CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Rhexia aristosa

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Rhexia aristosa


Family: 
Melastomataceae  
Common Name: 
awned meadowbeauty
Author: 
Britt.
Growth Habit: 
Perennial
CPC Number: 
3728

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References
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Rhexia aristosa


Rhexia aristosa is an erect, herbaceous perennial that grows to 1 meter tall. It has opposite, linear, lanceolate leaves and large purple flowers that are arranged in a cyme. The Awned meadowbeauty is found in a variety of wet habitats in the Coastal Plain from New Jersey to Alabama. More and more of these wet areas are being drained to make them suitable for activities such as agriculture, pine production, and commercial and residential development. This disruption of natural hydrologic processes has a negative impact on the survival of Rhexia aristosa populations. Compounded with the continuing effects of these activities—erosion, sedimentation, increased nutrient input, and herbicide and pesticide runoff—it is clear that this species requires careful monitoring and protection.

Distribution & Occurrence

State Range
  Alabama
Delaware
Georgia
New Jersey
North Carolina
South Carolina
State Range of  Rhexia aristosa
Habitat
  Found in wetlands, wet savannahs, pond beds, flooded bays, cypress bays, pond-cypress savannas, wet pinelands
ditches, grass-sedge dominated Carolina bays, vernal ponds, depression meadows, or limesink ponds (dolines).

Distribution
  Disjunct from NJ to AL, strictly in Coastal Plain. (AK, DE, GA, NC, NJ, SC)

Number Left
  Very few occurrences left and very few protected. Recent populations found in Fort Bragg Army Base and Camp Lejeune Marine Base (TNC 1993)

Protection

Global Rank:  
G3
 
12/18/1997
Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:  
SC
 
1/19/1996
Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:  
No
 

State/Area Protection
  State/Area Rank Status Date  
   

Conservation, Ecology & Research

Ecological Relationships
  • Research indicates that fluctuations in the water table are required for germination (Thornhurst 1995)
• Periodic fire is necessary to reduce competition from woody species (NatureServe 2001)

Threats
  • Wetland (habitat) modification
• Silvicultural practices
• Fire suppression
(NatureServe 2001)

Current Research Summary
  • Bernadette Plair (Center for Research of Endangered Wildlife, Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden) has conducted work on the micropropagation of Rhexia aristosa to increase numbers for research and possible reintroduction as part of an IMLS-funded research on a technique for long-term germplasm storage of shoot-tips.

Current Management Summary
  Presently no management plan exists for Rhexia aristosa (NatureServe 2001).

Research Management Needs
  • Protection of habitat and natural hydrologic processes
• Surveys to determine abundance and occurrence
• Pollination research

Ex Situ Needs
  Seed collection from populations not currently represented in collection (only 4 populations represented in collection at NCBG)

References

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

NatureServe. (2008). NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. [Internet].Version 7.0. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. Accessed: (June 17, 2008).

Plair, B.; Pence, V.C. (2000). Poster: Abiotic Stress. Abs # 386: Cryopreservation of in vitro grown shoot tips of Crotalaria avonensis and Rhexia aristosa by encapsulation-vitrification. American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB). http://www.rycomusa.com/aspp2000/public/P33/0062.html. Accessed: 2002.

Journal Articles

Britton, N.L. 1890. A New Species of Rhexia. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanic Club. 17: 14-15.

Kral, R.; Bostick, P.E. 1969. The genus Rhexia (Melastomataceae). Sida. 3, 6: 387-440.

Wurdack, J.J.; Kral, R. 1982. The genera of Melastomataceae in the Southeastern United States. Journal The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University. 63: 429-439.

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.

Bennett, S.H.; Nelson, J.B. 1991. Distribution and status of Carolina Bays in South Carolina. South Carolina Wildlife and Marine Resources. Dept. Nongame and Heritage Trust Section.

Schafale, M.P.; Weakley, A.S. 1990. Classification of the natural communities of North Carolina: third approximation. Raleigh, North Carolina: North Carolina Natural Heritage Program, North Carolina Dept. of Environment, Health and Natural Resources.

Sutter, R.D.; Boyer, M. 1994. The seed bank of three rare species in southeastern pond cypress savannas: Rhexia aristosa, Lobelia boykinii, and Oxypolis canbyii. Chapel Hill, NC: Unpublished report. Southeast Regional Office of the Nature Conservancy.

Sutter, R.D.; Frantz, V.; McCarthy, K.A. 1987. Atlas of rare and endangered plant species in North Carolina. Raleigh, NC: North Carolina Dept. Agriculture, Plant Protection Section, Conservation Program. p.174.

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.

Wharton, Charles H. 1978. The natural environments of Georgia. Atlanta: Georgia Department of Natural Resources. p.227.

Theses

Schneider, R.E. 1988. The effect of variation in season of burning on a pine-wiregrass savanna in the Green Swamp, North Carolina. [Ph.D. Thesis]: Duke University. Durham, N.C.

Thunhorst, Gwendolyn A. 1995. The seed bank as a buffer to change in population size, distribution, and genetic composition in the rare plant Rhexia aristosa at Antioch Church Bay with implications to conservation. [M.A. Thesis]: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 85p.


  This profile was updated on 3/4/2010
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