Bristol Tenn. (Reuters) - A variety of
sunflower found in some Southern states and two other rare plants were
designated on Friday as endangered species by the U.S. federal
government.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the whorled sunflower,
Short’s bladderpod and fleshy-fruit gladecress for protection under
the Endangered Species Act because populations of the three are
dwindling to critical levels.
The agency blamed the trend on a loss of natural habitats due to
construction, damage from off-road vehicles and fluctuating water
levels, as well as competition from invasive, non-native plants. A
lack of genetic variety and relative scarcity of the plants have
made the three species particularly vulnerable to extinction, it
said.
"Our goal is not to let anything die out. We do not have all of the
knowledge to know what we can lose and what it is there for," said
Tom MacKenzie, spokesman for the Southeast Region of U.S. Fish and
Wildlife.
The whorled sunflower - sometimes called the giant sunflower - grows
in open pastures and along roadsides, mostly in Alabama, Georgia and
Tennessee.
A moist prairie plant, it has dwindled due to fire-suppression and
agriculture, said Scot Duncan, a biology professor at
Birmingham-Southern College and author of Southern Wonder, a book on
Southern ecology.
Short's bladderpod, a member of the mustard family found in Indiana,
Kentucky and Tennessee, lives mostly in craggy outcroppings of dry
limestone cliffs and cedar glades.
The gladecress population is limited to the Bankhead National Forest
of Alabama, in a place called Indian Tomb Hollow.
"Indian Tomb Hollow is a special place with lots of unique flora and
fauna. It is exciting news to see it get the protection it
deserves," said Ben Prater, director of conservation for Wild South,
a Southeast conservation non-profit, which works in the Bankhead.
The plants will receive final federal designation on Sept. 2.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the whorled sunflower,
Short’s bladderpod and fleshy-fruit gladecress for protection under
the Endangered Species Act because populations of the three are
dwindling to critical levels.
