Galactia regularis

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Galactia regularis
Galactia regularis Gil.jpg
Photo was taken by Gil Nelson
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order: Fabales
Family: Fabaceae ⁄ Leguminosae
Genus: Galactia
Species: G. regularis
Binomial name
Galactia regularis
(L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.
GALA REGU dist.jpg
Natural range of Galactia regularis from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Description

It is a legume.[1]

Distribution

“It occurs in pine lands and sandy woods from New York to Florida and Mississippi.”[2] Occurs in Pinus elliottii plantation in South Carolina.[3]

Ecology

Habitat

It can be found in xeric areas with hot, wet summers and mild, dry winters.[4] Pine sandhill communities.[5] It can be found in shrubland.[4]

Phenology

“A prostrate perennial with showy violet-purple flowers, frequently found climbing over bushes.”[2]

Seed dispersal

Seed bank and germination

Maximum germination was observed for G. regularis at the 80 degrees Celsius dry heat shock treatment. Wet heat (boiling water) treatments, however, resulted in 100% mortality of seeds.[1] Soil scarification seems to impede germination.[3] It reproduces by resprouting after fire.[6]

Fire ecology

In a field study of vegetation change in Florida scrub, G. regularis cover increased after fire.[7] However, this increase may not be the direct result of fire. Heat shock germination may play a role in its post-fire recruitment.[1] The amount of G. regularis decreased after a spring burn; decreased slightly after a summer burn; and increased in the control plots.[8] A total of 24 plants in four new quadrants were recruited postburn study in the Florida scrub – Lake Wales Ridge area.[9] “Results from previous studies[10] indicate that leguminous plants and seed respond best to “hot” f i r e s - - i . e., those in which a high proportion of the ground fuel is consumed. Laboratory tests[11] have also shown that seed from several leguminous species germinate best after scarification with moist heat at temperatures near 80” C., a situation requiring a hot fire. The response of the leguminous plants and seed in this study, therefore, would probably have been greater if the pine stands had been burned with more intense fires. Nevertheless, further work will be necessary before we can make final conclusions about the value of prescribed burning to quail and other wildlife in the 2.5 million acres of pine in the South Carolina Piedmont.”[8] As an herbaceous vine, the amount of groundcover of G. regularis increased slightly when the area has not been burned (controlled treatment). The amount of groundcover decreased from ~58 to 23% after a burn. (Michelle’s understanding that the G. regularis had a higher population when the area was burned previously before the experiments were conducted).[12]

Pollination

Use by animals

Deyrup (2002) observed these bees, Augochlorella aurata, A,gochloropsis metallica, A. szcmptuosa, Nomia maaeei, Anthidiellurn lzotatum rufimaculatum, A. perplexurn, Anthidiuln maczclifrons,Coelioxys gerrnana, C. sayi, Megachilealbitarsis, M. brevis pseudobrevis, M. brirnleyi, M. deflexa, M. exilis parexilis, M. georgica, M.integra, M. mendica, M. petulans, Svastraatripes, Apis mellifera, Bonzbus impatiens, on G. regularis.[13] On occasion, occurred in White-tailed deer’s diet.[14] “Seeds have been found in stomachs of the bobwhite, for which it is considered an important food.”Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag

Conservation and Management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Bolin, J. F. (2009). "Heat shock germination responses of three eastern North American temperate species." Castanea 74: 160-167.
  2. 2.0 2.1 Graham, E. H. (1941). Legumes for erosion control and wildlife. Washington, USDA
  3. 3.0 3.1 Mou, P., R. H. Jones, et al. (2005). "Regeneration strategies, disturbance and plant interactions as organizers of vegetation spatial patterns in a pine forest." Landscape Ecology 20: 971-987.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Hawkes, C. V. and E. S. Menges (2003). "Effects of lichens on seedling emergence in a xeric Florida shrubland." Southeastern Naturalist 2: 223-234.
  5. Downer, M. R. (2012). Plant species richness and species area relationships in a Florida sandhill community. Integrative Biology. Ann Arbor, MI, University of South Florida. M.S.: 52.
  6. Reinhart, K. O. and E. S. Menges (2004). "Effects of re-introducing fire to a central Florida sandhill community." Applied Vegetation Science 7: 141-150.
  7. Weekley, C.W. and E.S. Menges. 2003. Species and vegetation responses to prescribed fire in a long-unburned, endemic-rich Lake Wales ridge scrub. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 130: 265-282. Bolin, J. F. (2009). "Heat shock germination responses of three eastern North American temperate species." Castanea 74: 160-167.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Cushwa, C. T., M. Hopkins, et al. (1970). Response of legumes to prescribed burns in loblolly pine stands of the South Carolina Piedmont. Asheville, NC, USDA Forest Service, Research Note SE-140: 6.
  9. Weekley, C.W. and E.S. Menges. 2003. Species and vegetation responses to prescribed fire in a long-unburned, endemic-rich Lake Wales ridge scrub. J. Torrey Bot. Soc. 130: 265-282.
  10. Cushwa, C. T., Czuhai, Eugene, Cooper, R. W., and Julian, W. H. 1969. Burning clearcut openings in Ioblolly pine to improve wildlife habitat. Ga. Forest Res. Count. Res. Pap. 61, 5 pp. Cushwa, C. T. and Redd, J. B. 1966. One prescribed burn and its effects on habitat of the Powhatan Game Management Area. Southeast. Forest Exp. %a., U. S. Forest Serv. Res. Note SE-61, 2 pp.
  11. Cushwa, C. T., Martin, R. E., and Miller, R. L. 1968. The effects of fire on seed germination. J. Range Manage. 21: 250-254. M a r t i n , R . E., a n d C u s h w a , C . T. 1966. Effects of heat and moisture on leguminous seed. Fifth Annu. Tall Timbers Fire Ecol. Conf. Proc. 1966: 159-175.
  12. Reinhart, K. O. and E. S. Menges (2004). "Effects of re-introducing fire to a central Florida sandhill community." Applied Vegetation Science 7: 141-150.
  13. Deyrup, M. J. E., and Beth Norden (2002). "The diversity and floral hosts of bees at the Archbold Biological Station, Florida (Hymenoptera: Apoidea)." Insecta mundi 16(1-3).
  14. Gee, K. L., M. D. Porter, et al. (1994). White-tailed deer : their foods and management in the cross timbers. Ardmore, OK, Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation.