Rugelia nudicaulis (Rugel's Indian plantain[1] or Rugels ragwort), the sole species of the genus Rugelia, blooms in summer. It is a wildflower endemic to higher elevations in the Great Smoky Mountains.[2] It is a rare species in Tennessee.[3] First placed in the genus Senecio, then moved to Cacalia it was finally placed in a genus of its own, Rugelia. Genetic diversity in this plant, assessed using allozymes, is so low that the species may not survive changing environmental conditions.[4]

Rugelia

Vulnerable  (NatureServe)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Clade: Asterids
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Subfamily: Asteroideae
Tribe: Senecioneae
Genus: Rugelia
Shuttlew. ex Chapm.
Species:
R. nudicaulis
Binomial name
Rugelia nudicaulis

References

edit
  1. ^ NRCS. "Rugelia nudicaulis". PLANTS Database. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. ^ University of Tennessee Herbarium
  3. ^ Tennessee state list
  4. ^ Journal of Heredity article
  • Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, Duhl, Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians, Lone Pine Publishing, (2005) p 372, ISBN 978-1-55105-428-5