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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

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CPC National Collection Plant Profile

Trollius laxus ssp. laxus

Family:	Ranunculaceae
Common Names:	American globe-flower, spreading globe-flower
Author:	Fisch. & C.A. Mey.
Growth Habit:	Forb/herb
CPC Number:	4351

Distribution
Protection
Conservation
References

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Photographer: Brian Parsons
bparsons[at]holdenarb.org

Trollius laxus ssp. laxus is Partially Sponsored

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

The Holden Arboretum

Dawn M. Gerlica and Lindsey Parsons contributed to this Plant Profile.

Trollius laxus ssp. laxus

To date, this species is found in approximately 40 populations, most of them with fewer than 100 individuals, in eastern North America. Conservation activities for this species are numerous in its range, and include monitoring, seed banking (three occurrences), ecology and population genetics work, and propagation. Because of this work, the taxon was recently elevated to the full species level, and work has shown that this species is the only polyploid member of its genus. (Jones 2001)

Trollius laxus is a perennial that grows to 12-20 inches tall. It has 1 to 1 1/2 inch diameter pale yellow or cream colored flowers. Each flower has 15-25 petals, and it blooms from April to June. The leaves of this species are palmately cut, lobed leaves that are 3-5 inches wide. After blooming, the leaves increase dramatically in size. (TNC 1987)

Distribution & Occurrence

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State Range

Connecticut
New Jersey
New York
Ohio
Pennsylvania

Habitat

This perennial grows in wetlands influenced by cold, highly alkaline groundwater seepage found in open fens, along swamp margins, and in partly sunny, wet openings in seepage swamps. It also lives in wet woods, wet meadows, and other calcareous wetlands. It doesn't adapt well to habitat alterations. This species is able to survive competition from other plants in deep shade, but needs sunlight to flower and produce seed. It prefers soils derived from glacial materials, such as clays, silt, sand, and gravelly soils. It occupies areas prone to flooding and ponding, as well as areas with low or slow soil permeability. (TNC 1987)

Distribution

This plant is historically found in wetlands from Ohio, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut.

Number Left

Jones (2001) states that there are approximately 40 known occurrences of this species, all in eastern North America. Most of these occurrences have less than 100 individuals, and almost all have less than 1000 individuals.

Protection

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Global Rank:	G5T3	7/10/2007	Guide to Global Ranks
Federal Status:	NA		Guide to Federal Status
Recovery Plan:	No

State/Area Protection

State/Area	Rank	Status	Date
Connecticut	S1	E	4/16/1998
New Jersey	S1	E	9/1/2001
New York	S3	R	4/1/2001
Ohio	S1	E	6/1/2000
Pennsylvania	S1	PE	2/9/2001

Conservation, Ecology & Research

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Ecological Relationships

� This species emerges and flowers in the early spring (mid-April to early May), before the canopy of trees in its swampy habitat are able to leaf out. (Bliss 1985).
� Seeds ripen by mid-June (in Connecticut), with gravity, wind, rain and seasonal winds dispersing them. (Parsons and Yates 1984)

Threats

Loss of suitable habitat because of wetlands being drained, filled, or flooded for residential, commercial, or agricultural use.
Natural succession of wetlands to woody vegetation
Changes in the watershed by humans, beavers, or other sources
Logging
Browsing by deer
Flower predation by slugs
Invasive species competition
Overcollecting
(Jones 2001)(Parsons 1984)

Current Research Summary

From 1982-1985, research was conducted to determine seed germination and growth requirements, working with Ohio genotypes. (Parsons 1984)

Current Management Summary

Dr. Donald J. Leopold received a grant to study management of Trollius laxus ssp. laxus in central New York for two years beginning in 1991, but no publication was found. (Leopold 2001)

Under the theory that removal of woody species shading the Trollius population would increase flowering, a section of one population was cleared in 1999. The cleared portion did not show the expected increase in number of plants or flowering plants by 2001, but further monitoring may be necessary (Faivre 2002)

Research Management Needs

As stated by Jones (2001), research and management needs include:
� Searches of appropriate habitat for historic and potentially new occurrences.
� Strive to achieve and maintain full genetic representation in the seed bank from known and new occurrences if they are found.
� Protect at least one site (with the larges known population) in Connecticut.
� Study the biology of the species in situ, including competition interactions and pollination biology, to help guide management strategies.
� Determine hydrologic processes that influence the vegetation composition and structure of wetlands that support this species.
� Continue work to clarify the full taxonomy of this species and members of the Trollius genus in North America.

Ex Situ Needs

References

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Books (Single Authors)

Abrams, L.; Ferris, R.S. 1944. Illustrated Flora of the Pacific States: Washington, Oregon, and California. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

Committee, Flora of North America Editorial. 1997. Flora of North America north of Mexico; Magnoliophyta. New York: Oxford University Press. 590p.

Crow, G.E. 1982. New England's rare, threatened, and endangered plants. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 169p.

