Difference between revisions of "Ceanothus microphyllus"

From Coastal Plain Plants Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
(Ecology)
(Pollination)
(4 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 28: Line 28:
 
<!-- Basic life history facts such as annual/perrenial, monoecious/dioecious, root morphology, seed type, etc. -->
 
<!-- Basic life history facts such as annual/perrenial, monoecious/dioecious, root morphology, seed type, etc. -->
  
''C. microphyllus'' is a perennial shrub that is in the Rhamnaceae family. It has small leaves that are less than 1/2 inch long, and usually reaches heights of 1 foot with 2-3 feet in spread.<ref name= "lady bird">[[https://www.wildflower.org/plants/search.php?search_field=&newsearch=true]] Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Accessed: April 4, 2019</ref> This species has been observed to have several main branches near the base.<ref name="fsu">Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, R. A. Norris, Andre F. Clewell, Robert K. Godfrey, Steve L. Orzell, R. Komarek and Helen Roth. States and Counties: Florida: Gadsden, Liberty, and Wakulla. Georgia: Decatur, Grady, and Thomas.</ref>
+
''C. microphyllus'' is a perennial shrub that is in the Rhamnaceae family. It has small leaves that are less than 1/2 inch long, and usually reaches heights of 1 foot with 2-3 feet in spread.<ref name= "lady bird">[[https://www.wildflower.org/plants/search.php?search_field=&newsearch=true]] Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Accessed: April 4, 2019</ref> This species has been observed to have several main branches near the base.<ref name="fsu">Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, R. A. Norris, Andre F. Clewell, Robert K. Godfrey, Steve L. Orzell, R. Komarek and Helen Roth. States and Counties: Florida: Gadsden, Liberty, and Wakulla. Georgia: Decatur, Grady, and Thomas.</ref>The flowers have obdiplostemony stamens, five clawed petals, and white. Fruits are explosively dehiscent. Mature fruits are dry, and three lobed.<ref>Coile N.C. 1992. Little-leaf Redroot. Palmetto 12(1):10-11.</ref>
  
 
==Distribution==
 
==Distribution==
Line 45: Line 45:
  
 
===Fire ecology===<!--Fire tolerance, fire dependence, adaptive fire responses-->  
 
===Fire ecology===<!--Fire tolerance, fire dependence, adaptive fire responses-->  
This species occurs in mature longleaf pine communities that are frequently burned.<ref name="fsu"/>
+
This species occurs in mature longleaf pine communities that are frequently burned.<ref name="fsu"/>Resprouts after quick burning fire.<ref>Coile N. C. 1992. Little-leaf Redroot. Palmetto 12(1):10-11</ref>
<!--===Pollination===-->  
+
 
 +
===Pollination===
 +
Pollinators are necessary for fruits to form. Many insects are attracted to the flowers.<ref>Coile N.C. 1992. Little-leaf Redroot. Palmetto 12(1):10-11</ref>
  
 
===Use by animals===<!--Herbivory, granivory, insect hosting, etc.-->  
 
===Use by animals===<!--Herbivory, granivory, insect hosting, etc.-->  

Revision as of 16:08, 11 June 2019

Ceanothus microphyllus
Ceanothus microphyllus Gil.jpg
Photo by Gil Nelson
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order: Rhamnales
Family: Rhamnaceae
Genus: Ceanothus
Species: C. microphyllus
Binomial name
Ceanothus microphyllus
Michx.
CARP CORY dist.jpg
Natural range of Ceanothus microphyllus from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: Littleleaf Buckbrush

Taxonomic notes

Synonyms: none

Varieties: none

The specific epithet refers to the reduced leaves that are tiny rounded nubs.[1]

Description

C. microphyllus is a perennial shrub that is in the Rhamnaceae family. It has small leaves that are less than 1/2 inch long, and usually reaches heights of 1 foot with 2-3 feet in spread.[2] This species has been observed to have several main branches near the base.[3]The flowers have obdiplostemony stamens, five clawed petals, and white. Fruits are explosively dehiscent. Mature fruits are dry, and three lobed.[4]

Distribution

It is native to Alabama, Georgia, and Florida.[5] National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA. It is listed as vulnerable in Alabama and Georgia.[6] Weakley notes that C. microphyllus is found a few kilometers away from the South Carolina border, and may spread to that state.[7]

Ecology

Habitat

This species has been found in open longleaf pine-wiregrass savannahs, sandhills, ridges, slopes, and wetlands. It has been observed to grow in well-drained dry loamy sands in the uplands as well as mesic environments. Associated species include Pinus palustris and Aristida stricta.[3][7]

Phenology

C. microphyllus has been observed flowering from March to May and July with peak inflorescence in April.[8]

Seed dispersal

This species is thought to be dispersed by ants and/or explosive dehiscence. [9]

Fire ecology

This species occurs in mature longleaf pine communities that are frequently burned.[3]Resprouts after quick burning fire.[10]

Pollination

Pollinators are necessary for fruits to form. Many insects are attracted to the flowers.[11]

Use by animals

Trace amounts of C. microphyllus have been found to be eaten by white-tailed deer.[12]

Conservation and management

Cultivation and restoration

Photo Gallery

References and notes

  1. [[1]]. Native Florida Wildflowers. Accessed: April 12, 2016
  2. [[2]] Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Accessed: April 4, 2019
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, R. A. Norris, Andre F. Clewell, Robert K. Godfrey, Steve L. Orzell, R. Komarek and Helen Roth. States and Counties: Florida: Gadsden, Liberty, and Wakulla. Georgia: Decatur, Grady, and Thomas.
  4. Coile N.C. 1992. Little-leaf Redroot. Palmetto 12(1):10-11.
  5. USDA, NRCS. (2016). The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 4 April 2019).
  6. [[3]]NatureServe. Accessed: April 12, 2016
  7. 7.0 7.1 Weakley, A. S. (2015). Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States. Chapel Hill, NC, University of North Carolina Herbarium.
  8. Nelson, G. PanFlora: Plant data for the eastern United States with emphasis on the Southeastern Coastal Plains, Florida, and the Florida Panhandle. www.gilnelson.com/PanFlora/ Accessed: 7 DEC 2016
  9. Kirkman, L. Katherine. Unpublished database of seed dispersal mode of plants found in Coastal Plain longleaf pine-grasslands of the Jones Ecological Research Center, Georgia.
  10. Coile N. C. 1992. Little-leaf Redroot. Palmetto 12(1):10-11
  11. Coile N.C. 1992. Little-leaf Redroot. Palmetto 12(1):10-11
  12. Harlow, R. F. (1961). "Fall and winter foods of Florida white-tailed deer." The Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences 24(1): 19-38.