Phacelia argillacea
Encyclopedia
Phacelia argillacea is a rare species of flowering plant in the borage family
known by the common names clay phacelia and Atwood's phacelia. It is endemic to Utah
in the United States, where it is known only from one canyon
in Utah County
. It is "one of Utah's most endangered species"; it is "one of the nation's rarest plants" and is federally listed as an endangered species
of the United States.
This plant is an annual herb growing up to 36 to 40 centimeters in height. It has a rosette of leaves around the base of the stem. The leaf blades are oblong with deep lobes along the edges, and measure up to 5 centimeters in length. The inflorescence
is a cyme with several branches that are scorpioid in shape, curving into a curl like the tail of a scorpion
; this inflorescence is hairy and glandular. Each flower has a bell-shaped purple-blue corolla about 0.5 centimetre (0.196850393700787 in) long and wide, with the long stamen
s and style
protruding from the mouth of the corolla. The fruit of the plant is a capsule about a quarter of a centimeter in length. This plant is generally considered to be a winter annual; it germinates
and produces a basal rosette, then develops slowly through the winter beneath the snow. Its erect stem grows up by May. Blooming usually occurs in July, but early blooming can take place in May and June and some flowers can persist into October. One plant can produce up to 8000 seeds. This species is closely related to, and has been mistaken for, Phacelia glandulosa.
This plant is known only from Spanish Fork Canyon in central Utah. It has been on the US Endangered Species List since 1978, at which time there were only nine individuals known. Within two years this tiny population had dwindled to four plants. In 1980 a second population was found, putting the total global population around 200.
The plant grows on steep slopes made of clay
and broken shale
originating from the Green River Formation
. The habitat is pinyon-juniper woodland dominated by Pinus edulis
(Colorado pinyon) and Juniperus osteosperma
(Utah juniper) and other plants in the vicinity include Mentzelia laevicaulis
(giant blazingstar), Mahonia repens (creeping barberry), Oenothera caespitosa
(evening primrose), Marrubium vulgare
(horehound), Cynoglossum officinale
(houndstongue), Amelanchier alnifolia (serviceberry), Rhus trilobata
(skunkbush), Atriplex canescens
(fourwing saltbush), Artemisia tridentata
(sagebrush), Chrysothamnus nauseosus (rabbitbrush), Cercocarpus montanus
(mountain mahogany), and Rosa woodsii
(Woods' rose).
The species faces a number of threats. Its small numbers put it at risk for extinction
. Sheep graze in the immediate vicinity of the plants, in addition the plants may be eaten by native animals such as mule deer
and rock squirrel
s. One occurrence is next to railroad tracks, and the construction and maintenance of the rails has disturbed the habitat. Highway 6
runs directly through another occurrence, and road maintenance may disturb the plants as well as the habitat that supports their potential pollinator
s. Introduced species
of plants, such as horehound and houndstongue, may compete
with the phacelia.
Conservation activities include the propagation of plants and collection of seeds. Both natural populations occur on private land, where they are difficult to protect. Seeds grown in cultivation will be used to establish thirteen populations on federal land in Uinta National Forest
, where they can be protected.
Boraginaceae
Boraginaceae, the Borage or Forget-me-not family, include a variety of shrubs, trees, and herbs, totaling about 2,000 species in 146 genera found worldwide.A number of familiar plants belong to this family....
known by the common names clay phacelia and Atwood's phacelia. It is endemic to Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
in the United States, where it is known only from one canyon
Canyon
A canyon or gorge is a deep ravine between cliffs often carved from the landscape by a river. Rivers have a natural tendency to reach a baseline elevation, which is the same elevation as the body of water it will eventually drain into. This forms a canyon. Most canyons were formed by a process of...
in Utah County
Utah County, Utah
Utah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. As of 2000, the population was 368,536 and by 2008 was estimated at 530,837. It was named for the Spanish name for the Ute Indians. The county seat and largest city is Provo...
. It is "one of Utah's most endangered species"; it is "one of the nation's rarest plants" and is federally listed as an endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
of the United States.
This plant is an annual herb growing up to 36 to 40 centimeters in height. It has a rosette of leaves around the base of the stem. The leaf blades are oblong with deep lobes along the edges, and measure up to 5 centimeters in length. 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 cyme with several branches that are scorpioid in shape, curving into a curl like the tail of a scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
; this inflorescence is hairy and glandular. Each flower has a bell-shaped purple-blue corolla about 0.5 centimetre (0.196850393700787 in) long and wide, with the long stamen
Stamen
The stamen is the pollen producing reproductive organ of a flower...
s and style
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
protruding from the mouth of the corolla. The fruit of the plant is a capsule about a quarter of a centimeter in length. This plant is generally considered to be a winter annual; it germinates
Germination
Germination is the process in which a plant or fungus emerges from a seed or spore, respectively, and begins growth. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. However the growth of a sporeling from a spore, for example the...
and produces a basal rosette, then develops slowly through the winter beneath the snow. Its erect stem grows up by May. Blooming usually occurs in July, but early blooming can take place in May and June and some flowers can persist into October. One plant can produce up to 8000 seeds. This species is closely related to, and has been mistaken for, Phacelia glandulosa.
