Hartwrightia floridana A. Gray ex S. Watson:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: Occurs in northcentral Florida, from Highlands and Hardee counties north to Nassau and Baker counties and in three counties in southeastern Georgia (Chafin 2000; Chafin 2007; Patrick et al. 1995).

Leaves: basal blades mostly 5–25 × 1–8 cm, bases tapering to petiolar portions; cauline smaller, linear (bractlike) distally. Corollas ca. 3 mm. Cypselae 3–3.5 mm.

This species is monotypic, superficially resembling some Eupatoriums, but different in pappus and achene character, in aromatic character, as well as in leaf. As Small (1933) commented, the foliage in general appearance most resembles that of the sea lavender Limonium (Kral 1983).

Possible Type for Hartwrightia floridana A. Gray ex S. Watson
Catalog Number: US 1401472
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): S. H. Wright
Locality: Marshes, Volusia Co., Fla., Volusia, Florida, United States, North America

Comments: Wet, peat-enriched, usually sphagnous substrates, mostly in full sunlight or light shade. Typical habitat is slash pine/longleaf pine - saw palmetto - gallberry - titi flatwoods, pineland swamps or bogs, and acidic seepage areas (Kral 1983).

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 21 - 80

Comments: In Florida, there are approximately 50 occurrences observed since 1989 and 20 others last observed earlier. However, some of these Florida occurrences may potentially be combined (A. Jenkins, pers. comm. 2009). In Georgia, eight populations are known (Chafin 2007).

Kral (1983) states that he has never observed the species in grazed areas, even where it was "abundant just the other side of a pasture fence."

Flowers in this species are all perfect and fertile (Godfrey & Wooten 1981), while the family as a whole is predominantly outcrossing (although there are many exceptions). Pollinators listed are common for Asteraceae. The seed is a sticky achene without a prominent pappus (Godfrey & Wooten 1981); thus it may be dispersed by exozoochory or myrmechory.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.


No available public DNA sequences.

Download FASTA File

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N2 - Imperiled

Rounded Global Status Rank: G2 - Imperiled

Reasons: This is a regional endemic, that ranges from northcentral Florida to southeastern Georgia. Few occurrences are adequately protected. The species suffers from a severe loss of habitat due to development, conversion of native habitat to pine plantation, and drainage.

Comments: Threatened by ditching, draining, mechanical site preparation, and lack of fire (Chafin 2000; Chafin 2007).

Needs: Need additional protected occurrences.