Spiraea virginiana is a rare species of flowering plant in the rose family (Rosaceae)

Rosaceae

Rosaceae are a medium-sized family of flowering plants, including about 2830 species in 95 genera. The name is derived from the type genus Rosa. Among the largest genera are Alchemilla , Sorbus , Crataegus , Cotoneaster , and Rubus...

 known by the common name Virginia spiraea. It is native to the southern Appalachian Mountains

Appalachian Mountains

The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

, where it has a distribution scattered across nine states. However, most populations are very small and poor in quality. It is threatened by disturbances in the hydrology

Hydrology

Hydrology is the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets, including the hydrologic cycle, water resources and environmental watershed sustainability...

 of its habitat, introduced species

Introduced species

An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...

 of plants, and other threats. It is a federally listed threatened species of the United States.

This plant is a shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 growing one to three meters (3-10 feet) tall. It is clonal

Cloning

Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...

, with several cloned individuals growing in clumps. The leaves are variable in shape and size and may have smooth or toothed edges. The inflorescence

Inflorescence

An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...

 is a dense corymb of many cream-white flowers, each flower about 0.6 centimeters wide. The fruit is a follicle

Follicle (fruit)

In botany, a follicle is a dry unilocular many-seeded fruit formed from one carpel and dehiscing by the ventral suture in order to release seeds, such as in larkspur, magnolia, banksia, peony and milkweed....

. Flowering occurs in June and July. Though the plant produces many flowers, it rarely reproduces sexually

Sexual reproduction

Sexual reproduction is the creation of a new organism by combining the genetic material of two organisms. There are two main processes during sexual reproduction; they are: meiosis, involving the halving of the number of chromosomes; and fertilization, involving the fusion of two gametes and the...

 and rarely produces seeds. Instead, it reproduces vegetatively

Vegetative reproduction

Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction in plants. It is a process by which new individuals arise without production of seeds or spores...

 by cloning, producing many new sprouts which grow into shrubs. There are fewer than 30 genotype

Genotype

The genotype is the genetic makeup of a cell, an organism, or an individual usually with reference to a specific character under consideration...

s in total, meaning there are fewer than 30 individual sets of genes; all the other plants are clones of one of the 30 types.

This plant is a rare member of the flora in the southern Appalachians. It grows in riparian

River

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including...

 habitat, such as floodplain

Floodplain

A floodplain, or flood plain, is a flat or nearly flat land adjacent a stream or river that stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls and experiences flooding during periods of high discharge...

s and riverbanks. When it was determined to be a threatened species in 1990 there were 24 known occurrences in six states. It could be found at two creeks in Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

, the New River, Little Tennessee River

Little Tennessee River

The Little Tennessee River is a tributary of the Tennessee River, approximately 135 miles long, in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States.-Geography:...

, Nolichucky River

Nolichucky River

The Nolichucky River is a major stream draining the Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina and east Tennessee. The river is long.-Hydrography:...

, and South Toe River

South Toe River

The South Toe River , is a stream in Yancey County...

 in North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...

, the Clear Fork and other rivers in Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, the Russell Fork, Pound River

Pound River

Category: Rivers of Virginia Running through Part of Wise County Virginia, and through Dickenson County Virginia, The Pound River is a tributary of the Russell Fork in the U.S. state of Virginia. Via the Russell Fork, the Levisa Fork, the Big Sandy River, and the Ohio River, it is part of the...

, New River, and Guest River

Guest River

The Guest River is a short tributary of the Clinch River in southwestern Virginia in the United States. It is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River by way of the Clinch, Tennessee and Ohio Rivers...

 in Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

, the Bluestone River

Bluestone River

The Bluestone River is a tributary of the New River, 77 mi long, in southwestern Virginia and southern West Virginia in the United States. Via the New, Kanawha and Ohio Rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River...

, Buckhannon River

Buckhannon River

The Buckhannon River is a tributary of the Tygart Valley River in north-central West Virginia, USA. Via the Tygart Valley, Monongahela and Ohio rivers, it is part of the watershed of the Mississippi River, draining an area of on the unglaciated portion of the Allegheny Plateau...

, Gauley River

Gauley River

The Gauley River is a river in West Virginia. It merges with the New River to form the Kanawha River, a tributary of the Ohio River. It is one of the most popular advanced whitewater runs in the Eastern United States and is the chief feature of the Gauley River National Recreation Area.-Headwaters...

