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Lygodesmia grandiflora

(Nutt.) Torr. & Gray

Large-flower Skeleton-plant

G5Secure (G5?) Found in 15 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
UnknownThreat Impact
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.1004326
Element CodePDAST630A0
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVascular Plant
Endemicendemic to a single nation
KingdomPlantae
PhylumAnthophyta
ClassDicotyledoneae
OrderAsterales
FamilyAsteraceae
GenusLygodesmia
Concept Reference
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.
Taxonomic Comments
Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2006) treats Lygodesmia grandiflora broadly with 5 varieties which Kartesz (1994, 1999) treated as full species: var. arizonica (=L. arizonica), var. dianthopsis (=L. dianthopsis), var. doloresensis (=L. doloresensis), var. entrada (=L entrada), and var. grandiflora (=L. grandiflora).
Conservation Status
Rank Method Rank calculation - Biotics v2
Review Date2023-06-09
Change Date2023-06-09
Edition Date2023-06-09
Edition AuthorsTomaino, A. (2023)
Threat ImpactUnknown
Range Extent200,000-2,500,000 square km (about 80,000-1,000,000 square miles)
Number of Occurrences81 to >300
Rank Reasons
Lygodesmia grandiflora has a fairly wide range in the western USA, a large number of occurrences estimated, and occurs in several habitats that are fairly abundant.
Range Extent Comments
Lygodesmia grandiflora in the broad sense of Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2006) is known from Idaho and Wyoming south to Arizona and New Mexico. Range extent was estimated using herbarium specimens collected between 1992 and 2023 (GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023, SEINet 2023).
Occurrences Comments
By applying a 1 km separation distance to herbarium records and photo-based observations documented between 1992 and 2023, it is estimated that there are between 81 and 300 occurrences rangewide (GBIF 2023, iNaturalist 2023, SEINet 2023). If records older than 1992 are included, the number of estimated occurrences is greater than 300.
Threat Impact Comments
Threats are not documented for the three most abundant varieties of Lygodesmia grandiflora. However, there are threats to var. doloresensis and var. entrada including road construction and maintenance, livestock grazing and trampling, invasive exotic plants, recreation impacts, and climate change (CNHP 2022, M. McCormick, pers. comm., 2020).
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

The varieties of Lygodesmia grandiflora have the following habitats according to Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2006): arid grasslands on sandy soils, sandy and gravelly soils in juniper-pinyon scrub, open fields, sandy roadsides, alluvial soil in juniper grassland, juniper-scrub community, in deep sandy soil, Entrada sandstone, open sites, alluvial, sandy, or gravelly soils, juniper-sagebrush scrub.
Terrestrial Habitats
Shrubland/chaparralGrassland/herbaceous
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
ColoradoS4Yes
New MexicoSNRYes
NevadaSNRYes
IdahoSNRYes
UtahSNRYes
WyomingS4Yes
ArizonaSNRYes
Plant Characteristics
DurationPERENNIAL
Economic Value (Genus)No
Roadless Areas (15)
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
Chama WS RiverSanta Fe National Forest4,168
Utah (13)
AreaForestAcres
0401023Ashley National Forest8,352
0401032Ashley National Forest6,471
0419020Ashley National Forest355,684
Boulder Mtn. / Boulder Top / Deer LakeDixie National Forest110,690
Burch CreekWasatch-Cache National Forest6,938
Casto BluffDixie National Forest87,466
FishhookDixie National Forest12,959
Happy ValleyDixie National Forest14,458
Lewis PeakWasatch-Cache National Forest11,616
Lone Peak ContiguousWasatch-Cache National Forest874
Middle FrancisWasatch-Cache National Forest3,296
North FrancisWasatch-Cache National Forest8,148
South FrancisWasatch-Cache National Forest3,374
Wyoming (1)
AreaForestAcres
0401035Ashley National Forest5,465
References (8)
  1. Colorado Natural Heritage Program. 2022. Colorado Rare Plant Guide. Online. Available: https://cnhp.colostate.edu/rareplant/ (Accessed 2023).
  2. 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.
  3. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF). 2023. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal. Online. Available: https://www.gbif.org/ (accessed 2023).
  4. iNaturalist. 2023. Online. Available: https://www.inaturalist.org (accessed 2023).
  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. 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.
  7. NatureServe. 2023. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia.
  8. Southwest Environmental Information Network (SEINet). 2023. Collections Databases. Online. Available: https://swbiodiversity.org/seinet/collections/index.php (accessed 2023).