This plant is known only from Spanish Fork Canyon in central Utah. It has been on the US Endangered Species List since 1978, at which time there were only nine individuals known. Within two years this tiny population had dwindled to four plants. In 1980 a second population was found, putting the total global population around 200.
The plant grows on steep slopes made of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
and broken shale
Shale
Shale is a fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rock composed of mud that is a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite. The ratio of clay to other minerals is variable. Shale is characterized by breaks along thin laminae or parallel layering...
originating from the Green River Formation
Green River Formation
The Green River Formation is an Eocene geologic formation that records the sedimentation in a group of intermountain lakes. The sediments are deposited in very fine layers, a dark layer during the growing season and a light-hue inorganic layer in winter. Each pair of layers is called a varve and...
. The habitat is pinyon-juniper woodland dominated by Pinus edulis
Colorado Pinyon
The Colorado Pinyon, Two-needle Pinyon, or Piñon Pine, ', is a pine in the pinyon pine group whose ancestor was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Flora and is native to the United States....
(Colorado pinyon) and Juniperus osteosperma
Juniperus osteosperma
Juniperus osteosperma is a shrub or small tree reaching 3-6 m tall. It is native to the southwestern United States, in Utah, Nevada, Arizona, western New Mexico, western Colorado, Wyoming, southern Montana, southern Idaho and eastern California...
(Utah juniper) and other plants in the vicinity include Mentzelia laevicaulis
Mentzelia laevicaulis
Mentzelia laevicaulis is a showy wildflower native to western North America. Its common names include giant blazing star and smoothstem blazing star....
(giant blazingstar), Mahonia repens (creeping barberry), Oenothera caespitosa
Oenothera caespitosa
Oenothera caespitosa, known commonly as tufted evening primrose and fragrant evening primrose, is a perennial plant of the genus Oenothera native to much of western and central North America...
(evening primrose), Marrubium vulgare
Marrubium vulgare
Marrubium vulgare is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe, northern Africa and Asia....
(horehound), Cynoglossum officinale
Cynoglossum officinale
Cynoglossum officinale is a herbaceous plant of the family Boraginaceae, found in most parts of Europe, and also North America where it was accidentally introduced.-Growth:It can be either annual or biennial, with reddish-purple flowers blooming between May and...
(houndstongue), Amelanchier alnifolia (serviceberry), Rhus trilobata
Rhus trilobata
Rhus trilobata is a shrub in the sumac genus with the common names sourberry, skunkbush, and three-leaf sumac. It is native to the western half of Canada and the Western United States, from the Great Plains to California and south through Arizona extending into northern Mexico...
(skunkbush), Atriplex canescens
Atriplex canescens
Atriplex canescens, Chamiso, Chamiza, Four wing saltbush, Four-wing saltbush, and Fourwing saltbush, is a species of evergreen shrub in the Amaranthaceae family, which is native to the western and mid-western United States....
(fourwing saltbush), Artemisia tridentata
Artemisia tridentata
Artemisia tridentata is a shrub or small tree from the family Asteraceae. Some botanists treat it in the segregate genus Seriphidium, as S. tridentatum W. A. Weber, but this is not widely followed...
(sagebrush), Chrysothamnus nauseosus (rabbitbrush), Cercocarpus montanus
Cercocarpus montanus
Cercocarpus montanus is a species of shrub or small tree in the family Rosaceae. It is known by various common names, such as mountain mahogany, true mountain-mahogany, alder-leaf mountain-mahogany, and alder-leaf cercocarpus...
(mountain mahogany), and Rosa woodsii
Rosa woodsii
Rosa woodsii is a species of rose known by the common name Woods' rose. It is native to North America including much of Canada and Alaska and the western and central United States. It grows in a variety of habitat types, including disturbed areas....
(Woods' rose).
The species faces a number of threats. Its small numbers put it at risk for extinction
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
. Sheep graze in the immediate vicinity of the plants, in addition the plants may be eaten by native animals such as mule deer
Mule Deer
The mule deer is a deer indigenous to western North America. The Mule Deer gets its name from its large mule-like ears. There are believed to be several subspecies, including the black-tailed deer...
and rock squirrel
Rock Squirrel
The rock squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae. It is found in Mexico and the United States. It is 43–53 cm long.-External links:**...
s. One occurrence is next to railroad tracks, and the construction and maintenance of the rails has disturbed the habitat. Highway 6
U.S. Route 6 in Utah
U.S. Route 6 is a major east–west state highway through the central part of the U.S. state of Utah. Although it is about longer than US-50, it serves more populated areas, and in fact follows what had been US-50's routing until it was moved to follow I-70 in 1976...
runs directly through another occurrence, and road maintenance may disturb the plants as well as the habitat that supports their potential pollinator
Pollinator
A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain...
s. 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, such as horehound and houndstongue, may compete
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...
with the phacelia.
Conservation activities include the propagation of plants and collection of seeds. Both natural populations occur on private land, where they are difficult to protect. Seeds grown in cultivation will be used to establish thirteen populations on federal land in Uinta National Forest
Uinta National Forest
Uinta National Forest is a national forest located in north central Utah, USA. It was originally part of the Uinta Forest Reserve, created by Grover Cleveland on February 2, 1897. The name is derived from the Ute word Yoov-we-teuh which means pine forest...
, where they can be protected.