Gleason, H.A. 1952. The New Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. New York, NY: Hafner Press. 1732p.

Gleason, H.A.; Cronquist, A. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Bronx: The New York Botanical Garden.

Gray, A.; Fernald, M.L. 1987. Gray's manual of botany: a handbook of the flowering plants and ferns of the central and northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. Portland, Or.: Dioscorides Press. 1632p.

House, H.D. 1924. Annotated list of the ferns and flowering plants of New York State: New York State Museum Bulletin No. 254. Albany: The University of the State of New York. 332p.

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

OHDNR. (2001). Rare Native Ohio Plants: 2000-2001 Status List and Profiles. Ohio Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/dnap/heritage/Rare_Species2000.htm. Accessed: 2002.

PDCNR. (2002). Threatened and Endangered Species of Pennsylvania. [Web site] The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/wrcf/plants.htm. Accessed: 2002.

Journal Articles

Bissel, J.K. 1987. A New Locality for Trollius laxus Saliab. laxus in Ohio. Rhodora. 87: 459-461.

Brumback, W.E. 1983. Propagating endangered plants, theory and practice. Wild Flower Notes and News, New England Wild Flower Society. 1: 4-5.

Brumback, W.E. 1989. Notes on propagation of rare New England species. Rhodora. 91: 154-162.

Denny, G. 1987. Trollius laxus Salisb. ssp. laxus Spreading Globe-Flower. Bulletin of the Native Plant Society of Northeastern Ohio. 6, 2: 14-15.

Doroszewska, A. 1974. The genus Trollius L. A taxonomic study. Monographiae Botanicae. 41: 1-167.

Eastman, L.M. 1980. Abstract: The rare and endangered species in Maine. Rhodora. 82: 191-192.

Falk, D.; Thibodeau, F.R. 1986. Saving the Rarest. Arnoldia. 46, 3: 2-17.

Gray, A. 1862. Enumeration of plants of the Rocky Mountains. American Journal of Science II. 33: 241.

Henry, L.K.; Buker, W.E. 1958. The Ranunculaceae in Western Pennsylvania. Castanea. 23: 33-46.

Lee, S. 1989. Palynological evidence for the relationships between Megaleranthis-saniculifolia and Trollius-SPP. Pollen et Spores. 31, 3-4: 173-186.

Lee, S; Blackmore, S. 1992. A palynotaxonomic study of the genus Trollius ranunculaceae. Grana. 31, 2: 81-100.

Love, A.; Love, D.; Kapoor, B.M. 1971. Cytotaxonomy of a century of Rocky Mountain orophytes. Arctic and Alpine Research. 3: 139-165.

Sparks, J. 1996. How the Myrtle S. Holden Wildflower Garden evolved and grew. Aboretum Leaves. 38: 5-6.

Spooner, D.M.; Cusick, A.W.; Andreas, B.; Anderson, D. 1983. Notes on Ohio USA vascular plants previously considered for listing as federally endangered or threatened species. Castanea. 48, 4: 250-258.

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

USFWS. 1981. Pennsylvania's Plant Program. Endangered Species Technical Bulletin. 6, 11: 6-7.

Ziman, S.N. 1983. Comparative morphology and phylogeny of the genus Trollius ranunculaceae. Botanicheskii Zhurnal (St. Petersburg). 68, 4: 483-491.

Reports

Bliss, P. 1985. Element Stewardship Abstract for Trollius laxus ssp. laxus--Spreading Globe Flower. Arlington, VA: The Nature Conservancy.

Brumback, W.E. 1996. Internal document on status and management of Trollius laxus at Miles Pond. Framingham, Massachusetts: New England Wild Flower Society.

Faivre, A.; Windus, J.L. 2002. SP-29. Monitoring Projects; Rare Plant Species. Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Division of Natural Areas and Preserves. Research and Monitoring Section.

Jones, K.N. 2001. Trollius laxus (Spreading Globeflower) Conservation and Research Plan. Framingham, Massachusetts: New England Plant Conservation Program.

Parsons, B.C.; Yates, T.A. 1984. The Cultural Requirements of Trollius laxus Salisb. ssp. laxus. Mentor, OH: The Holden Arboretum. p.30.

TNC. 1987. The Nature Conservancy Stewardship Abstracts. The Nature Conservancy. p.104.

Theses

Leimanis, Andra Anita. 1994. Habitat Characteristics of Trollius laxus Salisb. ssp. laxus (Spreading Globeflower) in a central New York Forested Minerotrophic Peatland. [M.S. Thesis]: College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York. Syracuse, New York.

Rhinehalt, G.A. 1990. Ecology of Trollius laxus, an endangered species in Ohio. [M.S. Thesis]: Ohio University. Athens, Ohio, U.S.A.

Zielinski, M.L. 1993. Demography, Genetic Diversity, and Light Requirements of the Rare Plant Species Trollius laxus ssp. laxus. [M.S. Thesis]: The University of Connecticut. Storrs, Connecticut, U.S.A.

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This profile was updated on 3/4/2010