Echinacea tennesseensis

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Echinacea tennesseensis
Echinacea tennesseensis Couchville.jpg
Status TNC G2.svg
Imperiled  (NatureServe) [1]
Status ESA DL.svg
Delisted (ESA) [2] [3] [4]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Echinacea
Species:
E. tennesseensis
Binomial name
Echinacea tennesseensis
Synonyms [5]
  • Brauneria tennesseensisBeadle 1898
  • Echinacea angustifolia var. tennesseensis(Beadle) S.F.Blake
  • Echinacea pallida var. tennesseensis(Beadle) Binns, B.R.Baum & Arnason

Echinacea tennesseensis, also known as the Tennessee coneflower or Tennessee purple coneflower, is a flowering plant in the family Asteraceae, endemic to the cedar glades of the central portion of the U.S. state of Tennessee. [6]

Contents

Description

Echinacea tennesseensis is a herbaceous perennial plant growing to 75 centimetres (2.46 ft) tall. The leaves are hairy, lanceolate, and arranged in a basal whorl with only a few small leaves on the flower stems. [6]

The flowers are produced in a capitulum (flowerhead) up to 8 cm (3.2 inches) broad, with a ring of purple ray florets surrounding the brown disc florets. [6]

A noticeable characteristic is its generally erect ray flowers, in contrast to the more drooping rays of its most similar congener, E. angustifolia (widespread throughout the prairie of the central U.S.) and other common Echinacea species such as E. purpurea . [6]

Distribution

Echinacea tennesseensis is a rare species, found in fewer than 10 locations in Davidson, Wilson, and Rutherford Counties.

Flowering plants in cultivation Echinacea tennesseensis JBM.jpg
Flowering plants in cultivation

It has been hypothesized that an ancestral Echinacea species spread into middle Tennessee during the hypsithermal period following the last ice age, when conditions were drier and prairies extended into much of the central eastern U.S. that is now forested. As conditions became wetter, the Echinacea populations became isolated on the prairie-like habitat of the cedar glades which were eventually surrounded by forest. This isolation resulted in divergence and speciation of E. tennesseensis. [7]

Conservation status

The Tennessee coneflower was once a federally listed endangered plant species and its recovery has been aided by the purchase of habitat by the Nature Conservancy and the State of Tennessee. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that this plant be removed from the endangered species list because all the former threats to the species are eliminated or reduced. [8] The Tennessee coneflower was delisted effective September 2, 2011. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Echinacea</i> Genus of flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae

Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family. It has ten species, which are commonly called coneflowers. They are native only in eastern and central North America, where they grow in wet to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have large, showy heads of composite flowers, blooming in summer. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἐχῖνος, meaning "hedgehog", due to the spiny central disk. These flowering plants and their parts have different uses. Some species are cultivated in gardens for their showy flowers. Two of the species, E. tennesseensis and E. laevigata, were formerly listed in the United States as endangered species; E. tennesseensis has been delisted due to recovery and E. laevigata is now listed as threatened.

<i>Echinacea angustifolia</i> Species of flowering plant

Echinacea angustifolia, the narrow-leaved purple coneflower or blacksamson echinacea, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to North America, where it is widespread across much of the Great Plains of central Canada and the central United States, with additional populations in surrounding regions.

<i>Rudbeckia</i> Genus of flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae

Rudbeckia is a plant genus in the Asteraceae or composite family. Rudbeckia flowers feature a prominent, raised central disc in black, brown shades of green, and in-between tones, giving rise to their familiar common names of coneflowers and black-eyed-susans. All are native to North America, and many species are cultivated in gardens for their showy yellow or gold flower heads that bloom in mid to late summer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calcareous glade</span> Type of ecological community found where bedrock occurs near the surface.

A calcareous glade is a type of ecological community that is found in the central Eastern United States. Calcareous glades occur where bedrock such as limestone occurs near or at the surface, and have very shallow and little soil development. Due to the shallow soil and the extreme conditions created by it, trees are often unable to grow in the glades. This creates a habitat that is usually sunny, dry, and hot. Calcareous glade vegetation is more similar to that of a desert habitat than a grassland, being dominated by small spring annuals with occasional geophytic or succulent perennials.

<i>Astragalus bibullatus</i> Species of legume

Astragalus bibullatus, the limestone glade milkvetch or Pyne's ground plum, is an endangered species of flowering plant that is endemic to the cedar glades of the central basin of Tennessee in the United States. It is found in only eight populations located within a few kilometers of each other in Rutherford County, Tennessee.

<i>Echinacea purpurea</i> Species of flowering plant in the daisy family Asteraceae

Echinacea purpurea, the eastern purple coneflower, purple coneflower, hedgehog coneflower, or echinacea, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to parts of eastern North America and present to some extent in the wild in much of the eastern, southeastern and midwestern United States as well as in the Canadian Province of Ontario. It is most common in the Ozarks and in the Mississippi/Ohio Valley. Its habitats include dry open woods, prairies and barrens.

