Eriogonum longifolium var. harperi
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| Eriogonum longifolium var. harperi |
Harper's umbrella plant Eriogonum longifolium Nutt. var. harperi, also known as Harper's buckwheat is a dicot of the family Polygonaceae, found on eleven small sites in areas of nutrient-poor shale soils in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. It lives inconspicuously in an immature vegetative stage for four or more years before developing a flowering stalk, then flowers and dies. It is listed as an endangered species by the state of Tennessee.[1] It's survival in Kentucky is disputed.[2] However, according to a leading expert, Professor James L. Reveal of the University of Maryland, its Kentucky population has been reportedly extirpated.[3]
One of its larger populations is found on TVA property in northern Alabama and is estimated to be over 700 plants. The Harper's umbrella plants on the TVA site cohabit with prickly pear and false aloe in an upland calcareous cliff plant community and their foothold is attributed to human removal of competitors to allow a better view of the Tennessee river from one of the buildings on the property.[4] Another northern Alabama population is found on a cedar glade site which is owned by the Alabama Nature Conservancy. This plant community is home to many other rare and endangered plants including Alabama glade cress, Alabama larkspur, glade quillwort, lyrate bladderpod, Nashville breadroot, prairie Indian plantain, Tennessee milk vetch and yellow sunnybell.[5]
[edit] See also
- Buckwheat
- Cedar glade
- Ecology
- Endangered species
- Eriogonum - wild buckwheat
- Eriogonum longifolium - longleaf eriogonum or long-leaf wild buckwheat
- Eriogonum longifolium var. gnaphalifolium - scrub buckwheat
- Eriogonum longifolium var. lindheimeri
- Plant community
- Soils retrogression and degradation
[edit] References
- ^ PLANTS Profile for Eriogonum longifolium var. harperi (Harper's buckwheat). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ Alabama Natural Heritage ProgramSM Annual Report Fiscal Year 2004 (PDF) page 15. Alabama Natural Heritage ProgramSM (2004). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ Reveal, James L. ERIOGONUM Michaux subg. ERIOGONUM (html). Taxonomic Eriogonoideae (Polygonaceae) of North America north of Mexico. University of Maryland. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
- ^ Susan Weber (2002-10-2). Endangered Species Plant. Redstone Arsenal Public Affairs Office. Retrieved on 2007-12-11.
- ^ [Joe] (May 2004). 2004 William H. Cross Expedition (html). Mississippi State University. Retrieved on 2007-12-29.
