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Nyssa ursina

Small

Bear Tupelo

G3Vulnerable Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G3VulnerableGlobal Rank
Medium - lowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.128639
Element CodePDNYS01050
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single state or province
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderCornales
FamilyNyssaceae
GenusNyssa
Other Common Names
bear tupelo (EN) Dwarf Blackgum (EN)
Concept Reference
Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
Taxonomic Comments
Kartesz (1999) recognizes Nyssa ursina as a distinct species but Kartesz had included it in Nyssa biflora in 1994. Originally described by J.K. Small in 1927 (1933). Eyde (1966) considered these plants to represent an ecotype of N. sylvatica. Wen and Stuessy (1993) recognize it as N. sylvatica var. ursina. R.E. Burckhalter (1992) recognizes it as distinct using morphological and chemical characters but phylogeographic studies in 2018 (Zhou et al.) do not find support that the species is distinct.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x
Review Date2018-06-28
Change Date2018-06-28
Edition Date2018-06-15
Edition AuthorsJohnson, A.F., and J.L. Amoroso (1993); rev. MacBryde (2000), rev. Treher (2018)
Threat ImpactMedium - low
Range Extent1000-5000 square km (about 400-2000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences6 - 80
Rank Reasons
Endemic to the Apalachicola River Delta and nearby areas of the panhandle of Florida. The species is locally common: there are 12 documented occurrences but some are quite large and more field work is expected to expand known and discover new occurrences. It can be assumed that this species is threatened by destruction of its limited habitat in pineland swamps. Some treatments consider Nyssa ursina to be conspecific with Nyssa biflora.
Range Extent Comments
Nyssa ursina is endemic to Florida and only known to occur on the panhandle in Franklin, Gulf, Liberty, and Wakulla Counties.
Occurrences Comments
This species is locally common.There are 12 known occurrences in the NatureServe Natural Heritage Database (as of 2018), but many of these occurrences are quite extensive, as shown by the area of occupancy (a minimum of 63 grid cells). It is believed that this species is more common, especially in managed areas (including Apalachicola National Forest, Tate’s Hell State Forest, and Apalachicola River Wildlife and Environmental Area) than the database indicates (A. Jenkins, pers. comm., 2018).
Threat Impact Comments
The wet flatwoods where Nyssa ursina occur may be logged, but are not considered suitable for silviculture or development. Fire suppression threatens some sites. This species will sprout back after fire.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species occurs in open bogs, wet flatwoods, and swamps.
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/Woodland
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDBog/fen
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN3
ProvinceRankNative
FloridaS3Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
5 - Biological resource useUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
5.3 - Logging & wood harvestingUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
7 - Natural system modificationsUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
7.1 - Fire & fire suppressionUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)
7.1.2 - Suppression in fire frequency/intensityUnknownUnknownHigh (continuing)

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Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL, Long-lived
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (1)
Florida (1)
AreaForestAcres
SavannahApalachicola National Forest1,927
References (14)
  1. Burckhalter, R. E. 1992. The genus <i>Nyssa</i> (Cornaceae) in North America: A revision. Sida 15(2): 323-342.
  2. Clewell, A.F. 1985. Guide to vascular plants of the Florida panhandle. Florida State Univ. Press, Tallahassee, Florida. 605 pp.
  3. Eyde, R.H. 1966. The Nyssaceae in the southeastern United States. J Arnold Arb. 47: 117-125.
  4. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2016. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 12. Magnoliophyta: Vitaceae to Garryaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 603 pp.
  5. Godfrey, R.K., and J.W. Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States: Dicotyledons. Univ. Georgia Press, Athens. 933 pp.
  6. 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.
  7. Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist and atlas with biological attributes for the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. First edition. In: Kartesz, J.T., and C.A. Meacham. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, N.C.
  8. Kral, R. 1983c. A report on some rare, threatened, or endangered forest-related vascular plants of the South. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service Technical Publication R8-TP2, Athens, GA. 1305 pp.
  9. Small, J.K. 1933. Manual of the southeastern flora. Two volumes. Hafner Publishing Company, New York.
  10. USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service, PLANTS Database [USDA PLANTS]. http://plants.usda.gov/. Accessed 2015.
  11. Wen, J., and T.F. Stuessy. 1993. The phylogeny and biogeography of <i>Nyssa (</i>Cornaceae). Systematic Botany 18(1): 68-79.
  12. Wunderlin, R.P. 1982. Guide to the vascular plants of central Florida. Univ. Presses Florida, Gainesville. 472 pp.
  13. Wunderlin, R.P. 1998. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida. University Press of Florida: Gainesville, Florida. 806 pp.
  14. Zhou, W. J. Xiang, S. Obata, A. Pais, Y. Dong, R. Peet, Q. Xiang. 2018. Resolving relationships and phylogeographic history of the Nyssa sylvatica complex using data from RAD-seq and species distribution modeling. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 126:1-16.