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Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii

(Eastw.) Welsh & Atwood

Jones' Cycladenia

T3T3 (G3G4T3Q) Found in 12 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
T3T3Global Rank
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.129973
Element CodePDAPO09012
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationVariety
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderGentianales
FamilyApocynaceae
GenusCycladenia
Synonyms
Cycladenia jonesiiEastw.
Other Common Names
Jones' Waxy Dogbane (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Taxonomic Comments
According to AZ Grank Review Team (06/27/2012), genetically, this plant is highly questionable. The White Mountain population in Arizona is closer genetically to the Sierra Nevada population, than the Plateau population, but morphologically it is closer to the Plateau population. In addition, there is a lack of pollinators, seeds are hard to come by, and seeds have not germinated in germination studies. Research published in a thesis in 2015, support the distinctiveness of Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii and suggest that its species status be reinstated: reproductive isolation and ecological distinction from the California material warrant this distinction. It is also suggested that the population in Arizona be treated as a distinct variety from the Utah Material. These combinations have not yet been made.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2022-07-14
Change Date2022-07-14
Edition Date2022-07-14
Edition AuthorsBen Franklin, 8/95; rev. B. Franklin (1996); B. MacBryde (9/2000); S. Schuetze (2012), rev. Treher (2020, 2021, 2022)
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent5000-20,000 square km (about 2000-8000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences21 - 80
Rank Reasons
Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii is a perennial herb that is endemic to the Colorado Plateau Ecoregion of Arizona and Utah in the western United States. It is known from around 21 occurrences in and around the Canyonlands region of southeastern Utah and in northern Arizona. Only one occurrence is in Arizona with the remaining 20 in Utah. The species has a fragmented distribution with some sites separated by over 160 km, which is attributed to paleoendemism. Threats are moderate and include impacts from mineral and oil and gas exploration, and/or habitat damage from off-road vehicles and bikes. This species has very exacting soil requirements, and also has low fruit set and seed germination has never be observed.
Range Extent Comments
Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii is endemic to the Colorado Plateau Ecoregion of Arizona and Utah in the western United States. It occurs in the canyonlands region of southeastern Utah in Emery, Garfield, Grand, Kane, and San Juan Counties with one occurrence near Pipe Spring National Monument, in the vicinity of Mohave County, Arizona, and Kane County, Utah (Hughes 1997, USFWS 2008, 2020). The fragmented distribution of this species is likely due to historic climate change that increasingly restricted the species habitat (paleoendemism).
Occurrences Comments
This species is known from 21 occurrences which compose 5 complexes including Joe Hutch, San Rafael, Moab, and Greater Circle Cliffs in Utah, and W of Pipe Springs (Mohave County) in Arizona (USFWS 2008, 2020). Some occurrences span more than one site. Only one of the occurrences is found in Arizona, with the remaining occurring in Utah.
Threat Impact Comments
This species multiple low level threats but is largely protected through its occurrences in remote areas. Plants and the habitat are sensitive to surface disturbances, e.g., off-road vehicles and bikes Moab and San Rafael complexes), as well as habitat loss. It is threatened by impacts from mineral, oil, tar sands, and gas development (San Rafael and Greater Circle Cliffs complex) in some areas. Federal agencies have reduced, but not eliminated, threats of OHV and mountain bike use, cattle grazing, and extractive activities. The species is believed to be paleoendemic and future changes to the climate, especially hotter and drier, may cause further contractions, however it is not considered a current threat (USFWS 2020). Given that the species relies almost entirely on rhizomatous spread, it may struggle to migrate to favorable habitat in the future. Grazing is cited as a low level threat at the San Rafael complex (USFWS 2008).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Jones Cycladenia occurs in Desert Shrub communities on barren gypsiferous clay hills that form the steep sides and lower slopes of mesas in the canyonlands section of the Colorado Plateau (USFWS 1986). The species is an edaphic endemic, occurring only on gypsiferous, saline soils of the Summerville, Cutler, and Chinle formations. These soils are shallow, fine textured but with some rock fragments. It occurs in sparsely vegetated plant communities of mixed desert scrub, juniper, or wild buckwheat-Mormon tea (USFWS 2020).

