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Plant Profile

Merlin's-grass (Isoetes tegetiformans)

This picture shows the black-spored quillwort. Photo Credit: Frank R. Thibodeau

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: Federally Endangered
Family: Isoetaceae
State: GA
Nature Serve ID: 139444
Lifeform: Graminoid
Date Inducted in National Collection: 05/28/1986

Description:

Mat-forming quillwort is a small, rooted aquatic emergent found in very shallow pools on granitic flat rock. Individual plants have a slender, centrally furrowed, prostrate azil ca. 1 mm thick. The population structure is dense and mat forming, with the adventitious buds cauline perennial fern ally. Considered North Americas most distinctive quillwort (Rury 1978), Isoetes tegetiformans has steadily declined in numbers since its discovery in 1978. This diminutive fern ally is adapted to a very specialized habitat and environmental conditions. It is found only on granitic outcrops in Georgia, where quarrying has destroyed many populations and continues to limit potential sites. The nutrient-poor conditions to which Isoetes tegetiformans is adapted have been altered by conversion to pasture. Eutrophication caused by cattle waste favors the growth of other aquatics that thrive in nutrient-rich conditions, and causes algal blooms that deplete the water of oxygen. Because reproduction is predominantly asexual in Isoetes tegetiformans, its colonies lack genetic diversity, and therefore have limited ability to adapt to these environmental changes. (USFWS 1993) For this reason, preserving habitat that meets the specialized requirements of this unique species should continue to be a top priority.

Where is Merlin's-grass (Isoetes tegetiformans) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Shallow vernal pools on granite outcrops (USFWS 1993)

Distribution:

Georgia (Columbia, Greene, Hancock, and Putnam Counties) (USFWS 1993)

States & Provinces:

Merlin's-grass can be found in Georgia

Which CPC Partners conserve Merlin's-grass (Isoetes tegetiformans)?

North Carolina Botanical Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/09/17

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

Endemic to granite outcrops in Georgia. Despite intensive surveys only 7 small populations are known to be surviving, and these are vulnerable to habitat destruction, especially from quarrying. 3 populations have been lost since the species was first discovered in 1976.

01/01/2010

Destruction of habitat from quarrying activities (has destroyed 9% of total population) Heavy recreational use (trail bicycles, ORV traffic, littering, vandalism, fire building) Eutrophication resulting from conversion of habitat to pasture (cattle w

01/01/2010

7 populations (USFWS 1993)

01/01/2010

Van De Genachte (1996) Studied the conservation genetics of the granite outcrop quillworts Isoetes melanospora and Isoetes tegetiformans for a Masters Thesis at University of Georgia. A summary of this work can be seen in Musselman (2001).

01/01/2010

Population at Heggies Rock Preserve is owned by TNC, and has been monitored between 1985 and 1989. Some recovery from past vehicular traffic has been reported at this site (USFWS 1993). Plants exist in cultivation at the North Carolina Botanical Garden and at the Atlanta Botanic Garden (USFWS 1993)

01/01/2010

Protect current populations through land acquisition or by the negotiation of management agreements with private owners Continue population monitoring Assess the potential for reintroduction or habitat restoration efforts

01/01/2010

Establish protocol for germination, and for maintenance of plants in cultivation.