National Collection of Imperiled Plants

CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Photographer:

C.R. Delmatier

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Phacelia argillacea

Family:	Hydrophyllaceae
Common Name:	Clay phacelia
Author:	Atwood
Growth Habit:	Forb/herb
CPC Number:	3340

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Photographer: C.R. Delmatier
Image Owner: USFS

Phacelia argillacea is Not Sponsored

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

Red Butte Garden and Arboretum

Sylvia Torti contributed to this Plant Profile.

Phacelia argillacea

Clay phacelia is a Federally listed endangered plant. It is found in only one location in the world--Spanish Fork Canyon in Utah. In 1977, only nine plants were known to exist. The main cause attributed to this decline was the construction of a railroad directly through the known population, and the plant was listed due to concerns that an access road to the railroad would eliminate the few remaining plants. (USFWS 1978) By 1980, the size of the remaining population had declined even further, to only four individual plants, due to trampling by sheep. (USFWS 1980) At this point in the continuing saga of this plant, the tiny population was fenced, and by 1982 the plants had recovered to some extent, with about 200 plants known. (USFWS 1982a, 1982b) In 1990, fenced population was further protected when The Nature Conservancy purchased the land it was on. (Biodiversity Network News 1990) Today, the species is in a stable but precarious position, protected from extinction by not much more than a fence and the will of dedicated individuals.

This species is a member of the waterleaf family that grows on steep talus slopes in Spanish Fork Canyon, Utah. It is a winter annual, germinating in the fall and producing violet to pink flowers in the summer.

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

Utah

Habitat

Steep hillsides in a sparse juniper-pinyon or mountain brush community on a fine textured clay derived from a shale.

Distribution

Found only in Spanish Fork Canyon in Utah. (USGS 2002)

Number Left

There are only a few dozen plants clinging to shale hillsides at three locations west of Soldier Summit.

Protection

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Global Rank:	G1	1/1/1996	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:	LE	10/24/1996	Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	Yes	4/12/1982

State/Area Protection

	State/Area	Rank	Status	Date
	Utah	S1		6/1/1998

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

None known.

Threats

� Small population size could result in natural extinction
� Railway or road maintenance or construction
� Rock climbers
� Sheep grazing

Current Research Summary

� Lori Armstrong, a graduate student at Brigham Young University, did her master's work on the species in the early 1990's, and researchers at Red Butte Garden and Arboretum assisted in some of the propagation work.
� Habitat surveys, population monitoring, and genetic studies have been initiated with funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Forest Service, and the Utah Native Plant Society. (USGS 2000)

Current Management Summary

� This species is managed by the Forest Service.
� The Nature Conservancy owns and manages the land the original population occurs on, maintaining a fence around most of the population to protect the plants from grazing and trampling. (USGS 2002)

Research Management Needs

The population should be re-censused and the feasibility of reintroduction should be studied.

Ex Situ Needs

This species has been grown successfully to maturity in the greenhouse.

References

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Books (Single Authors)

Welsh, S.L.; Atwood, N.D.; Goodrich, S.; Higgins, L.C. 1993. A Utah flora. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young Univ. 986p.

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.

(2002). Rare Plant Profiles. [Searchable Web site] State of Utah Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife Resources. http://www.utahcdc.usu.edu/rsgis2/Search/SearchSelection.asp?Group=PLANT&Species=PLANT. Accessed: 2002.

USGS. (2002). Status of Listed Species and Recovery Plan Development. [Web site] USGS: Norther Prairie Wildlife Research Center. http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/others/recoprog/plant.htm. Accessed: 2002.

Journal Articles

1988. Threatened and Endangered Plants Summary. Sego Lily: Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Society. 15: 2.

1990. Field Notes: Utah. Biodiversity Network News. 3: 6.

Boyack, A. 1988. Threatened and Endangered Species Conference. Sego Lily: Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Society. 15: 1, 10.

USFWS. 1976. Proposed Endangered Status for 1700 U.S. Plants. Federal Register. 41: 24523-24572.

USFWS. 1978. Determination of five plants as endangered species. Federal Register. 43, 189: 44810-44812.

USFWS. 1978. Final Rulemakings: Five Western Plants Listed as Endangered. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 3, 10: 10.

USFWS. 1980. Regional Briefs--Region 6. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 5, 8: 2.

USFWS. 1982. Recovery Plans Approved for Clay Phacelia and Eastern Indigo Snake. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 7, 6

Van Pelt, N.S. 1996. Update: Society Members Plot a Species' Comeback. Sego Lily: Newsletter of the Utah Native Plant Society. 19

Personal Communications

England, L. May 4, 1988, 1988. Briefing to Don Falk about Phacelia argillacea by Larry England (USFWS). Hand-written notes to Falk, D.

Reports

Callister, D.C.; Van Pelt, N.S. 1992. Element Stewardship Abstract for Phacelia argillacea (clay phacelia). Salt Lake City, Utah: Prepared for The Nature Conservancy, Utah Field Office. p.21.

USFWS. 1982. Clay Phacelia (Phacelia argillacea Atwood) recovery plan. Denver, Colorado: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p.13.

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This profile was updated on 9/28/2010