Reproduction

This species has low potential for sexual reproduction, possibly due to the loss of a pollinator or one that is migratory or episodic, small population size or a narrow gene pool (USFWS 2020). Seed germination has never been witnessed, but flowers and seed pods have been observed. It relies primarily on clonal growth through subterranean rhizomes, which also overwinter the plant (Boettinger 1997, Sipes and Wolf 1997, Sipes and Tepedino 1996, USFWS 2008).
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralDesert
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
UtahS3Yes
ArizonaS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentSmall (1-10%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
1.3 - Tourism & recreation areasSmall (1-10%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureLarge (31-70%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
2.3 - Livestock farming & ranchingLarge (31-70%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
3 - Energy production & miningSmall (1-10%)Serious - moderateHigh - low
3.1 - Oil & gas drillingSmall (1-10%)Serious - moderateHigh - low
3.2 - Mining & quarryingSmall (1-10%)Slight or 1-10% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
6 - Human intrusions & disturbanceRestricted (11-30%)Moderate - slightHigh (continuing)
6.1 - Recreational activitiesRestricted (11-30%)Moderate - slightHigh (continuing)
11 - Climate change & severe weatherPervasive (71-100%)UnknownLow (long-term)

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL, Long-lived
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (12)
South Dakota (1)
AreaForestAcres
Indian CreekBuffalo Gap National Grassland24,666
Utah (11)
AreaForestAcres
Box - Death HollowDixie National Forest3,175
Capital ReefDixie National Forest763
Cedar BenchDixie National Forest8,915
Happy ValleyDixie National Forest14,458
Horse Mountain - Mans PeakManti-Lasal National Forest22,159
Long Neck Mesa / Steep Creek / Oak Creek - Steep Creek / OakDixie National Forest55,489
Lookout PeakFishlake National Forest9,195
New Home BenchDixie National Forest10,513
Pine Valley MountainsDixie National Forest57,673
Stoddard MountainDixie National Forest13,165
Wayne WonderlandFishlake National Forest12,395
References (10)
  1. Boettinger, J.L. 1997. Soil properties influence the distribution of Jones cycladenia (Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii), a rare endemic plant of the Colorado Plateau. Poster Abstract 9, "Learning from the Land: Scientific Inquiry for Planning and Managing the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument", Science Symposium, November 1997, Southern Utah University, Cedar City. Sponsored by the GS-ENM and Utah State Advisory Council on Science and Technology.
  2. Hughes, L. 1997. Two rare plants of the Arizona Strip. Desert Plants 13(1): 25-27.
  3. Kartesz, J.T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
  4. McCormick, Meghan. Personal communication. Natural Heritage Botany Intern, USU Department of Wildland Resources, Salt Lake City, UT.
  5. Sipes, S.D., and P.G. Wolf. 1997. Clonal structure and patterns of allozyme diversity in the rare endemic Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii (Apocynaceae). American Journal of Botany 84(3): 401-409.
  6. Sipes, S.D., and V.J. Tepedino. 1996. Pollinator lost? Reproduction by the enigmatic Jones cycladenia, Cycladenia humilis var. jonesii (Apocynaceae). Pages 158-166 in J. Maschinski, H.D. Hammond, and L. Holter, eds., Proceedings of the Second Southwestern Rare and Endangered Plant Conference, Flagstaff, Arizona. USDA Forest Service, General Technical Report RM-GTR-283.
  7. Spence, J.R. 1994. Demography and monitoring of the threatened Cycladenia jonesii Eastwood (Apocynaceae), Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Page, Arizona. 19 pp. + figures.
  8. United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2008. Recovery Outline for the Jones Cycladenia (<i>Cycladenia humilis</i> var. <i>jonesii</i>). Online. Available: https://ecos.fws.gov/docs/recovery_plan/Jones%20cycladenia_123008.pdf.
  9. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 1986. Rule to determine <i>Cycladenia humilis</i> var. <i>jonesii </i>(Jones cycladenia) to be a threatened species. Federal Register 51(86): 16526-16530.
  10. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). 2020. Draft recovery plan for Jones cycladenia (<i>Cycladenia humilis</i> var. <i>jonesii</i>). U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mountain-Prairie Region, Denver, Colorado. 12 pp.