Pityopsis aspera

Pityopsis aspera
Photo taken by Kevin Robertson
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants
Class:	Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Order:	Asterales
Family:	Asteraceae ⁄ Compositae
Genus:	Pityopsis
Species:	P. aspera
Binomial name
Physalis arenicola (Shuttlw. ex Small) Small
Natural range of Physalis arenicola from USDA NRCS Plants Database.

Common name: pineland silkgrass

Description

A description of Pityopsis aspera is provided in The Flora of North America.

Ecology

Habitat

P. aspera is distributed across southern Georgia and northern Florida (Gowe and Brewer 2005) and is commonly found in Florida sandhill community (Downer-MR_2012_MSThesis.) Habitats documented include longleaf wiregrass sandhills, deep sand banks along hardwood hammocks, open pinewoods, longleaf pine/turkey oaks, scrub oak barrens, longleaf pine savannas, sand pine-evergreen oak scrubs, a high bluff overlooking creek, and chestnut oak woods (FSU Herbarium). In disturbed areas it grows in beds of old railroads, roadsides with bahia grass, a clearing of mixed pine-hardwood stand, harrowed areas, bordering fields, and on golf course edges alongside broomsage (FSU Herbarium). Soil types include sand, dry loamy sand, dry clayey sand, gray sand, wet soil, dry sand-clay bank, loam soil, red clay bank and gravelly-clay (FSU Herbarium).

Associated species include Pityopsis flexuosa, Pinus palustris, Aristida stricta, Chrysopsis latisquamea, Chrysopsis gossypina Quercus, Paronychia, bahia grass, Haplopappus divaricatus, Eupatorium pinnatifidum, Lechea, Diodia teres, Dicanthelium, Lespedeza hirta, Polygonella gracilis, Vaccinium arboreum, sandpine, Microcephala, Liatris, Panicum, Leptoloma cognata, Phoebanthus, Scleria ciliata, Helianthus microcephalus, Helianthus atrorubens, Silphium compositum, Eupatorium, Heterotheca latifolia and chestnut oak (FSU Herbarium).

Phenology

Flowering and fruiting have been recorded August through December (FSU Herbarium).

Fire ecology

P. aspera occurs in areas with an estimated pre-settlement fire-return interval of 1-3 years (Gowe and Brewer 2005) and flowers within two months of burning in early summer (Robertson).

References and notes

Downer, M. R. (2012). Plant species richness and species area relationships in a Florida sandhill community. Integrative Biology. Ann Arbor, MI, University of South Florida. M.S.: 52.

Gowe, A. K. and J. S. Brewer (2005). "The evolution of fire-dependent flowering in goldenasters (Pityopsis spp.)." Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 132: 384-400.

Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: Collectors: States and Counties: Compiled by Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy.

Robertson, Kevin M. 2014. Personal observation.