Field Office Area of Responsibility. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. |
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| Poole, J.M. 2000. Unpublished report. Austin, TX: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. |
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| Rosen, D.J.; Yeargan, C.A. 2004. Survey for Rayjacksonia aurea and Chloris texensis, Harris Co. Precinct 2, 24 acre prairie preserve, 23 November 2004. Austin, TX. Texas Parks & Wildlife Dept. files. |
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| Wieland, G. 1996. Proposal for Inclusion of Taxon in National Collection. Machaeranthera aurea. Harris County, Texas: Mercer Arboretum and Botanic Gardens. |
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| Theses
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| Conner, M.D. 1979. The endangered plants of Texas. [Masters]: University of Texas at Austin, Dept. of Botany. Austin, TX. unknown. |
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