<i>Eriogonum longifolium <span style="font-style:normal;">var.</span> harperi</i> Variety of wild buckwheat

Eriogonum longifolium var. harperi, also known as Harper's buckwheat or Harper's umbrella plant, is a dicot of the family Polygonaceae, found 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. It has eleven small populations in Alabama and five in Tennessee but its survival in Kentucky is uncertain. According to a leading expert, Professor James L. Reveal of the University of Maryland, its Kentucky population has been reportedly extirpated. Its 2006 Alabama Natural Heritage Program ranking was G4T2S1, demonstrating an opinion that it was "critically imperiled" in that state.

<i>Echinacea laevigata</i> Species of flowering plant

Echinacea laevigata, the smooth purple coneflower, is a federally listed threatened species of plant found in the Piedmont of the eastern United States. Most populations are found on roadsides and other open areas with plenty of sunlight, often on calcium- and magnesium- rich soils.

<i>Echinacea pallida</i> Species of flowering plant

Echinacea pallida, the pale purple coneflower, is a species of herbaceous perennial plant in the family Asteraceae. It is sometimes grown in gardens and used for medicinal purposes. Its native range is the central region of the United States and Ontario, Canada.

<i>Echinacea simulata</i> Species of flowering plant

Echinacea simulata, commonly called wavy leaf purple coneflower, glade coneflower, or prairie purple coneflower, is a species of perennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to the east-central states of the United States. Its natural habitat is dry, calcareous, open areas such as barrens and woodlands.

<i>Echinacea paradoxa</i> Species of flowering plant

Echinacea paradoxa, the yellow coneflower, Bush's purple coneflower, or Ozark coneflower, is a North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae. It is native to southern Missouri, Arkansas, and south-central Oklahoma, It is listed as threatened in Arkansas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elsie Quarterman</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cedars of Lebanon State Park</span> State park in Tennessee, United States

Cedars of Lebanon State Park is a state park in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. It consists of 900 acres (364 ha) situated amidst the 9,420-acre (3,810 ha) Cedars of Lebanon State Forest. The park and forest are approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of Lebanon, Tennessee.

<i>Dalea foliosa</i> Species of plant

Dalea foliosa, commonly called leafy prairie clover, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family (Fabaceae). It is an endangered species in the United States, where it occurs in three states: Illinois, Tennessee, and Alabama.

<i>Erigeron rhizomatus</i> Species of flowering plant

Erigeron rhizomatus is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common names Zuni fleabane and rhizome fleabane. It is native to western New Mexico and eastern Arizona in the United States. It is a federally listed threatened species.

<i>Lespedeza leptostachya</i> Species of plant

Lespedeza leptostachya is a rare species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common names prairie lespedeza and prairie bush-clover. It occurs in the Upper Midwest region of the United States. The flowers are creamy-white to purplish and arranged into a narrow terminal spikes.

<i>Astragalus tennesseensis</i> Species of legume

Astragalus tennesseensis is a species of flowering plant in the legume family known by the common name Tennessee milkvetch. It is native to the United States, where it is known from Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee and Alabama. Most of the occurrences are in Tennessee.

Leavenworthia crassa is a species of flowering plant in the mustard family, Brassicaceae, known commonly as the fleshy-fruit gladecress. It is endemic to Alabama in the United States, where it occurs in only two counties. It is "likely one of the most imperiled plant species in the Southeast," and the United States Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule listing it as an endangered species in 2014.

<i>Helianthus eggertii</i> Species of sunflower

Helianthus eggertii, known as Eggert's sunflower, is a North American species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae. It is native to Tennessee, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Alabama. It is best known as one of the few plants to have been delisted under the Endangered Species Act because of the species' recovery. It was described by John Kunkel Small in 1903.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Couchville Cedar Glade State Natural Area</span> State natural area in Tennessee, US

Couchville Cedar Glade State Natural Area is a Class II Natural-Scientific state natural area located in Davidson and Wilson counties Tennessee. Its western boundary is contiguous with the eastern boundary of Long Hunter State Park. The park's name reflects its location near the now extinct inundated community of Couchville, Tennessee.

References

  1. NatureServe (2 June 2023). "Echinacea tennesseensis". NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia: NatureServe. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  2. "Tennessee purple coneflower (Echinacea tennesseensis)". Environmental Conservation Online System. U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  3. 44 FR 32604
  4. 1 2 Fish and Wildlife Service (3 August 2011). "Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of Echinacea tennesseensis (Tennessee Purple Coneflower) From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants". Federal Register. 76 (149): 46632–46650. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  5. The Plant List, Echinacea tennesseensis (Beadle) Small
  6. 1 2 3 4 Flora of North America, Echinacea tennesseensis (Beadle) Small, 1933. Tennessee purple coneflower
  7. Baskauf, C.J., D.E. McCauley, W.G. Eickmeier. (1994). Genetic analysis of a rare and a widespread species of Echinacea (Asteraceae) Archived 2006-05-20 at the Wayback Machine , "Evolution" 48: 180-188 (abstract).
  8. USFWS. Removing the Tennessee Purple Coneflower From the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants. Federal Register August 12, 2010.