Difference between revisions of "Mecardonia acuminata"

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(Taxonomic notes)
(Ecology)
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===Phenology=== <!--Timing off flowering, fruiting, seed dispersal, and environmental triggers.  Cite PanFlora website if appropriate: http://www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ -->
 
===Phenology=== <!--Timing off flowering, fruiting, seed dispersal, and environmental triggers.  Cite PanFlora website if appropriate: http://www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ -->
 
This species has been observed flowering and fruiting in February and September (FSU Herbarium).
 
This species has been observed flowering and fruiting in February and September (FSU Herbarium).
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===Seed dispersal===
 
===Seed bank and germination===
 
===Fire ecology=== <!--Fire tolerance, fire dependence, adaptive fire responses-->
 
===Pollination===
 
===Use by animals=== <!--Herbivory, granivory, insect hosting, etc.-->
 
===Diseases and parasites===
 
 
==Conservation and Management==
 
==Conservation and Management==
 
==Cultivation and restoration==
 
==Cultivation and restoration==

Revision as of 07:44, 23 March 2016

Mecardonia acuminata
Meca acum.jpg
Photo by John R. Gwaltney, Southeastern Flora.com
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order: Scrophulariales
Family: Scrophulariaceae
Genus: Mecardonia
Species: M. acuminata
Binomial name
Mecardonia acuminata
(Walter) Small
MECA ACUM dist.jpg
Natural range of Mecardonia acuminata from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: axilflower

Taxonomic notes

Synonyms: Bacopa acuminata (Walter) B.L. Robinson; Pagesia acuminata (Walter) Pennell ssp. typica; Mecardonia acuminata ssp. acuminata

Description

It has been observed to be both frequent and infrequent where it is found (FSU Herbarium).

"Erect, branched, glabrous perennial, the stems angled, 1-5 dm tall, usually blackening on drying. Leaves opposite, firm, oblanceolate to elliptic, mostly 1-4.5 cm long, 5-12 mm wide, distally serrate, sessile or narrowly cuneate to a short, obscure petiole. Peduncles axillary, solitary, about as long, or longer than the subtending leaf, with 2 linear bractlets at the base; sepals 5, linear-lanceolate, 7-9 mm long; corolla white or tinged with lavender, personate, 9-11 mm long; fertile anthers 4, normal. Capsule ellipsoid, 6-8 mm long." - Radford et al 1964

Distribution

Ecology

Habitat

This species has been found along grassy limestone glades in open areas, in floodplain forests, and savannas (FSU Herbarium). It also can be found in human distrubed areas such as parking areas, powerline corridors, and roadside ditches (FSU Herbarium). This species grows in semi-shaded environments wet, limestone, and sandy loam soils (FSU Herbarium). In Louisiana, soils are upland coastal plain type with little slope and low fertility (Thill 1983). Associated species include Sporobolus vaginiflorus, Stenaria nigricans, Polygala grandiflora var. angustifolia, Rhynchospora, Fuirena, and Scleria (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

This species has been observed flowering and fruiting in February and September (FSU Herbarium).

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

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, Ann F. Johnson, Wilson Baker, Robert K. Godfrey, R.A. Norris, R. Komarek, and Lisa Keppner. States and Counties: Florida: Calhoun, Gadsden, Jackson, Jefferson, Leon, Suwannee, Taylor, and Washington. Georgia: Grady.

Radford, Albert E., Harry E. Ahles, and C. Ritchie Bell. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. 1964, 1968. The University of North Carolina Press. 938. Print.

Thill, R. E. (1983). Deer and cattle forage selection on Louisiana pine-hardwood sites. New Orleans, LA, USDA Forest Service.