| Author | | |
| Distribution | Southern Coastal Plain only; known from just 4 counties. However, E. Ungberg has studied this taxon in 2021-2022 and has evidence that our NC population, and in adjacent SC, appears to be an undescribed species -- and is clearly not the standard H. floridanus found in FL and GA. We await publication of his data in a journal.
"Endemic to the middle Coastal Plain of se. NC and e. SC." (Weakley 2023) | |
| Abundance | Rare, but locally uncommon; can grow in sizable patches. The NCNHP database contains about 11 records, only about 6 of them recent. The NCNHP considers H. floridanus as a State Threatened species; however, as Weakley (2024) is firm in that H. floridanus does not occur in NC but our population is instead an undescribed species, this taxon has no State Status by NCNHP. At a minimum, the website editors suggest SR-L (Limited range). | |
| Habitat | "Loamy pine savannas." (Weakley 2023) Wet Longleaf Pine-Wiregrass savannas and seepages, powerlines through these habitats. Most NC populations grow in roadside rights-of-way, and few in truly natural habitats. Ungberg mentions that many of these NC sites are not as all damp but are more in mesic soil conditions. | |
| Phenology | Blooms in August and September. | |
| Identification | The plants in NC typically grow only to 2-3 feet tall and can flower at knee-height; leaves are very narrow, and the plants often grow in dense stands where it is difficult to distinguish individual plants. Ungberg's detailed study shows that it is distinct from H. angustifolius and not just runt individuals or frequently mowed individuals of that common species. | |
| Taxonomic Comments | There has been considerable discussion within NC that the "H. floridanus" in NC is not obviously the same taxon/species as that farther south from FL to LA. Though Weakley (2023) does include NC within the range of that species, it may be that this undescribed species is the NC form of what has been called as H. floridanus, or at least some of the NC specimens of that species might actually refer to this undescribed taxon. In 2024, Weakley has completely removed H. floridanus from the NC Flora, understandably so, as the entity formerly under than name is now this undescribed taxon.
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| Other Common Name(s) | | |
| State Rank | [S1?] | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
| State Status | [W7] | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
