Minuartia cumberlandensis
Encyclopedia
Minuartia cumberlandensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the pink family
known by the common names Cumberland stitchwort and Cumberland sandwort. It is endemic to the Cumberland Plateau
near the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River
in Tennessee
and Kentucky
. This rare plant is found only in cool sandstone
rock shelters, on the moist sandy cave floors behind the drip line. There are 27 occurrences in Tennessee and one in Kentucky. The plant is a federally listed endangered species
.
This is a petite perennial herb forming tufts of stems from threadlike taproot
s. The green stems reach 15 to 20 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves have shiny green linear or lance-shaped blades up to 3 or 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence
is a solitary flower or a cluster of up to three flowers. Each has white petals no more than 6 millimeters long. Flowers bloom in the summer.
Threats to this species include damage to its habitat, which may occur during recreational use such as camping
and rappelling, or during logging
. The rock shelter habitat of the plant is cool, humid, and dark; removal of surrounding trees lets light in and makes it warmer and drier.
The plant was first described to science in 1979 when specimens once thought to be Minuartia groenlandica
did not fit its description, or that of any known species.
Caryophyllaceae
The Caryophyllaceae, commonly called the pink family or carnation family, is a family of flowering plants. It is included in the dicotyledon order Caryophyllales in the APG III system, alongside 33 other families, including Amaranthaceae, Cactaceae and Polygonaceae...
known by the common names Cumberland stitchwort and Cumberland sandwort. It is endemic to the Cumberland Plateau
Cumberland Plateau
The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and western West Virginia, part of Tennessee, and a small portion of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia . The terms "Allegheny Plateau" and the "Cumberland Plateau" both refer to the...
near the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River
Cumberland River
The Cumberland River is a waterway in the Southern United States. It is long. It starts in Harlan County in far southeastern Kentucky between Pine and Cumberland mountains, flows through southern Kentucky, crosses into northern Tennessee, and then curves back up into western Kentucky before...
in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. This rare plant is found only in cool sandstone
Sandstone
Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains.Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any colour, but the most common colours are tan, brown, yellow,...
rock shelters, on the moist sandy cave floors behind the drip line. There are 27 occurrences in Tennessee and one in Kentucky. The plant is a federally listed endangered species
Endangered species
An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...
.
This is a petite perennial herb forming tufts of stems from threadlike taproot
Taproot
A taproot is an enlarged, somewhat straight to tapering plant root that grows vertically downward. It forms a center from which other roots sprout laterally.Plants with taproots are difficult to transplant...
s. The green stems reach 15 to 20 centimeters in maximum height. The leaves have shiny green linear or lance-shaped blades up to 3 or 4 centimeters long. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a solitary flower or a cluster of up to three flowers. Each has white petals no more than 6 millimeters long. Flowers bloom in the summer.
Threats to this species include damage to its habitat, which may occur during recreational use such as camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
and rappelling, or during logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
. The rock shelter habitat of the plant is cool, humid, and dark; removal of surrounding trees lets light in and makes it warmer and drier.
The plant was first described to science in 1979 when specimens once thought to be Minuartia groenlandica
Minuartia groenlandica
Minuartia groenlandica, the Greenland stitchwort or mountain stitchwort, is a rare perennial which grows low to the ground in clumps linked together at the bottom. It has three to five pairs of leaves in a linear opposite pattern along the length of the slender stem. The main stem breaks into one...
did not fit its description, or that of any known species.