Matelea alabamensis

Last updated

Matelea alabamensis
Status TNC G2.svg
Imperiled  (NatureServe) [1]
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Gentianales
Family: Apocynaceae
Genus: Matelea
Species:
M. alabamensis
Binomial name
Matelea alabamensis
(Vail) Woodson
Synonyms [2]
  • Vincetoxicum alabamenseVail

Matelea alabamensis is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family known by the common names Alabama milkvine, Alabama anglepod, and Alabama spiny-pod. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. [1] [ dead link ] [3]

This rhizomatous perennial herb produces one to three stems which creep across the ground or twine around adjacent vegetation, reaching several meters in length. They are green or maroon-tinged, filled with a milky sap, and dotted with reddish glands on the newer parts. The oppositely arranged leaves are borne on petioles a few centimeters long which are covered in scattered hairs. The yellow-green leaf blades are up to 10 to 15 centimeters long. The inflorescence is an umbel of rotate flowers each about 2.5 centimeters across. The corolla has five yellow-green lobes with a green netting pattern. Flowering occurs in March through June. Flowering is more likely on vines that climb up, rather than spread along the ground. The fruit is a yellow-green, spiky follicle up to 10 centimeters long. The seeds have a tuft of long, white hairs at one end that help them disperse on the wind. [1]

This plant grows in ravines in forests, generally in the area between the dry upper slopes and the moist lower slopes. [3] The plant grows in areas where there are many other plants to climb but that also receive sunlight. [1] The species is tolerant of shade but are more robust and produce more fruit in sunnier areas. [1] [3] The plant relies on regimes of natural disturbance to keep the forest open enough for it to thrive; in some areas the disturbance comes in the form of storms. [3] The canopy is dominated by Magnolia grandiflora and Fagus grandifolia and sometimes oaks and hickories. Associated species include Quercus hemisphaerica , Q. virginiana , Q. nigra , Q. alba , Carya cordiformis , C. glabra , C. pallida , Prunus serotina , Tilia americana , Liquidambar styraciflua , Pinus echinata , P. taeda , and P. glabra , Cornus florida , Hamamelis virginiana , Ostrya virginiana , Carpinus caroliniana , Magnolia ashei , Prunus umbellata , Rhus copallina , Vaccinium arboreum , V. elliottii , Sebastiana fruticosa , and various lianas such as Vitis spp. [1]

This is considered "one of rarest herbs in southeastern United States." The main threat to this rare species is the loss and degradation of its habitat. In Florida, some of the habitat has been converted to pine silviculture. While small amounts of logging may be beneficial to the plant by opening up the canopy, intense logging and clearcutting are destructive to the habitat. Erosion may follow. The plant is also affected by introduced species such as Lonicera japonica . Fire suppression has led to the loss of one vector of natural disturbance that keeps the forest open, leading to reduction of light levels, which results in decreased fruit production. Herbivory by caterpillars and perhaps deer is apparently a problem. [1]

There are now "a couple dozen occurrences" remaining. [1] Four populations are monitored at the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve by The Nature Conservancy. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Magnolia macrophylla</i> Species of tree

Magnolia macrophylla, the bigleaf magnolia, is a deciduous magnolia native to the southeastern United States and eastern Mexico. This species boasts the largest simple leaf and single flower of any native plant in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald E. Davis Arboretum</span> Public garden in Alabama, U.S.

The Donald E. Davis Arboretum, in Auburn, Alabama, United States, is a public native plants museum, and botanical arboretum with educational facilities, event spaces, and a conservation program. Its grounds, covering 13.5 acres of Auburn University's campus, include cataloged living collections of associated tree and plant communities representative of Alabama's ecosystems, among which is mixed oak forest, carnivorous bog, and longleaf pine savanna. The living collections include more than 1,000 plant types, including 500 different plant species, with over 3,000 cataloged specimens. The Arboretum contains over a mile (2 km) of interwoven walking trails that meander through various southeastern biotopes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests</span> Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of the United States

The Appalachian–Blue Ridge forests are an ecoregion in the Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests Biome, in the Eastern United States. The ecoregion is located in the central and southern Appalachian Mountains, including the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachians and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It covers an area of about 61,500 square miles (159,000 km2) in: northeast Alabama and Georgia, northwest South Carolina, eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and central West Virginia and Pennsylvania; and small extensions into Kentucky, New Jersey, and New York.

