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Plant Profile

Prairie Fameflower (Phemeranthus rugospermus)

This tiny perennial forb produces small flowers on short stalks (only 4 to 8 inches tall) during the months of June to August. Photo Credit: Brian Parsons

Global Rank: G3 - Vulnerable
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Portulacaceae
State: AR, IA, IL, IN, KS, LA, MN, NE, TX, WI
Nature Serve ID: 159101
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 03/14/1986

Description:

This species is of conservation interest as much because it is part of the Karner Blue Butterfly habitat as it is due to its own rarity. This flameflower is thought to be part of the flora of the Great Plains having spread by long distance post-Pleistocene dispersal to become disjunct in the Midwest in the distribution we see today. It can produce flowers any time between June and August depending on where the plant is within its range with each pink flower opening one day only and strictly in the afternoon. These flowers are attractive enough that gardeners use them in rock gardens despite their ephemeral nature. This species is unusual among threatened plants in that it appears to benefit from minor forms of anthropogenic forms of disturbance. Vehicular and foot traffic can sometimes replace the natural disturbances of fire and erosion that humans now suppress. This is a rosette forming species, that has less than a dozen pink flowers. Pink flowers open on only one day in July or August, and strictly in the afternoon. They require light to germinate. Seedlings can emerge from up to 72mm of sand covering the seeds, and grow slowly. Doesn't colonize old fields or roadsides if other prairie or weedy species are present. Plant is shade intolerant and cannot survive in canopy conditions.

Where is Prairie Fameflower (Phemeranthus rugospermus) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Found in open, Exposed sites with minimal competition from other species. Likes xeric prairies, sand barrens, rocky outcrops, gravel river terraces, old fields, trail edges, openings in sandy woods, and margins of sand blows. Also inhabits black oak or jack pine barrens with shifting sand dunes along the Mississippi River. Prefers sand dunes, sandy bluffs, sand blowouts, the sides and tops of dunes, and sparsely vegetated flat areas.

Distribution:

Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas, eastern Minnesota and Iowa to northern and central Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and northwestern Indiana (WIS 2002)

States & Provinces:

Prairie Fameflower can be found in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Texas, Wisconsin

Which CPC Partners conserve Prairie Fameflower (Phemeranthus rugospermus)?

Holden Forests and Gardens

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

Limited range and restricted habitat, rare in most states in range, but fairly frequent and sometimes locally abundant in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

Gopher digging Disturbance of soil by ATV and tanks Trampling Fire suppression (WDNR 1999) Insect herbivory (ILDNR 2002) Shading by Black Locust (ILDNR 2002)

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

39 populations in 12 counties in IL

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

Maxwell and Givnish (1994) found that disturbance on small scales can benefit this species. In plots disturbed by soil preparation and herbiciding for subsequent planting of lupine, fameflower was found to occur in much higher densities within the plots than without. At a site in Illinois, the presence of Talinum rugospermum increased after wildfire (Cochrane 1993). Pavlovic has found that the adults are tolerant of fire, though seedlings are more vulnerable (1995). Plants have been observed to be killed by fire, presumable because the buds of next year's growth are at the soil surface (Pavlovic 1989). (all above references from an article at (WIDNR 1999))

Lindsey Parsons

01/01/2010

Research into the response of the species to soil compaction and timing and intensity of fire, and the proximity to soil disturbance of a seed source for colonization would be most valuable to generate further informed land management decisions concerning Talinum rugospermum. (WIDNR 1999)