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The Tennessean, August 27, 2014

Two Tennessee wildflowers to be put on endangered list
By Josh Brown

Two rare wildflowers in Tennessee long considered at risk for extinction will be added to the federal endangered species list.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that Short’s bladderpod, a yellow flower that grows on steep and rocky glades along rivers in Middle Tennessee, is set to be added to the list in September.

The other Tennessee species is the whorled sunflower, a long-stemmed yellow flower that grows along roadsides and near train tracks in Madison and McNairy counties. Those Tennessee counties host two of only four populations of the flowers known to exist, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

A flower native to Alabama — the fleshy-fruit gladecress with yellow-orange or white-yellow flowers — will also be listed.

All of the species have been put at risk through increased development over the years, as well as habitat changes, flooding and competition from non-native invasive plants, the service said.

An environmental group that had called on the Fish and Wildlife Service to speed along actions to add species to the list lauded the announcement.

“The Fish and Wildlife Service is making excellent progress in working through the backlog of species in dire need of federal protection,” Tierra Curry, a senior scientist at the center, said in a news release.

The plants had been under consideration for the endangered list since August 2013. Once they are officially included, the service will implement a strategy to replenish wild populations of the flowers, according to the news release.

The service is looking at land in Cheatham, Davidson, Dickson, Jackson, Montgomery, Smith and Trousdale counties for preservation efforts for the bladderpod.

The biological diversity center said more funds are needed to help develop that plan.

“Now Congress needs to step up to the plate and designate the funding the service desperately needs to move these endangered species toward recovery,” Curry said.

Reach Josh Brown at 615-726-5964 and on Twitter @joshbrownnews.

How you can help

Landowners in Tennessee who would like to be involved in efforts to restore populations of Short’s bladderpod and the whorled sunflower should contact Geoff Call at 931-525-4983 or send an email to geoff_call@fws.gov.


This article originally appeared here.

Photo © Paul S. Hamilton