Dyschoriste oblongifolia
| Dyschoriste oblongifolia | |
|---|---|
| |
| photo by Kevin Robertson | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons |
| Order: | Scrophulariales |
| Family: | Acanthaceae |
| Genus: | Dyschoriste |
| Species: | D. oblongifolia |
| Binomial name | |
| Dyschoriste oblongifolia (Michx.) Kunz | |
| |
| Natural range of Dyschoriste oblongifolia. Image from USDA NRCS Plants Database. | |
Common name: oblongleaf snakeherb
Contents
Taxonomic notes
Description
Dyschoriste oblongifolia, a perennial herb with opposite branches from elongate, slender rhizomes. Plant 1-5 dm tall; stems pilose. Leaves glabrate, oblanceolate to eliptic, to 4.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, entire or undulate, ciliate, sesslie or subsessile. Flowers subsessile, solitary or clustered in the leaf axils; bracts foliaceous, opposite, 15-18 mm long. Calyx pubescent, 15-20 cm long, tube short, lobes 5, linear-aristate; corolla 1.5-3 cm long, blue, funnelform, somewhat 2-lipped, lobes 5, 5-10 cm long; stamens 4, anther locules parallel; style to 1.5 cm long, 1-2 ovlues per locule, seeds 1 per locule, gray, ca. 2.5 mm broad. Capsules, brown, oblong, 12-14 mm long, ca. 3 mm in diameter (Radford et al. 1968).
D. oblongifolia is a low-growing groundcover that spreads by underground runners [1]
Distribution
The Florida distribution is provided by the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants.
Ecology
Habitat
Indicator of native (unplowed) longleaf pine woodlands in upland Ultisol soils, and conversely rarely found on pasture or cultivated lands in that soil type[2][3][4]). Appears to be restricted to soils with a sandy A horizon, whether in Entisols (sandhills) or Ultisols (clayhills) (KMR). Where present in native longleaf pine-wiregrass habitats it is common and abundant [5][3]. Dyschoriste oblongifolia is restricted to native groundcover with a statistical affinity in upland pinelands of South Georgia.[3]. This species also has been observed in scrub environments, turkey oak barrens, wiregrass-palmetto flatwoods, mixed hardwood forests, mixed pine-hardwoods, and slopes and ridges of longleaf pine forests (FSU Herbarium)[6][7] It is abundant in longleaf pine communities.[8] Resides in upland, midslope, and lowland areas old growth longleaf pine/wiregrass sandhill habitat.[6]. In deep sand soils it can grow in human disturbed areas such as recently cleared pine forests, ruderal edges of sandhills, roadsides, plowed areas, bulldozed areas, and open fields (FSU Herbarium). This suggests that its absence from Ultisols influenced by past agriculture may be in part due to changes in the soil structure associated with erosion of the sandy A horizon (KMR), and it may also relate to loss of native ants that act as seed dispersers[4]. D. oblongifolia can grow in both full light and semi shaded environments in deep, loose, and/or loamy sands along ridges and generally flat areas (FSU Herbarium).
Associated species include Serenoa repens, Ilex glabra, Myrica, Aristida, Quercus laevis, Scutellaria multiglandulosa, Tephrosia virginiana (FSU Herbarium).
Phenology
D. oblongifolia germinates and flowers within a few weeks following fire at a wide range of burn dates, at least from March to July (KMR). It has been observed to flower from April to October (FSU Herbarium).
Seed dispersal
Seeds are dispersed by ants[4]. Although it spreads primiarily by underground runners, it does produce many seeds when its seed capsules split open.[1]
Fire ecology
It has been found in both burned and unburned areas (FSU Herbarium). It resprouts rapidly after fire[8] and flowers predictably within one or two months following burning in the spring and summer (KMR)[9]. Conversely, flowering is rather sparse and inconsistent in years without fire [10]
Pollination
Use by animals
Diseases and parasites
Conservation and management
Cultivation and restoration
References and notes
Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Andre Clewell, Robert Godfrey, Robert Kral, P.L. Redfearn, Jr., William P. Adams, Loran Anderson, Richard Carter, H. Larry Stripling, S.W. Leonard, Gwynn W. Ramsey, R.S. Mitchell, George Cooley, James D. Ray, Jr., C.E. Wood, C.E. Smith, R.J. Eaton, Roy Komarek, Gary R. Knight, Mark A. Garland, C. Jackson, Mary Margaret Williams, T. Myint, Grady W. Reinert, Bill & Pam Anderson, John B. Nelson, R. L. Wilbur, C. R. Bell, Rodie White, R. A. Norris, D. C. Hunt, and Wilson Baker. States and Counties: Alabama: Heny. Florida: Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Gadsden, Jackson, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Marion, Orange, Pasco, Polk, Seminole, Suwannee, Taylor, Volusia, and Wakulla. Georgia: Bryan, Grady, McIntosh, Seminole, Sumter, and Thomas. South Carolina: Hampton and Jasper.
Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. 1183 pp.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Huegel, Craig. [Florida Native Wildflowers] Accessed November 13, 2015
- ↑ Brudvig, L. A. and E. I. Damschen (2010). "Land-use history, historical connectivity, and land management interact to determine longleaf pine woodland understory richness and composition." Ecography 34: 257-266.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Ostertag, T.E. and K.M. Robertson. 2007. A comparison of native versus old-field vegetation in upland pinelands managed with frequent fire, South Georgia, USA. Tall Timbers Fire Ecology Conference Proceedings 23:109-120.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Creech, M. N., L. K. Kirkman, et al. (2012). "Alteration and Recovery of Slash Pile Burn Sites in the Restoration of a Fire-Maintained Ecosystem." Restoration Ecology 20(4): 505-516.
- ↑ Kirkman, L. K., M. B. Drew, et al. (1998). "Effects of experimental fire regimes on the population dynamics of Schwalbea americana L." Plant Ecology 137: 115-137.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gilliam, F. S., W. J. Platt, et al. (2006). "Natural disturbances and the physiognomy of pine savannas: A phenomenological model." Applied Vegetation Science 9: 83-96.
- ↑ Wade, K. A. and E. S. Menges (1987). "Effects of fire on invasion and community structure of a southern Indiana cedar barrens." Indiana Academy of Science 96: 273-286.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Simkin, S. M., W. K. Michener, et al. (2001). "Plant response following soil disturbance in a longleaf pine ecosystem." Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 128: 208-218.
- ↑ Pavon, M. L. (1995). Diversity and response of ground cover arthropod communities to different seasonal burns in longleaf pine forests. Tallahassee, Florida A&M University.
- ↑ KMR observations at Pebble Hill Fire Plots on Pebble Hill Plantation near Thomasville, Georgia.
