Agalinis tenuifolia

Agalinis tenuifolia
Photo by John R. Gwaltney, www.southeasternflora.com/index.asp.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons
Order:	Lamiales
Family:	Orobanchaceae
Genus:	Agalinis
Species:	A. tenuifolia
Binomial name
Agalinis tenuifolia (Vahl) Raf.
Natural range of Agalinis tenuifolia from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common names: Slender Garardia; Slenderleaf False Foxglove

Synonyms: Gerardia tenuifolia Vahl; Gerardia tenuifolia subsp. lecuanthera (Raf.) Pennell

Varieties: leucanthera (Raf.) Pennell; macrocarpa (Benth.) S.F. Blake; parviflora (Nutt.) Pennell; polyphylla (Small) Pennell

Description

It is an annual (Hogg et al 1983 and Hall 1993).

Distribution

Agalinis tenuifolia is the most widely distributed throughout eastern North America (Musselman and Mann 1978), although varieties leucanthera and polyphylla are limited to the southeaseastern U.S. (USDA NRCS Plants Database).

Ecology

This species is a vigorous parasite. It forms haustoria on all 19 commercial species included in Appendix III. No clear host preference was shown, although hardwood species supported more parasitic attachments than pine species (Musselman and Mann et al 1978).

Habitat

Agalinis tenuifolia can be found in undisturbed grasslands and areas with low soil nutrients (Hogg and Morton 1983). Other natural habitat includes open upland woodlands, mixed pine-hardwood stands, mesic wooded edges of limestone glades and open grassy limestone glades, scrubby floodplain woods, borders of wooded mesic hammocks, dry sandy slopes, and calcareous clearings (FSU Herbarium). It occurs on xeric limestone prairies of Illinois (Hogg et al 1983), and in moist to dry savannas and bluffs (Wunderlin and Hansen 2003). Prefers semi-shade and sandy soils including sandy loam, sandy clay, and drying or dry loamy sand (FSU Herbarium).

Agalinis tenuifolia also commonly grows in disturbed sites, including clear cut areas and the edges of pine plantations. Large populations may also be found growing at the margins of ditches and in other wet or moist habitats (Musselman and Mann 1978).

Associated species include Aristida, Eupatorium, Juniperus, Schoenus nigricans, Tridens flavus, Agalinis divaricata and others (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

It has been observed flowering September through November, and fruiting in October and November.

Use by animals

Native vegetation, often including Agalinis tenuifolia, can be completely destroyed and replaced by weeds (Hogg et al 1983) although the soil nutrients increase dramatically when Ring-billed Gulls and other species of gulls nest from April to June (Hogg et al 1983).

References and notes

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Wilson Baker, L. Brouillet, J. M. Canne, A. F. Clewell, Angus Gholson, Robert K. Godfrey, R. Karl, S. W. Leonard, and John C. Semple. States and Counties: Florida: Calhoun, Escambia, Gadsden, Jackson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Walton, Wakulla, and Washington. Georgia: Newton.

Hall, David W. Illustrated Plants of Florida and the Coastal Plain: based on the collections of Leland and Lucy Baltzell. 1993. A Maupin House Book. Gainesville. 343. Print.

Hogg, E.H. and J.K. Morton. 1983. The effects of nesting gulls on the vegetation and soil of islands in the Great Lakes. Canadian Journal of Botany 61:3240-3254.

Musselman, L.J. and W.F. Mann, Jr. 1978. Root parasites of southern forests. General Technical Report SO-20. New Orleans, LA, USDA Forest Service.

USDA NRCS Plants Database team. URL: USDA NRCS Plants

Wunderlin, Richard P. and Bruce F. Hansen. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida. Second edition. 2003. University Press of Florida: Gainesville/Tallahassee/Tampa/Boca Raton/Pensacola/Orlando/Miami/Jacksonville/Ft. Myers. 547. Print.