''Calamovilfa arcuata'', commonly known as Cumberland sandreed, is a species of flowering plant in the

grass family Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and ...

. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it is found in river scour zones. Due to its specialized habitat, it has a highly localized range, found only on the

Cumberland Plateau The Cumberland Plateau is the southern part of the Appalachian Plateau in the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. It includes much of eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, and portions of northern Alabama and northwest Georgia. The terms "Alle ...

and in the

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

Natural history

This species is found only is a specialized riverine habitat that is kept open by extreme flood scouring events. These flood events naturally occur in high-gradient, rocky rivers, which results in the prevention of large tree growth. This species takes advantage of the prairie-like openings these floods create.''Calamovilfa arcuata '' Missouri Botanical Garden
/ref> Due to its specialized habitat, and low density of populations, ''Calamovilfa arcuata'' is considered imperiled. On the Cumberland Plateau, it is most often found on sandstone cobble where it co-occurs with two other rare plants that are also restricted to this habitat: '' Conradina verticillata'' (Cumberland rosemary) and ''

Solidago arenicola ''Solidago arenicola '' is a rare species of flowering plant in the family Asteraceae known by the common name Locust Fork goldenrod (after the type locality which is alongside the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River, Locust Fork River in Blou ...

'' (sand goldenrod). This species produces flowers in late summer, at the time when the chances of a scouring flood occurring are lessened.

Taxonomy

''Calamovilfa arcuata'' was first described to science in 1970 from a population found on Daddys Creek in

Cumberland County, Tennessee Cumberland County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2010 census, the population was 56,053. Its county seat is Crossville. Cumberland County comprises the Crossville, TN micropolitan statistical area. History Cumb ...

. Recent genetic evidence suggests that this species, along with the rest of the genus ''Calamofilva'', are perhaps best instead included in the genus ''

Sporobolus ''Sporobolus'' is a nearly cosmopolitan genus of plants in the grass family. The name ''Sporobolus'' means "seed-thrower", and is derived from Ancient Greek word (), meaning "seed", and the root of () "to throw", referring to the dispersion of ...

'', although this change has yet to receive widespread recognition.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15511413 arcuata Flora of the Southeastern United States Chloridoideae