, and Meadow River

Meadow River

The Meadow River is a tributary of the Gauley River, making its headwaters in Greenbrier County and terminating in Nicholas County of West Virginia. It is named for the grassy meadows wetlands which its upper watershed drains, and from which it springs...

 in West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

, Rockcastle River

Rockcastle River

The Rockcastle River is a river primarily in Rockcastle County, Kentucky. It is a tributary of the Cumberland River and therefore, via the Ohio River, part of the Mississippi River watershed. In 1750 it was discovered and named the Lawless River by Dr. Thomas Walker and his exploring party. It was...

 and other creeks in Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

, and other rivers. Besides these populations there are occasional occurrences along rivers and creeks. It is also known from Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 and Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

. It is thought to have been extirpated

Local extinction

Local extinction, also known as extirpation, is the condition of a species which ceases to exist in the chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere...

 from the state of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, due to the changes to the Youghiogheny River

Youghiogheny River

The Youghiogheny River , or the Yough for short, is a tributary of the Monongahela River in the U.S. states of West Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania...

 (the "Yough") caused by dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

ming.

This shrub grows in cracks in rocks alongside flowing water. It has a fibrous mass of roots and lateral rhizome

Rhizome

In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...

s that anchor it, and even if most of the plant is ripped away during flood

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

ing, it easily resprouts from remnants of the rhizomes. It is often found growing in sandstone

Sandstone

Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...

 bedrock

Bedrock

In stratigraphy, bedrock is the native consolidated rock underlying the surface of a terrestrial planet, usually the Earth. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil...

, gravel bars, nooks between boulders, and in riverborne deposits of debris, rubble, and silt. It is adapted to periodic flooding, scouring, erosion

Erosion

Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...

, and deposition of litter. Other plants in the habitat may include hazel alder

Alnus serrulata

Alnus serrulata, the hazel alder,or smooth alder is a thicket-forming shrub in the family Betulaceae. It is native to eastern North America and can be found found from western Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick south to Florida and Texas....

 (Alnus serrulata), silky dogwood

Cornus amomum

Cornus amomum is a species of dogwood native to eastern North America, from Ontario and Quebec south to Arkansas and Georgia. Also found in other parts of North America....

 (Cornus amomum), jewelweed

Impatiens capensis

Impatiens capensis, the Orange Jewelweed, Common Jewelweed, Spotted Jewelweed, Spotted Touch-me-not, or Orange Balsam, is an annual plant native to North America. It is common in bottomland soils, ditches, and along creeks, often growing side-by-side with its less common relative, Yellow Jewelweed...

 (Impatiens capensis), creepers

Parthenocissus

Parthenocissus , creepers, is a genus of climbing plants from the grape family, Vitaceae. It contains about 12 species, from Asia and North America. Several are grown for ornamental use....

 (Parthenocissus), ninebark

Physocarpus opulifolius

Physocarpus opulifolius, commonly called common ninebark or Atlantic ninebark, is a plant in the rose family, Rosaceae.-Description:...

 (Physocarpus opulifolius), sycamore

Platanus

Platanus is a small genus of trees native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae....

 species (Platanus), blackberries

Rubus

Rubus is a large genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, subfamily Rosoideae. Raspberries, blackberries, and dewberries are common, widely distributed members of the genus. Most of these plants have woody stems with prickles like roses; spines, bristles, and gland-tipped hairs are...

 (Rubus), willow species (Salix), American elderberry

Sambucus canadensis

Sambucus canadensis is a species of elderberry native to a large area of North America east of the Rocky Mountains, and south through eastern Mexico and Central America to Panama. It grows in a variety of conditions including both wet and dry soils, primarily in sunny locations.-Growth:It is a...

 (Sambucus canadensis), soapwort

Saponaria

Saponaria, also known as soapworts, is a genus of about 20 species of perennial herbs in the Caryophyllaceae, native to southern Europe and southwest Asia. The most familiar species in Europe is the Common Soapwort , locally simply known as "the Soapwort". They grow to a height of 10-60 cm, with...

s (Saponaria), greenbrier

Smilax

Smilax is a genus of about 300-350 species, found in temperate zones, tropics and subtropics worldwide. In China for example about 80 are found , while there are 20 in North America north of Mexico...

 species (Smilax), goldenrod species (Solidago), and poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans).

The plant is threatened by its small numbers, alterations in the hydrology of its riparian habitat, and habitat fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...

. Populations are isolated from one another, reducing the frequency of its rare sexual reproduction even further. Populations are small; though the plant is adapted to a regime of flooding, unusually large floods have the potential to wipe out small populations. The invasion

Invasive species

"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....

 of introduced plant species, including the shrub's relative, Spiraea japonica (Japanese spiraea)

Spiraea japonica

Spiraea japonica is a plant in the family Rosaceae. Synonyms for the species name are Spiraea bumalda Burv. and Spiraea japonica var. alpina Maxim.-Description:...

, may be a threat because of competition

Competition (biology)

Competition is an interaction between organisms or species, in which the fitness of one is lowered by the presence of another. Limited supply of at least one resource used by both is required. Competition both within and between species is an important topic in ecology, especially community ecology...

.