Sabatia arkansana
Encyclopedia
Sabatia arkansana, commonly known as Pelton’s rose gentian, is an herbaceous annual in the gentian family
. It was discovered in 2001 in several glades
of the Ouachita Mountains
in Saline County, Arkansas
by John Pelton, a retired mechanic turned amateur photographer and naturalist. It is known only from two locations in this county and is considered critically imperiled as a result of the presence of nearby housing developments and due to the absence of a fire regime
. In summer it shows attractive rose-purple flowers.
growing to about 12 cm tall. The leaves
are produced in opposite pairs, lanceolate, 5-15 mm long and 2-3 mm broad. The flower
s are about 3.5 cm diameter, with a five-lobed corolla, purplish-pink with a pale yellow center, and five yellow stamen
s. The fruit
is a capsule
about 1 cm long.
. Pelton's rose gentian differs from it in its smaller size, darker pink flowers with rounded corolla lobes and in growing on moister sites.
While surveying populations of the rare pipewort Eriocaulon koernickianum in similar habitats near the town of Bauxite
, John Pringle, a botanist from the Royal Botanical Gardens
in Ontario
, and Witsell discovered another population of Pelton's rose gentian. After Witsell had compared his specimens with a range of specimens of S. campestis at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and had confirmed that they were not the same, the plants were sent to Pringle who described and named the new species. The authors offered to name the species after Pelton, but he declined. Instead they chose the specific name arkansana due to the plant's endemism in Arkansas
. Despite Pelton's refusal to have the specific epithet bear his surname, the authors suggested the common name "Pelton's rose-gentian" in his honour.
and igneous glades that become wet in winter but are dry from summer through fall. Within these unique micro-habitats the plant only exists in confined flat areas along the floodplains of small streams that often dry up during the hotter months of the year. It may also be found in similar conditions near seeping springs. Due to the plant being an annual, the population numbers fluctuate every year. At the first known site, called the Womble Formation site, between 200 to over 1000 individuals were found between 2001 and 2004. The other site showed similar results. Similar habitats in the neighbouring areas of Pulaski County, Garland County and Montgomery County
were searched in 2003 and 2004 in hopes of finding other sites, but none were found.
Gentianaceae
Gentianaceae are a family of flowering plants of 87 genera and over 1500 species. Flowers are actinomorphic and bisexual with fused sepals and petals. The stamens are attached to the inside of the petals and alternate with the corolla lobes. There is a glandular disk at the base of the gynoecium,...
. It was discovered in 2001 in several glades
Glade (geography)
A glade or clearing is an open area within a woodland. Glades are often grassy meadows under the canopy of deciduous trees such as red alder or quaking aspen in western North America. They also represent openings in forests where local conditions such as avalanches, poor soils, or fire damage have...
of the Ouachita Mountains
Ouachita Mountains
The Ouachita Mountains are a mountain range in west central Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. The range's subterranean roots may extend as far as central Texas, or beyond it to the current location of the Marathon Uplift. Along with the Ozark Mountains, the Ouachita Mountains form the U.S...
in Saline County, Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
by John Pelton, a retired mechanic turned amateur photographer and naturalist. It is known only from two locations in this county and is considered critically imperiled as a result of the presence of nearby housing developments and due to the absence of a fire regime
Fire ecology
Fire ecology is concerned with the processes linking the natural incidence of fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects of this fire. Many ecosystems, such as the North American prairie and chaparral ecosystems, and the South African savanna, have evolved with fire as a natural and necessary...
. In summer it shows attractive rose-purple flowers.
Description
It is an annual plantAnnual plant
An annual plant is a plant that usually germinates, flowers, and dies in a year or season. True annuals will only live longer than a year if they are prevented from setting seed...
growing to about 12 cm tall. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are produced in opposite pairs, lanceolate, 5-15 mm long and 2-3 mm broad. The flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s are about 3.5 cm diameter, with a five-lobed corolla, purplish-pink with a pale yellow center, and five yellow stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s. The fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
is a capsule
Capsule (fruit)
In botany a capsule is a type of simple, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. A capsule is a structure composed of two or more carpels that in most cases is dehiscent, i.e. at maturity, it splits apart to release the seeds within. A few capsules are indehiscent, for example...
about 1 cm long.
Similar species
It is similar to and often occurs together with the related Sabatia campestrisSabatia campestris
Sabatia campestris is a species of Sabatia, native to the south-central United States, from Texas east to Mississippi and north to Iowa and Illinois...
. Pelton's rose gentian differs from it in its smaller size, darker pink flowers with rounded corolla lobes and in growing on moister sites.
Taxonomy
John Pelton, an amateur nature photographer and naturalist, discovered Sabatia arkansana in 2001 northwest of the town of Owensville. Initially unaware of his discovery, he showed the plant to Theo Witsell, a botany student who was involved with the Flora of Arkansas Project, in hopes of properly identifying it. He collected specimens of it and Sabatia campestris, which was also found growing at the same site. All the consulted literature seemed to suggest that both were S. campestris, but the differences between the two were clear.While surveying populations of the rare pipewort Eriocaulon koernickianum in similar habitats near the town of Bauxite
Bauxite, Arkansas
Bauxite is a town in Saline County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 432 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Little Rock–North Little Rock–Conway Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town is named for the mineral bauxite, the source ore for aluminum, which was found in...
, John Pringle, a botanist from the Royal Botanical Gardens
Royal Botanical Gardens, Ontario
Royal Botanical Gardens is headquartered in Burlington and also include lands in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is one of the major tourist attractions between Niagara Falls and Toronto, as well as a significant local and regional horticultural, education, conservation and scientific resource...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, and Witsell discovered another population of Pelton's rose gentian. After Witsell had compared his specimens with a range of specimens of S. campestis at the Missouri Botanical Gardens and had confirmed that they were not the same, the plants were sent to Pringle who described and named the new species. The authors offered to name the species after Pelton, but he declined. Instead they chose the specific name arkansana due to the plant's endemism in Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. Despite Pelton's refusal to have the specific epithet bear his surname, the authors suggested the common name "Pelton's rose-gentian" in his honour.
Distribution and habitat
Sabatia arkansana is found exclusively in shaleShale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
and igneous glades that become wet in winter but are dry from summer through fall. Within these unique micro-habitats the plant only exists in confined flat areas along the floodplains of small streams that often dry up during the hotter months of the year. It may also be found in similar conditions near seeping springs. Due to the plant being an annual, the population numbers fluctuate every year. At the first known site, called the Womble Formation site, between 200 to over 1000 individuals were found between 2001 and 2004. The other site showed similar results. Similar habitats in the neighbouring areas of Pulaski County, Garland County and Montgomery County
Montgomery County, Arkansas
Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As of 2010, the population was 9,487. The county seat is Mount Ida. Montgomery County is Arkansas's 45th county, formed on December 9, 1842, and named after Richard Montgomery, an American Revolutionary War...
were searched in 2003 and 2004 in hopes of finding other sites, but none were found.