Home/Species/ Columbia Quillwort

Isoetes minima

A.A. Eat.

Columbia Quillwort

G1Critically Imperiled (G1G2) Found in 3 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →

G1Critically ImperiledGlobal Rank

Identity

Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.768498

Element CodePPISO01081

Record TypeSPECIES

ClassificationSpecies

Classification StatusStandard

Name CategoryVascular Plant

Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations

KingdomPlantae

PhylumLycophyta

ClassIsoetopsida

OrderIsoetales

FamilyIsoetaceae

GenusIsoetes

Synonyms

Isoetes howellii var. minima(A.A. Eat.) Pfeiffer

Other Common Names

Isoète du Columbia (FR) Isoète minuscule (FR) Midget Quillwort (EN)

Concept Reference

St. John, H. 1963. Flora of southeastern Washington and of adjacent Idaho. Outdoor Pictures, Escondido, CA. 583 pp.

Taxonomic Comments

According to Taylor et al. (2003), chromosome counts, DNA analyses, and field characters support the recognition of I. minima as a distinct species, more closely related to I. nuttallii and I. orcuttii than to I. howellii. FNA (1993, vol. 2) included Isoetes minima in the synonymy of I. howellii. Kartesz (1994 and 1999) followed that treatment, including Isoetes howellii var. minima in I. howellii.

Conservation Status

Rank MethodExpertise without calculation

Review Date2015-01-28

Change Date2006-06-13

Rank Reasons

This species is globally rare; fewer than 10 populations are known world-wide. Its extreme rarity and often small populations makes it sensitive to effects of stochastic outcome (IUCN assessment for BC, March 2014).

Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species occurs in vernal pools, wet depressions, and on lake margins (FNA 1993).

Palustrine Habitats

TEMPORARY POOLRiparian

Other Nations (2)

CanadaN1

Province	Rank	Native
British Columbia	S1	Yes

United StatesN1

Province	Rank	Native
Idaho	S1	Yes
California	S1	Yes
Oregon	S2	Yes
Washington	S1	Yes

Plant Characteristics

Economic Value (Genus)No

Roadless Areas (3)

Oregon (3)

Area	Forest	Acres
Mountain Sheep	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	19,457
Mt. Emily	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	8,421
Wildhorse	Wallowa-Whitman National Forest	20,308

References (5)

Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 1993a. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 2. Pteridophytes and gymnosperms. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xvi + 475 pp.
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.
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.
St. John, H. 1963. Flora of southeastern Washington and of adjacent Idaho. Outdoor Pictures, Escondido, CA. 583 pp.
Taylor, W.C., N.T. Luebke, and A.R. Lekschas. 2003. Taxonomic status and evolutionary relationship of Isoetes minima A.A. Eaton (Isoetaceae) based on nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer sequences. Botanical Electronic News 304. Accessed online (January 2015): http://bomi.ou.edu/ben/ben304.html.