Richardia scabra

Richardia scabra
Photo was taken by Gil Nelson
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta – Flowering plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order:	Rubiales
Family:	Rubiaceae
Genus:	Richardia
Species:	R. scabra
Binomial name
Richardia scabra L.
Natural range of Richardia scabra from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Description

Common name is Rough Mexican Flower (Nelson 2006).

Distribution

It is observed in South Carolina Coastal Plain (Lewis and Harshbarger 1976).

Ecology

Habitat

It is found in fine sandy loams, poorly drained with slow permeability (Lewis and Harshbarger 1976). Found in vacant lots, roadsides, abandoned fields, and other dry, disturbed sites (Nelson 2006).

Phenology

It blooms from June through December (Nelson 2006).

Pollination

Deyrup observed these bees, Agapostemon splendens, Augochloropsis sumptuosa, Anthidiellum maculatum rufimaculatum, Megachile mendica, M. texana, Apis mellifera, and Bombus pennsylvanicus, on R. scabra (Deyrup et al 2002).

Mark Deyrup at Archbold Biological Station observed these Hymenoptera species on Richardia scabra

Apidae: Apis mellifera

Apidae: Bombus pennsylvanicus

Halictidae: Agapostemon splendens

Halictidae: Augochloropsis sumptuosa

Halictidae: Lasioglossum lepidii

Megachilidae: Anthidiellum notatum rufomaculatum

Megachilidae: Megachile mendica

Sphecidae: Ammophila pictipennis

Sphecidae: Cerceris tolteca

Sphecidae: Prionyx thomae

Sphecidae: Stictia carolina

Sphecidae: Tachytes pepticus

Vespidae: Leptochilus republicanus

Vespidae: Parancistrocerus salcularis rufuluS

Use by animals

Richardia scabra was heavily fed on by Gopher tortoises in agricultural areas of southwestern Georgia (Garner and Landers 1981)

References and notes

• 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. 159. Print.
• Lewis, C. E. and T. J. Harshbarger. 1976. Shrub and herbaceous vegetation after 20 years of prescribed burning in the South Carolina coastal plain. Journal of Range Management 29:13-18.
• Deyrup, Mark, Jayanthi Edirisinghe, and Beth Norden. 2002. The Diversity and Floral Hosts of Bees at the Archbold Biological Station, Florida (Hymenoptera: Apoidea). Insect Mundi 16.1-3: 87-120.
• Garner, J. A. and J. L. Landers. 1981. Foods and habitat of the gopher tortoise in southwestern Georgia. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies 35:120-134.