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Home/Species/ White-margined Wax Plant

Glyptopleura marginata

D.C. Eat.

White-margined Wax Plant

G4Apparently Secure Found in 11 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.157548
Element CodePDAST43010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderAsterales
FamilyAsteraceae
GenusGlyptopleura
Other Common Names
Carveseed (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 Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2025-02-04
Change Date2025-02-04
Edition Date2025-02-04
Edition AuthorsGRIES, D (1998), rev. Soteropoulos (2025)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 - 300
Rank Reasons
Glyptopleura marginata is a wide-ranging annual herb in arid grasslands, rocky or sandy deserts, and alkali flats of the Great Basin and Mojave deserts in western United States from southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, Nevada, California, and Utah. There are over 200 occurrences which face threats from development, conversion to agriculture, livestock trampling, recreational activities, and invasive species. Little is known about trends, but with a large range extent and large number of occurrences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities, this species is considered apparently secure.
Range Extent Comments
Glyptopleura marginata occurs in the Great Basin and Mojave deserts in western United States from southwestern Idaho and southeastern Oregon, Nevada, California, and Utah (FNA 2006). Range extent was estimated to be over 530,000 square kilometers using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025 (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, SEINet 2025).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1994 and 2025, it is estimated that there are over 200 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2025, iNaturalist 2025, NatureServe 2025, SEINet 2025).
Threat Impact Comments
Although threats are not widely documented, this species is potentially threatened by development, conversion to agriculture, livestock trampling, recreational activities (especially off-road vehicles), invasive species (such as cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum)), and other threats in some places. However, their overall impact is likely negligible given the species' broad range, large number of occurrences, and no obvious intrinsic vulnerabilities.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species is found in arid grasslands, rocky or sandy deserts, and alkali flats, at elevations ranging from 1,000 to 2,000 meters (FNA 2006).
Terrestrial Habitats
Grassland/herbaceousDesertPlaya/salt flat
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
IdahoS3Yes
NevadaS3Yes
OregonS3Yes
UtahSNRYes
CaliforniaSNRYes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
Unknown/undetermined———

—

Plant Characteristics
DurationANNUAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (11)
California (3)
AreaForestAcres
Black CanyonInyo National Forest32,421
Boundary Peak (CA)Inyo National Forest210,884
Coyote SoutheastInyo National Forest53,159
Nevada (8)
AreaForestAcres
Aurora CraterHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest5,689
Bald Mtn.Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest41,598
Boundary Peak (NV)Inyo National Forest21,851
Chineese Camp (NV)Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest15,207
Moriah - Silver CreekHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest1,582
Pine Grove SouthHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest88,945
Rough CreekHumboldt-Toiyabe National Forest8,476
West Walker (NV)Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest5,683
References (9)
  1. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2006a. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 19. Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 6: Asteraceae, part 1. Oxford University Press, New York. xxiv + 579 pp.
  2. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2025. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2025).
  3. Idaho Native Plant Society. 1992. Federal candidate (C1 and C2) and listed rare plants of Idaho. unpaginated.
  4. iNaturalist. 2025. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2025).
  5. Kartesz, J.T. 1988. A flora of Nevada. Ph.D. dissertation. Univ. of Nevada, Reno. 3 volumes. 1729 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., and C. Meacham. 1998a. Unpublished review draft of Floristic Synthesis, 8 Jan. 1998. North Carolina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill, NC.
  8. NatureServe. 2025. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  9. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2025. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2025).