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A Spring Bloomer for the Books

 

Pelton's Rose-Gentian

Pelton's Rose-Gentian
© John Pelton, Courtesy Arknsas Natural Heritage Commission

Technical drawing of Pelton's rose-gentian

Technical drawing of
Pelton's rose-gentian  
© Linda Ellis, Courtesy Arknsas Natural Heritage Commission
 

 

New Species Discovered in Arkansas Preserve

For untold ages, a fluorescent pink flower has bloomed anonymously each June on rocky outcroppings in and around the Ouachita Mountains of central Arkansas. The ankle-high flower lives where springs or small streams flow through the rock. Many such rocky glades had been mined for bauxite or shale, but in 1995 the Alcoa mining company set aside some of the rare habitat with the help of The Nature Conservancy, which later acquired other parcels of rock glade.

John Pelton, a retired Alcoa mechanic and amateur botanist, noticed the flower on trips to survey and photograph plants in the botanically rich glades. He identified the flower as a rose-gentian, but couldn’t figure out the species from any botanical keys. In 2001, Pelton showed the plant to Theo Witsell, a botanist at the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission (the Conservancy originated the Heritage programs, now run by each state). After consulting herbarium specimens and a rose-gentian expert at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Ontario, Canada, Witsell confirmed their hunch: The flower was a species new to science. Pelton’s rose-gentian (Sabatia arkansana) made its scientific debut in August 2005, with an official description in the botany journal Sida.

Although new plants turn up regularly in the tropics, it’s unusual to find one in temperate climes, says Witsell. It’s also unusual for such a looker to be overlooked. The five fuchsia petals have yellow pollen guides at their base that form a star in the flower’s center. “They’re very showy,” he says.
The showpiece, so far found only in a single Arkansas county, has helped establish a new state natural area. In addition, the flower has homes at the Conservancy and Alcoa preserves.

—Christine Mlot