Fryxell's Pygmy Mallow (Fryxellia pygmaea)

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Malvaceae
State: MX, TX
Nature Serve ID: 139515
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 02/21/2003

Description:

Where is Fryxell's Pygmy Mallow (Fryxellia pygmaea) located in the wild?

States & Provinces:

Fryxell's Pygmy Mallow can be found in Mexico, Texas

Which CPC Partners conserve Fryxell's Pygmy Mallow (Fryxellia pygmaea)?

Desert Botanical Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/09/17

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/13/17

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

Collected in Texas for the first and only time in 1854 ('Texas' was the only locality information given), the species may no longer be extant in the United States. The only other known occurrence - a single population in Coahuila, Mexico that was first found in 1941 - was rediscovered in 1990. At the time of its rediscovery, it densely occupied an area about 100-150 m in diameter, but was not found outside that area. The plants were abundantly fruiting, and the seeds were shown to be viable, so it is not apparent why the species is restricted to such a small area. Fryxell and Valdes (1991) suggest that seedling establishment in the severe desert environment of central Coahuila may be a relatively rare event; this population may be an ancient clone surviving by vegetative propagation. However, it is possible that more populations or clones will be found with further searching. The Texas and Coahuila sites are 200-300 km apart, with much suitable, botanically unexplored habitat in between.

01/01/2010

last seen in West Texas in 1850's, presumed extirpated new population found in Mexico