Sabatia angularis

Sabatia angularis
Photo taken by Gil Nelson
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order:	Gentianales
Family:	Gentianaceae
Genus:	Sabatia
Species:	S. angularis
Binomial name
Sabatia angularis (L.) Pursh
Natural range of Sabatia angularis from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common names: Bitter-bloom, Common Marshpink, or Rosepink (Nelson 2006).

Description

"Glabrous, perennial or annual herbs with erect or ascending stems. Leaves opposite, entire, sessile. Inflorescence terminal, cymose. Calyx 5-13 parted, lobes united at bae, those of first flowers longest, smaller on later flowers; corolla rotate white or pink with yellow eye, lobes 5-13, tube becoming membranous and persistent around the capsule. Capsule ovoid to ellipsoid; seeds small, alveolate." - Radford et al 1964

"Annual, rhizomes absent. Stems freely branched, quadrangular, usually winged, 2-8 dm tall. Basal leaves absent or present at anthesis; stems leaves ovate to ovate-lanceolate, 1.5-5 cm long, 1-4 cm wide, acute. Inflorescence paniculate, 1-2.5 cm broad, to 3.5 dm long, branches opposite. Calyx lobes 5, linear to narrow lanceolate, 0.7-1.5 cm long; corolla lobes pink, rarely white, oblanceolate, 1.5-2cm long, 0.6-1 cm wide; filaments 3-5 mm long; stigmas and style 4-6 mm long. Capsule ellipsoid, 6-10 mm long, angles not winged; seeds blackish brown, 0.4-0.5 mm long." - Radford et al 1964

Distribution

It is found in upland forests, forest edges, glades, and meadows. It is mostly an upland species, but sometimes will be seen along the edges of upland streams (Nelson 2006).

Ecology

Habitat

In the Coastal Plain in Florida and Georgia, S. angularis can be found in floodplain forests, hardwoods, annually burned upland pine woodlands, annually burned savannas, upland pines, and limestone glades. Associated species include Schoenus nigricans, Rhynchospora divergens, and Juniperus (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

It blooms from July to August (Nelson 2006).

References and notes

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: July 2015. Collectors: Robert K. Godfrey, Roy Komarek, R. A. Norris, Richard R. Clinebell II, J. M. Kane, Loran C. Anderson. States and Counties: Florida: Calhoun, Jackson, Leon. Georgia: Grady, Thomas. Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.

Nelson, Gil. Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers: A Field Guide to the Wildflowers of the Coastal Regions of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Northeastern Florida. Guilford, CT: FalconGuide, 2006. 86. Print.

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. 838. Print.