''Marshallia grandiflora'', the Appalachian Barbara's buttons, is an extinct species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the genus ''

Marshallia ''Marshallia'' is a genus of plants in the tribe Helenieae within the family Asteraceae. ''Marshallia'' is native to the southeastern and south-central United States. A common name applied to most species in the genus is Barbara's buttons. Descr ...

'' within the sunflower family. It was

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to the

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North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

in the

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, in

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and

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counties. It was found primarily along gravelly and sandy bars along high-gradient rivers, and was presumably wiped out due to changes in this restricted habitat. It was last sighted in 1919. ''Marshallia grandiflora'' was an herb up to 90 cm (3 feet) tall. Most of the leaves were clustered around the base of the stem. One plant would produce one or two heads, each head containing pink disc flowers but no ray flowers. It was formerly considered conspecific with '' M. pulchra'', the beautiful Barbara's buttons or Monongahela Barbara's buttons, which is endemic to the central Appalachia region from southwestern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

to eastern

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, with the largest population occurs along the

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.Biota of North America Program 2014 county distribution map
/ref> A 2020 study found the two populations to represent distinct species, and thus only the North Carolina population was kept in ''M. grandiflora'', with the Central Appalachian populations being reclassified into the new species ''M. pulchra.'' Both species are closely related to one another and to '' M. legrandii''. ''M. pulchra'' is also threatened by changes to its habitat.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Marshallia grandiflora'' (Monongahela Barbara's buttons)
photo Helenieae Endemic flora of the United States Flora of North Carolina Plant extinctions since 1500 Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Plants described in 1901 {{Helenieae-stub