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Conserving and restoring
America's native plants |
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CPC National Collection Plant Profile
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Thalictrum cooleyi
| Family: |
Ranunculaceae (Buttercup Family) |
| Common Name: |
Cooley's meadowrue |
| Author: |
Ahles |
| Growth
Habit: |
Perennial |
| CPC
Number: |
4264 |
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| Primary
custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered
Plants is: |
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Thalictrum cooleyi
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Cooley's meadowrue is endemic to the coastal plain in the southeastern United States. This plant occurs in fire-dependent web bogs and savannas. The main causes for the decline of the species can be attributed to fire suppression and loss of habitat due to agricultural/silvicultural practices. Only eleven populations of this plant remain, scattered in four counties in North Carolina and one county in Florida. The single population in Florida was severely impacted by commercial timber operations, with only nine plants remaining, and one population in North Carolina was covered with fill material during road maintenance operations. While this species does indeed need some level of disturbance, it can not survive extreme habitat alterations such as bulldozing, plowing for agriculture/silviculture, or direct application of herbicides. (USFWS 1990)
This rhizomatous, perennial herb can grow to heights of 1 meter or more when it flowers in late June and early July. It is dioecious, meaning that male and female flowers are not on the same plant. In fact, this is contributing to the plant's rarity, because most of the remaining populations have a 3 to 1 ratio of male to female plants, leading to reproductive and genetic problems. An extreme instance in in one site in North Carolina, where no male plants had been found at the site in 8 years (Leonard 1987). (USFWS 1990)
| Distribution
& Occurrence |
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State Range
Habitat
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Occurs in moist to wet bogs and savannas, often growing with tulip poplar, cypress, and/or Atlantic white cedar (Leonard 1987). |
Distribution
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Pender, Onslow, Brunswick, and Columbus counties in North Carolina and Walton county, Florida. (USFWS 1990) |
Number Left
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12 locations, 11 in North Carolina and 1 in Florida (USFWS 1990) |
State/Area
Protection
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State/Area |
Rank |
Status |
Date |
|
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Florida |
S1 |
LE |
4/25/1990 |
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North Carolina |
|
E |
1/1/2002 |
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| Conservation,
Ecology & Research |
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Ecological
Relationships
Threats
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• Habitat loss through succession due to fire suppression
• Agriculture/silviculture practices
• Mining (part of one population exists on the edge of an inactive marl pit mine
• Highway construction/Improvement
• Herbicide use
(USFWS 1989) |
Current Research Summary
Current Management Summary
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• At one of the sites where this species occurs in North Carolina, The Nature Conservancy is working with the landowner, a commercial timber company, to manage the habitat with prescribed fire. Another site in North Carolina is being managed by The Nature Conservancy in a similar way. (USFWS 1990) |
Research Management Needs
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• Research on population biology
• Population genetics
• Pollination biology |
Ex Situ Needs
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• Maintain existing collection at the North Carolina Botanical Garden.
• Explore possibility of conducting reintroduction projects. |
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| Books (Single Authors)
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| Coile, N.C. 2000. Notes on Florida's Regulated Plant Index (Rule 5B-40), Botany Contribution 38. Gainesville, Florida: Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry. |
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| FNAI. 2000. Field Guide to the Rare Plants and Animals of Florida online. Florida Natural Areas Inventory. |
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| Electronic Sources
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| (2002). Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants. [Web site] University of South Florida Institute for Systematic Botany. http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/isb/default.htm. Accessed: 2008. |
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| USFWS. (1990). Endangered and Threatened Species Accounts. [Web page] U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Endangered Species. http://ecos.fws.gov/servlet/TESSSpeciesQuery. Accessed: 2002. |
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| Journal Articles
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| 1986. Lanier quarry Savanna Preserve. The Nature Conservancy News. 36, 6: 28. |
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| Ahles, H.E. 1959. Thalictrum cooleyi, sp. Nov. Brittonia. 11: 68-70. |
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| Hardin, D.; White, D.L. 1989. Rare Vascular Plant Taxa Associated with Wiregrass (Aristida stricta) in the Southeastern United States. Natural Areas Journal. 9, 4: 1989. |
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| Rees, M.D. 1989. Final Listing Rules Approved. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 14, 3: 7. |
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| USFWS. 1976. Proposed Endangered Status for 1700 U.S. Plants. Federal Register. 41: 24523-24572. |
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| USFWS. 1988. Endangered Species Act Protection is Proposed for Nine Species. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 13, 5: 3-4. |
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| USFWS. 1989. Determination of Endangered Status for Thalictrum cooleyi (Cooley's meadowrue). Federal Register. 54, 24: 5934-5938. |
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| Reports
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| 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. |
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| 1997. 1997 Species Report Card: Cooley's meadowrue. Arlington, VA: The Nature Conservancy, Natural Heritage Network (NatureServ). p.21. |
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| Leonard, S.W. 1987. Inventory of Populations of Thalictrum cooleyi and Its Occurence sites in North Carolina. Raleigh, North Carolina: Report to the North Carolina Natural Heritage Program. p.16. |
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| Rayner, D.A. 1980. Status Report on Thalictrum cooleyi Ahles. Atlanta, Georgia: Submitted to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. |
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| Rome, A. 1987. Element stewardship abstract report for Thalictrum cooleyi. Carrboro, N.C.: The Nature Conservancy. Unpublished. |
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| USFWS. 1994. Cooley's Meadowrue Recovery Plan. Atlanta, Georgia: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p.29. |
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| Wilcyznski, C.J. 1993. A three year study on the population dynamics of Cooley's meadowrue (Thalictrum cooleyi) at Lanier Quarry, Pender County, North Carolina. Carlboro, N.C.: The Nature Conservancy. Unpublished. |
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| Wilczynski, C.J. 1988. Species Biology of Thalictrum cooleyi: Studies for Management and Conservation (DRAFT). Chapel Hill, NC: Univerisity of North Carolina. p.8. |
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