Conservation Assessment for the Fairy-Wand (Chamaelirium Luteum (L.) A
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Conservation Assessment for the Fairy-wand (Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A.Gray) U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Eastern Region Shawnee National Forest Hoosier National Forest 7 November 2006 Steven R. Hill, Ph.D. Illinois Natural History Survey Division of Biodiversity and Ecological Entomology 1816 South Oak Street Champaign, Illinois 61820 This document is undergoing peer review, comments welcome Cover photo: Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A.Gray, from Delaware Wildflowers website. Image copyright 2005 David G. Smith. Male plant. http://www.delawarewildflowers.org/0468.html This Conservation Assessment was prepared to compile the published and unpublished information on the subject taxon or community; or this document was prepared by another organization and provides information to serve as a Conservation Assessment for the Eastern Region of the Forest Service. It does not represent a management decision by the U.S. Forest Service. Though the best scientific information available was used and subject experts were consulted in preparation of this document, it is expected that new information will arise. In the spirit of continuous learning and adaptive management, if you have information that will assist in conserving the subject taxon, please contact the Eastern Region of the Forest Service - Threatened and Endangered Species Program at 310 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 580 Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53203. Conservation Assessment for the Fairey-wand (Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A.Gray) 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................4 Executive Summary.........................................................................................................................5 Nomenclature and Taxonomy..........................................................................................................6 Description of the Species................................................................………..............................….7 Habitat and Ecology........................................................................................................................8 Distribution and Abundance..........................................................................................................11 Protection Status............................................................................................................................13 Life History....................................................................................................................................14 Population Biology and Viability..................................................................................................19 Potential Threats............................................................................................................................20 Research and Monitoring...............................................................................................................22 Restoration.....................................................................................................................................24 Summary........................................................................................................................................26 References......................................................................................................................................28 Websites Consulted........................................................................................................................33 Contacts..........................................................................................................................................34 Appendix 1. Representative specimens of Chamaelirium luteum examined or cited in the literature.........…………………....................................................................…................35 Appendix 2. The distribution of Chamaelirium luteum in the United States. Information from herbarium specimens and the literature.........................................38 Appendix 3. Natural Diversity Database Element Ranking System..............................................40 Conservation Assessment for the Fairey-wand (Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A.Gray) 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the staffs of the United States Forest Service, Shawnee and Hoosier National Forests, for the opportunity to compile these conservation assessments and for their invaluable assistance with data and field opportunities. Beth Shimp and Steve Widowski have been particularly helpful in facilitating these cost share agreements. I would also like to thank the grants and contracts staff of the Illinois Natural History Survey and the University of Illinois, Champaign, for their assistance with logistics necessary to complete these reports. Margaret Wingard has been especially helpful. Curators of several herbaria, cited in the appendices to this report, were very helpful in allowing access to the collections to obtain data on this plant. Several people also assisted by contributing information on this locally rare plant. Among these, Mike Homoya provided information about the plant in Indiana, and John Taft provided some insights on the plant in Illinois. Portions of a conservation assessment for this species in New England authored in 2003 by Dorothy J. Allard of Montpelier, Vermont, were used for several sections of this report, and these have been acknowledged in the appropriate places. I would like to thank Dorothy for the use of this material. Thanks also to Dr. John E. Fairey, III, emeritus of Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina, who enjoyed showing many of us his ―Fairey-wand‖. This material is based upon work supported by the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Eastern Region, under Cost Share Award No. AG03-CS-11090804-024. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, Eastern Region. Conservation Assessment for the Fairey-wand (Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A.Gray) 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Conservation Assessment is a review of the taxonomy, distribution, habitat, ecology, and status of the Fairy-wand, Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A.Gray, throughout the United States, and in the U.S.D.A. Forest Service lands, Eastern Region (Region 9), in particular. This document also serves to update knowledge about the potential threats and conservation efforts regarding the Fairy-wand to date. Chamaelirium luteum is a perennial herb with somewhat fleshy roots, crowded basal spatulate leaves, and white flowers in elongate spike-like, male or female inflorescences, and it is normally (15-) 30-60 (-150) cm tall. The genus contains only the single species, and, when in flower, it is quite distinctive, yet it can be overlooked when sterile. The species has both ornamental and medicinal uses, it is widespread in the eastern United States and in a very small area of adjacent Canada, and it is known historically from twenty-four states including the District of Columbia and one province, from Michigan and Ontario, east to Massachusetts, and south to Florida and Louisiana. It is an upland forest species only rarely associated with wetlands and it grows in a wide range of soils that are often acidic. Globally, its ranking is G5 (secure world-wide), its National status in the United States is N5 (secure nationally), and it has been ranked as historic only in Canada (NH). The Fairy-wand (or ―Fairy Wand‖, ―Devil‘s-bit‖, or ―Blazing-star‖) is listed as endangered and imperiled in Connecticut (S1), Illinois (S1), Indiana (S1), and Massachusetts (S1), and as threatened in New York (S1S2). It has been listed as Critically Imperiled in Delaware (S1) and it is listed as a species of Special Concern in Arkansas (S3). In Forest Service Region 9, the Fairy-wand is included on the Regional Forester Sensitive Species list (RFSS) for the Shawnee National Forest but not the Hoosier National Forest, where it has not been found. It is at risk at the margins of its range. In addition to species listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), or species of Concern by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Forest Service lists species that are Sensitive within each region (RFSS). The National Forest Management Act and U.S. Forest Service policy require that National Forest System land be managed to maintain viable populations of all native plant and animal species. A viable population is one that has the estimated numbers and distribution of reproductive individuals to ensure the continued existence of the entity throughout its range within a given planning area. The objectives of this document are to: -Provide an overview of the current scientific knowledge on the species. -Provide a summary of the distribution and status on the species range-wide and within the Eastern Region of the Forest Service, in particular. -Provide the available background information needed to prepare a subsequent Conservation Approach. Conservation Assessment for the Fairey-wand (Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A.Gray) 5 NOMENCLATURE AND TAXONOMY Scientific Name: Chamaelirium luteum (L.) A.Gray [1848] Common Names: Fairy-wand; Fairywand; Fairy Wand; Devil‘s-bit; Blazing-star; Rattlesnake-root; False Unicorn Root; Helonias; Starwort; Stargrass; Star Grub Root. Synonymy: Veratrum luteum L. [1753] Melanthium luteum (L.) Thunb. [1784] Melanthium dioicum Walter [1788] Helonias