Agalinis aphylla

(Nutt.) Raf.

Coastal Plain False Foxglove

G3Vulnerable (G3G4) Found in 1 roadless area NatureServe Explorer →
G3VulnerableGlobal Rank
MediumThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.144947
Element CodePDSCR01020
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderScrophulariales
FamilyOrobanchaceae
GenusAgalinis
Other Common Names
scaleleaf false foxglove (EN) Scaleleaf False Foxglove (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.
Conservation Status
Rank MethodLegacy Rank calculation - Excel v3.1x
Review Date2013-02-01
Change Date1988-06-30
Edition Date2013-02-01
Edition AuthorsWeakley (1994), rev. L. Morse (2000), rev. C. Nordman (2013)
Threat ImpactMedium
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
Widespread but infrequent plant limited to the southeastern Coastal Plain. There are numerous stable populations in Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Florida, but it is more scarce in the rest of its range.
Range Extent Comments
Southeastern coastal plain, from southeast North Carolina to northern Florida and west to southeastern Louisiana (St. Tammany Parish). The range extent is close to 200,000 sq km (80,000 sq mi).
Threat Impact Comments
Much habitat has been converted to pine plantation and drained or otherwise converted. Additional threats to seepage slope habitat include ATV use and feral hog rooting.
Ecology & Habitat

Description

Slender annual, up to 6 dm tall with ribbed stems. Lowest leaves usually opposite, while the upper leaves are mostly alternate. Leaves are scale-like, up to 2 mm long (usually shorter), appressed to the stem, with little to no pubescence. Flowers alternate, on slender racemes 5-20 cm long. Pedicels 1-2 mm long. Corolla is pink, usually with darker dots and yellow lines within, 1.0-1.5 cm in length. Fruit a globose (round) capsule with the calyx covering half of it (Louisiana Natural Heritage Program 2009).

Diagnostic Characteristics

Flower stalks 1-2 mm long, shorter than the calyx, the flowers are pink, usually with darker dots and yellow lines. Leaves are tiny and scalelike, to 2 mm long (Godfrey and Wooten 1981). Seed and stem characteristics are diagnostic, the stems are very slender with ridges (Canne 1979, Canne-Hilliker and Kampny 1991).

Habitat

Moist to wet pine savannas; disturbed savannas (fields); also flatwoods, depressions in pinelands, bogs, and edges of cypress-gum ponds (Godfrey and Wooten 1981).

Ecology

Agalinis are hemiparasitic plants which are green plants which have their own root system and also form haustoria which obtain nutrients from the roots of other plants. The attachment to the host plant is in the vicinity of coralloid mycorrhizal roots (Musselman and Dickison 1975). Host plants of this species include Muhlenbergia expansa and Drosera capillaris, and probably other species (Musselman and Mann 1977). Agalinis aphylla is abundant only in recently burned areas (Musselman and Mann 1978).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - ConiferSavanna
Palustrine Habitats
Bog/fenRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesNNR
ProvinceRankNative
South CarolinaS1Yes
North CarolinaS3Yes
MississippiS3Yes
LouisianaS1Yes
GeorgiaS2Yes
AlabamaS2Yes
FloridaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
1 - Residential & commercial developmentSmall (1-10%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
1.1 - Housing & urban areasSmall (1-10%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
1.2 - Commercial & industrial areasSmall (1-10%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
2 - Agriculture & aquacultureRestricted - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
2.2 - Wood & pulp plantationsRestricted - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
6 - Human intrusions & disturbanceRestricted - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
6.1 - Recreational activitiesRestricted - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
7 - Natural system modificationsRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
7.1 - Fire & fire suppressionRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
7.2 - Dams & water management/useRestricted - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesRestricted - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesRestricted - smallModerate or 11-30% pop. declineModerate (short-term)

Plant Characteristics
DurationANNUAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (1)
Florida (1)
AreaForestAcres
SavannahApalachicola National Forest1,927
References (9)
  1. Canne-Hilliker, J.M. and C.M. Kampny. 1991. Taxonomic significance of leaf and stem anatomy of Agalinis (Scrophulariaceae) from the U.S.A. and Canada. Canadian J. Botany 69: 1935-1950.
  2. Canne, J.M. 1979. A light scanning electron microscope study of seed morphology in Agalinis (Scrophulariaceae) and its taxonomic significance. Systematic Botany 4(4): 281-296.
  3. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2019. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 17: Magnoliophyta: Tetrachondraceae to Orobanchaceae. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxiv + 737 pp.
  4. Godfrey, R.K., and J.W. Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of southeastern United States: Dicotyledons. Univ. Georgia Press, Athens. 933 pp.
  5. 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.
  6. Louisiana Natural Heritage Program. 2009. Rare Plants of Louisiana. Agalinis aphylla (Nutt.) Raf. Scaleleaf False Foxglove, Coastal Plain False Foxglove Rare Plant Fact Sheet, PDSCR0120. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Natural Heritage Program. [http://www.wlf.louisiana.gov/wildlife/rare-plants-fact-sheets]
  7. Musselman, L.J., and W.C. Dickison. 1975. The structure and development of the haustorium in parasitic Schrophulariaceae. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 70:183-212.
  8. Musselman, L.J., and W.F. Mann, Jr. 1977a. Host plants of some Rhinanthoidea (Scrophulariaceae) of eastern North America. Plant Systematics Evolution 127: 45-53.
  9. Musselman, L.J., and W.F. Mann Jr. 1978. Root parasites of southern forests. Southern Forest Experiment Station, U.S. Forest Service, General Technical Report SO-20, Alexandria, LA. 76 pp.