| Author | Ungberg, sp. nov. | |
| Distribution | Southern Coastal Plain only; known from just 3 counties. This is a newly described species in late 2024 (Ungberg et al. 2024), pulled out from the more southerly H. floridanus.
"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; however, Ungberg et al. (2024) say "we documented twelve previously unknown populations during fieldwork for this study" and thus they recommend a State Rank of S2. 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 (now H. waccamawensis), this taxon has no State Status by NCNHP. Now that this "undescribed species" has now been described, and H. floridanus does not now exist in NC, that State Threatened status technically belongs to H. waccamawensis. The website editors have thus put T = Threatened in brackets to indicate this temporary status. | |
| 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 especially in September, usually before the similar and sympatric H. angustifolius begins to flower. | |
| 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 et al. (2024) indicates that this species has noticeably shorter leaves than H. angustifolius. From the key in that publication, this new species: "Plants <1 m tall at maturity, strongly rhizomatous; mid-stem leaves <6(–10) cm long, mostly opposite; inflorescences of usually 1–3(–10) heads; disc florets yellow; achene pappus scales deltoid to lanceolate (usually ?0.5 mm wide and 1-4× as long as wide), often with additional irregularly shaped scales [Cape Fear Arch region of NC and SC]", whereas for H. angustifolius: "Plants usually >1 m tall at maturity, not rhizomatous, from crowns or caudices; mid-stem leaves 8–20 cm long, alternate or opposite; Inflorescences of usually 3–16(–many) heads; disc florets yellow or red to purple; achene pappus scales narrowly lanceolate to aristate (0.1–0.3 mm wide and ?7× as long as wide), lacking additional irregularly shaped scales [widespread]." | |
| Taxonomic Comments | There had been considerable discussion within NC that the "H. floridanus" in NC was not obviously the same taxon/species as that farther south from FL to LA. In 2024, a paper described this new species, leaving H. floridanus as ranging from southern SC southward (and not in NC).
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| Other Common Name(s) | None | |
| State Rank | [S2] | |
| Global Rank | GNR | |
| State Status | [T] | |
| US Status | | |
| USACE-agcp | | |
| USACE-emp | | |
