Triplett, Weakley & L.G. Clark
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.795426
Element CodePMPOA0P050
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassMonocotyledoneae
OrderCyperales
FamilyPoaceae
GenusArundinaria
Concept ReferenceTriplett, J. K., A. S. Weakley, and L. G. Clark. 2006. Hill cane (Arundinaria appalachiana), a new species of bamboo (Poaceae: Bambusoideae) from the southern Appalachian Mountains. Sida 22(1): 79-95.
Taxonomic CommentsThis taxon comprises material of more upland, dryer habitats than the other sympatric Arundinaria. These plants had long been suspected as distinct and are recognized as such by Triplett et al. (2006) based on the ecology and also on morphologic characters.
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2024-02-12
Change Date2006-09-22
Edition Date2024-02-12
Edition AuthorsMaybury, K. (2006); rev. Soteropoulos (2024); rev. SE Ranking Workshop (2024)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent20,000-200,000 square km (about 8000-80,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences> 300
Rank ReasonsArundinaria appalachiana is a long-lived perennial grass endemic to the southern Appalachian Mountains and upper Piedmont in the southeastern United States. It can be locally common and grows in a variety of upland oak-hickory forests and woodlands away from streams compared to its congeners, A. gigantea and A. tecta, though its overall range is smaller. This species can form large colonies from rhizomes and is likely fire-dependent to induce flowering, which has only been documented once. Fire suppression and habitat conversion are the biggest threats to this species.
Range Extent CommentsArundinaria appalachiana occurs primarily in the southwestern end of the Blue Ridge Mountains, extending east, south, and west into adjacent provinces in northeastern Alabama, northern Georgia, western North Carolina, northwestern South Carolina, and eastern Tennessee in the southeastern United States (Weakley and the Southeastern Flora Team 2023).
Occurrences CommentsBy applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium specimen data and photo-based observation data documented between the years of 2006 and 2023, it is estimated that there are at least 219 extant occurrences known (iNaturalist 2023, SEINet 2023). However, anecdotal evidence suggests there are over 300 occurrences (Bradley, Crabtree, Schotz, Tessel, pers. comm., 2024).
Threat Impact CommentsArundinaria appalachiana is potentially threatened by habitat conversion, fire suppression, and possibly hybridization, though there is insufficient data, including anecdotal accounts, to understand scope and severity of threats for this species. In the species's description, Triplett et al. (2006) noted very few fertile specimens, which, like other woody bamboos, this species flowers very infrequently and perhaps in response to fire. Fire suppression throughout this species's habitat may thus be a threat, although the plants are very long-lived and can likely persist for centuries (Triplett et al. 2006).