<i>Bonamia grandiflora</i> Species of flowering plant

Bonamia grandiflora is a rare species of flowering plant in the morning glory family known by the common names Florida lady's nightcap, Florida bonamia, and scrub morning glory. It is endemic to Central Florida, where there are about 100 known populations remaining, many of which are within the bounds of the Ocala National Forest. The plant has declined in recent decades primarily due to the development of its habitat, which is being converted to urban zones and citrus groves. This is the primary reason that the plant was federally listed as a threatened species in 1987.

<i>Harperocallis flava</i> Species of flowering plant

Harperocallis flava, known by the common name Harper's beauty, is a species endemic to parts of Florida in the United States, where it is known mainly from the Apalachicola National Forest in the Panhandle. It is seriously endangered and has been on the United States' endangered species list since 1979.

Justicia cooleyi is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Acanthaceae known by the common name Cooley's water-willow. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it occurs in three counties. It is a federally listed endangered species.

<i>Lysimachia asperulifolia</i> Species of plant

Lysimachia asperulifolia is a rare species of flowering plant in the Primulaceae known by the common name rough-leaved loosestrife and roughleaf yellow loosestrife. It is endemic to the Atlantic coastal plain in North Carolina and northern South Carolina in the United States, where there are 64 known populations. It is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Physaria filiformis</i> Species of plant

Physaria filiformis is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae known by the common names Missouri bladderpod and limestone glade bladderpod. It is native to Missouri and Arkansas in the United States. It was federally listed as an endangered species in 1987 and it was downlisted to threatened status in 2003. P. filiformis remains listed as an endangered species at the state level in Missouri.

<i>Polygala smallii</i> Species of flowering plant

Polygala smallii is a rare species of flowering plant in the milkwort family known by the common name tiny polygala, or tiny milkwort. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it is limited to the southeastern coast of the peninsula. The plant is now only known from eight sites, with most individuals located on one site in Miami-Dade County. The species is threatened by the loss of its habitat. This is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Prunus geniculata</i> Species of tree

Prunus geniculata is a rare species of plum known by the common name scrub plum. The species is endemic to Florida.

<i>Solidago albopilosa</i> Species of plant

Solidago albopilosa is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name whitehair goldenrod.

<i>Spigelia gentianoides</i> Species of plant

Spigelia gentianoides is a rare species of flowering plant in the Loganiaceae known by the common names purpleflower pinkroot and gentian pinkroot. It is native to Alabama and Florida in the United States, where a few small populations remain. It is threatened by the loss and degradation of its habitat, and is a federally listed endangered species of the United States.

<i>Gaylussacia dumosa</i> Berry and plant

Gaylussacia dumosa is a species of flowering plant in the heath family known by the common names dwarf huckleberry, bush huckleberry, and gopherberry. It is native to eastern North America from Newfoundland to Louisiana and Florida. It occurs along the coastal plain and in the mountains.

<i>Lyonia lucida</i> Species of flowering plant

Lyonia lucida is a species of flowering plant in the family Ericaceae known by the common names fetterbush lyonia, hurrahbush, and staggerbush. Other plants may also be called fetterbush. This broadleaved evergreen plant grows on the coastal plain of the southeastern United States from Virginia to Florida to Louisiana. It also occurs in Cuba.

<i>Eucephalus vialis</i> Species of flowering plant

Eucephalus vialis is a rare North American species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name wayside aster. It is native to southwestern Oregon and northwestern California in the United States.

Cuphea aspera is a species of flowering plant in the loosestrife family known by the common names tropical waxweed and Chapman's waxweed. It is endemic to Florida in the United States, where it is limited to Gulf and Franklin Counties on the central Florida Panhandle. It has likely been extirpated from Calhoun County.

<i>Parnassia caroliniana</i> Species of flowering plant

Parnassia caroliniana is a species of flowering plant in the Celastraceae known by the common name Carolina grass of Parnassus. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs in North Carolina and South Carolina, with an isolated population in the Florida Panhandle.

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.

The upland hardwood forests of Florida are closed canopy forests dominated by deciduous and evergreen trees, and shrubs.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Matelea alabamensis. The Nature Conservancy.
  2. ↑ "The Plant List: A Working List of All Plant Species" . Retrieved 26 July 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Matelea alabamensis. Archived 2011-10-26 at the Wayback Machine Center for Plant Conservation.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.