Ageratina altissima
Common names: Snakeroot; White Snakeroot
Synonyms: Eupatorium rugosum Houtt.
| Ageratina altissima | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida - Dicotyledons |
| Order: | Asterales |
| Family: | Asteraceae ⁄ Compositae |
| Genus: | Ageratina |
| Species: | A. altissima |
| Binomial name | |
| Ageratina altissima (L.) King & H. Rob. | |
| |
| Natural range of Ageratina altissima from USDA NRCS Plants Database. | |
Contents
Description
A description of Ageratina altissima is provided in The Flora of North America. It is a perennial (Hall 1993).
Distribution
It is common in north Florida. Found west to Texas and north to Canada (Hall 1993).
Ecology
Ageratina altissima competes by allelopathy. Aqueous extracts from roots and especially shoots decrease the rate of germination, percentage of germination, and size of germinated Lettuce and Radish seeds in Petri dishes as well as in pots of forest soil. [1]
Habitat
Ageratina altissima grows in shady to partially shady areas (FSU Herbarium). It prefers wet or moist soils, including sandy alluvial soil, drying sandy loam, and wet loamy soil with limestone outcrops (FSU Herbarium). It is common in the eastern deciduous forest herb layer. [1] This species also occupies scrub, thicket, floodplain forest, and slope/bluff habitats (FSU Herbarium). It can also be found in disturbed areas like roadsides, old fields, clearings, and the margins of waterways.[2]
Phenology
It is a perennial, weedy herb that flowers and fruits in late summer to fall (Wunderlin and Hansen 2003). [1] Flowering and fruiting individuals have been observed particularly in September, October, and November (FSU Herbarium).
Seed dispersal
It disseminates its mature seeds (achenes) by wind in fall and winter. Each plant can produce thousands of seeds at a time. [3]
Seed bank and germination
Ageratina altissima usually needs light to germinate. Ageratina altissima exhibits a Type II response to stratification: Germination in the spring generally can occur at a lower temperature than germination in the fall as a result of dormancy loss in the winter. Thus, germination in the spring is more likely because of relatively higher temperatures and lower temperature requirements than in fall. [2]
Fire ecology
It is most abundant after a late-season (early October) burn. [4]
Pollination
Use by animals
It is avoided by many insects. [1] Hall (1993) states that it is poisonous to grazing animals.
Diseases and parasites
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, Robert K. Godfrey, P. L. Redfearn, Jr., Richard S. Mitchell, Patricia Elliot, Robert L. Lazor, John B. Nelson, A. Gholson Jr., Angela M. Reid, and K. M. Robertson. States and Counties: Florida: Leon, Jefferson, Jackson, Gadsden, Liberty, and Calhoun. South Carolina: Greenville.
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. 100. Print.
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. 295. Print.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Corbett, B. F. and J. A. Morrison (2012). "The allelopathic potentials of the non-native invasive plant Microstegium vimineum and the native Ageratina altissima: two dominant species of the eastern forest herb layer." Northeastern Naturalist 19: 297-312.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Walck, J. L., C. C. Baskin, et al. (1997). "Comparative achene germination requirements of the rockhouse endemic Ageratina luciae-brauniae and its widespread close relative A. altissima (Asteraceae)." American Midland Naturalist 137: 1-12.
- ↑ Lau, J. M. and D. L. Robinson (2010). "Phenotypic selection for seed dormancy in white snakeroot (Eupatorium rugosum)." Weed Biology & Management 10: 241-248.
- ↑ Pavlovic, N. B., S. A. Leicht-Young, et al. (2011). "Short-term effects of burn season on flowering phenology of savanna plants." Plant Ecology 212: 611-625.
