Sagittaria secundifolia
Encyclopedia
Sagittaria secundifolia (Kral's water plantain, Little River arrowhead) is an aquatic plant
Aquatic plant
Aquatic plants are plants that have adapted to living in aquatic environments. They are also referred to as hydrophytes or aquatic macrophytes. These plants require special adaptations for living submerged in water, or at the water's surface. Aquatic plants can only grow in water or in soil that is...

, growing on or below the water, on rocky creek beds and nearby slopes. It is found only along the Little River
Little River Canyon National Preserve
Little River Canyon National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located on top of Lookout Mountain near Fort Payne, Alabama, and DeSoto State Park. Created by an act of Congress in 1992, the nearly preserve protects what is sometimes said to be the nation's longest mountaintop river,...

 of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

, and is endangered. It is often found in association with azaleas, mountain laurel and holly. Perennial, aquatic herb with an underwater, thick horizontal root about 5–10 centimeters (2–4 in) long and 6 millimeters (0.25 in) thick. This particular plantain grows in the cracks in stream beds. Each leaf arches upward and is 5–10 centimeters (2–4 in) long with a pointed tip. This particular plantain is found in the Little River drainage in DeKalb and Cherokee counties, the Town Creek drainage in DeKalb County, and in the West Sipsey Fork in Winston County in Alabama. Kral's Plantain is known to be in the southeast of the United States.
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Both threatened and endangered species and poached species are critical resources to several parks. The last known population of Kral’s Water Plantain is in the Little River system (USFWS 1991), and the endangered Green Pitcher Plant and Harperella are also found there (LIRI). The Lookout Mountain (CHCH) population of the federally endangered Mountain Skullcap is listed as one of the last ten remaining population. The Tennessee Coneflower population at STRI is one of five remaining (USFWS 1989).

Some of things that Kral's plantain is endangered because of things like;Erosion-related water quality degradation, siltation and turbidity, resulting from development residential -recreational, surface mining, agriculture, and forest conversion. Another thing that cause the plantain to be endangered is water pollution from garbage dumping and leaking sewage systems. Water impoundments and off road vehicle traffic also causes great harm towards the Plantain.

External links

  • http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=Q2VT
  • http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/rareplants/profiles/tep/sagittaria_secundifolia/index.shtml
  • http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=SASE9
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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