U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Furbish Lousewort furbishiae

Living on the edge disturbance to carry away competing A northern with a strange name vegetation and to create new areas for seems to love a challenge. It lives, quite lousewort seeds to grow. This strategy is literally, on the edge - the edge of a river risky, for the natural erosion that creates that forms the border of and New new habitat for the plant also causes Brunswick, Canada. For only140 miles of occasional destruction of established this one river, Furbish lousewort lives on lousewort populations. Ecologists term the north-facing river banks, anchoring this lousewort a fugitive species, meaning itself against spring floods and ice scouring. that it tends to disappear unpredictably Only one species of bumblebee pollinates from one location and turn up in others. the plant, and it reproduces only by seed. Parasitic as a seedling, Furbish lousewort Furbish lousewort prefers relatively steep, hooks into the roots of neighboring moist, north or northwest-facing slopes for nutrients. Discovered in 1880, declared that are shaded for most of the day by a Irene Storks extinct by 1975, and rediscovered in 1976, continuous canopy of forest trees higher recreational use of the shoreline all Furbish lousewort lives in the extreme. up the riverbank. The plant's restriction to threaten the survival of Furbish north- and west-facing banks may explain, lousewort, which is protected by both the What's in a name? in part, why it is more abundant in Maine U.S. Act and the The genus name, Pedicularis, is derived than in . From its Canadian Species at Risk Act. from the Latin pediculus, meaning 'louse.' headwaters near the Quebec-Maine 'Wort' is from the Old English, wyrt, border, the St. John River flows generally Friends in need meaning 'plant.' Old beliefs either had east-northeast for its first hundred miles. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service joins louseworts giving lice to people and cattle, This stretch of the river with more several citizen groups, non-government or curing people and cattle of lice. In suitable habitat forms the limited range of organizations, and natural resource actuality, louseworts have as much to do Furbish lousewort. agencies of Canada, the province and the with lice as snapdragons, their plant state to develop a recovery strategy for cousins, have to do with dragons. Disturbance - not too much! Furbish lousewort. Landowners and users The St. John River valley, along with the of the St. John River valley can help Furbish lousewort was first identified in rest of northeastern North America, was support current future populations of the 1880 by Kate Furbish, a botanical artist covered with ice during the last glacial plant by maintaining the natural quality of and naturalist, and confirmed in 1882 by age. After the glaciers receded about the shoreline habitat. Volunteer task Sereno Watson, a Harvard University 12,000 years ago, Furbish lousewort forces and landowner education programs botanist who named the plant Pedicularis colonized the river valley. Recent studies contribute to Furbish lousewort furbishiae in honor of its discoverer. show that the various lousewort conservation. People working together can Although the original common name of populations along the river are genetically help this Ice Age survivor safely through Furbish's wood betony sounds poetic, it uniform. The species likely became another epoch. was inaccurate. Furbish lousewort is a established there from one plant's seeds. native of the New World, living only along This lack of genetic variation may well Northeast Region the St. John River. Wood betony is an Old restrict this plant's adaptability and may U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service World plant much esteemed for its be a factor in its ecological specialization. 300 Westgate Center Drive medicinal value. The only mutual element Hadley, MA 01035 between the two is the common name of Ironically, Furbish lousewort requires 413/253 8200 lousewort. regular natural disturbance of habitat to http://northeast.fws.gov thrive, yet it is threatened by human- Northern exposure, river view made changes to its environment. It can Federal Relay Service Furbish lousewort grows in the area of withstand its soil being scoured out by ice for the deaf and hard-of-hearing riverbank subject to natural disturbance - moving on the river in spring, but it 1 800/877 8339 ice-scouring, spring flooding, cannot survive the soil being covered by undercutting, and slumping - caused by dumping; it can live with the river U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service river movement. While most plants would flooding, but not with the river bank being http://www.fws.gov not seek such a dynamic place to call cleared of vegetation. Road building, 1 800/344 WILD home, Furbish lousewort relies on the housing development, careless August 2005