Hasteola suaveolens

(L.) Pojark.

Sweet-scented Indian-plantain

G4Apparently Secure Found in 2 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G4Apparently SecureGlobal Rank
LowThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.154882
Element CodePDASTDX010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderAsterales
FamilyAsteraceae
GenusHasteola
Synonyms
Cacalia suaveolensL.Senecio suaveolens(Linnaeus) ElliotSynosma suaveolens(L.) Raf. ex Britt.
Other Common Names
false Indian plantain (EN) False Indian-plantain (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
This plant has been treated in most references in the past as Cacalia suaveolens. The genus name Cacalia was recommended for nomenclatural rejection by the Committee on Spermatophyta (Taxon 47: 444, 1998), due to its history of varied and contradictory usage; thus all plants formerly classified in Cacalia are now be reclassified into other genera. The Florida plants have recently been treated as the separate species Hasteola robertiorum, with H. suaveolens (=Synosma suaveolens) occurring only northward (see L.C. Anderson, Syst. Bot. 19: 211-219, 1994, Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2006); this change happened too recently to be addressed in the 1994 Kartesz checklist but is accepted by Kartesz in his 1999 Floristic Synthesis, in which Kartesz treats both of these species in the genus Hasteola, rather than Synosma (or Cacalia).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-06-04
Change Date2006-10-02
Edition Date2024-06-04
Edition AuthorsS.L.Neid, MRO (1997), rev. L. Morse (2000), rev. C. Nordman (2024).
Threat ImpactLow
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank Reasons
Hasteola suaveolens occurs in the eastern United States from Connecticut to southern Minnesota south to North Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri. It is widely but irregularly distributed, yet rare or uncommon in most states in its range. It is declining due to habitat loss, and habitat degradation due to invasive plants. It occur on several National Forests, on National Park Service land, and on some State Parks and State Wildlife Management Areas.
Range Extent Comments
Hasteola suaveolens occurs in the eastern United States from Connecticut to southern Minnesota south to North Carolina, Tennessee and Missouri. It is introduced in Rhode Island (Anderson 1994). North Carolina and Virginia populations are disjunct from the rest of the range (Sutherland 1988). Range extent was estimated to be 1.25 million square kilometers, using herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data collected between 1993 and 2024 (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2006, GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2023).
Occurrences Comments
Hasteola suaveolens is uncommon throughout its range but rare at the periphery. By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimens, photo-based observations, and NatureServe Network occurrence data documented between 1993 and 2024, it is estimated that there are over 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2024, iNaturalist 2024, NatureServe 2024, SEINet 2024).
Threat Impact Comments
Both loss of habitat and environmental degradation threaten Hasteola suaveolens (Coffin and Pfannmuller 1988), and it is especially threatened by invasive exotic plants (Sharp 2001, Williams 2010).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

This species grows in rich woods, on low, moist ground in rich floodplain forests, sandy bottomlands, riverbanks, thickets, or clearings and in calcareous fens, or sometimes on calcareous bluffs, at 10–300 or more meters elevation (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2006, Weakley and Southeastern Flora Team 2023).

Reproduction

Flowers in the late summer or fall (Flora of North America Editorial Committee 2006), and can spread readily from seed or vegetativley (Sharp 2001, Steyermark 1977).
Terrestrial Habitats
Forest/WoodlandForest - ConiferForest EdgeWoodland - Hardwood
Palustrine Habitats
FORESTED WETLANDBog/fenRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN4
ProvinceRankNative
Rhode IslandSHYes
PennsylvaniaS4Yes
IowaS2Yes
KentuckyS2Yes
North CarolinaS1Yes
MissouriS3Yes
New JerseySXYes
MassachusettsSNANo
West VirginiaS2Yes
WisconsinS4Yes
ConnecticutS1Yes
VirginiaS2Yes
IllinoisS2Yes
OhioS4Yes
IndianaS3Yes
TennesseeS2Yes
District of ColumbiaS1Yes
MinnesotaS1Yes
New YorkS1Yes
MarylandS1Yes
Threat Assessments
ThreatScopeSeverityTiming
8 - Invasive & other problematic species, genes & diseasesRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)
8.1 - Invasive non-native/alien species/diseasesRestricted (11-30%)Moderate or 11-30% pop. declineHigh (continuing)

Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL, SUMMER-FLOWERING, FALL-FLOWERING
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (2)
West Virginia (2)
AreaForestAcres
Dolly Sods Roaring PlainMonongahela National Forest13,392
Glady ForkMonongahela National Forest3,239
References (14)
  1. Anderson, L. C. 1994. A revision of <i>Hasteola</i> (Asteraceae) in the New World. Systematic Botany 19:211-219.
  2. Coffin, B., and L. Pfannmuller, editors. 1988. Minnesota's endangered flora and fauna. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 473 pp.
  3. Flora of North America Editorial Committee (FNA). 2006b. Flora of North America north of Mexico. Vol. 20. Magnoliophyta: Asteridae, part 7: Asteraceae, part 2. Oxford Univ. Press, New York. xxii + 666 pp.
  4. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2024. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2024).
  5. iNaturalist. 2024. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2024).
  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. Medley, M.E. 1993. An annotated catalog of the known or reported vascular flora of Kentucky. PhD. dissertation. University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky.
  8. NatureServe. 2024. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  9. Sharp, Penelope C. 2001. <i>Hasteola suaveolens</i> (Sweet Indian Plantain) Conservation and Research Plan. New England Plant Conservation Program, Framingham, Massachusetts, USA (http://www.newfs.org). Online. Available: https://newfs-society.s3.amazonaws.com/documents/Hasteolasuaveolens.pdf (Accessed 2024).
  10. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2024. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2024).
  11. Steyermark, J. A. 1977. Flora of Missouri. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press.
  12. Sutherland. 1988. Atlas of Rare and Endangered Plant Species in North Carolina. North Carolina Plant Conservation Program.
  13. Weakley, A.S., and Southeastern Flora Team. 2023. Flora of the southeastern United States. Edition of April 14, 2023. University of North Carolina Herbarium (NCU), North Carolina Botanical Garden, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 2105 pp.
  14. Williams, C.E. 2010. Sweet-scented Indian-plantain, <i>Hasteola suaveolens</i> (L.) Pojark, in riparian plant communities of the Allegheny River Islands Wilderness, Pennsylvania. Castanea 75:444–453.