''Rhexia aristosa'' is a species of flowering plants in the

Melastomataceae Melastomataceae is a family of dicotyledonous flowering plants found mostly in the tropics (two-thirds of the genera are from the New World tropics) comprising c. 175 genera and c. 5115 known species. Melastomes are annual or perennial herbs, sh ...

known by the common names awned meadowbeauty and awnpetal meadowbeauty. It is native to the eastern United States, where it occurs on the

coastal plain A coastal plain is flat, low-lying land adjacent to a sea coast. A fall line commonly marks the border between a coastal plain and a piedmont area. Some of the largest coastal plains are in Alaska and the southeastern United States. The Gulf Coa ...

from

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

.''Rhexia aristosa''.
The Nature Conservancy.''Rhexia aristosa''.
Center for Plant Conservation. This perennial herb produces stiff stems up to about 70 to 100 centimeters tall. The leaves are linear to lance-shaped and up to 5 centimeters tall. The flowers have lavender petals up to 2 centimeters long. Flowering occurs in June through September. This species grows in several types of

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

, including

bay A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a Gulf (geography), gulf, sea, sound (geography), sound, or bight (geogra ...

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; a ...

flatwoods Flatwoods, pineywoods, pine savannas and longleaf pine-wiregrass ecosystem are terms that refer to an ecological community in the southeastern coastal plain of North America. Flatwoods are an ecosystem maintained by wildfire or prescribed fire an ...

, seasonally moist pools and meadows, and

savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

s. It is often a member of the flora in

Carolina bays Carolina bays are elliptical to circular depressions concentrated along the Atlantic seaboard within coastal New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and north Florida.Kaczorowski, R. T. (1977) '' ...

. It may grow in the

understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but abov ...

of ''

Taxodium ascendens ''Taxodium ascendens'', also known as pond cypress, is a deciduous conifer of the genus ''Taxodium'', native to North America. Many botanists treat it as a variety of bald cypress, ''Taxodium distichum'' (as ''T. distichum'' var. ''imbricatum'') ...

'' with ''

Panicum hemitomon ''Panicum hemitomon'' is a species of grass known by the common name maidencane. It is native to North America, where it occurs along the southeastern coastline from New Jersey to Texas. It is also present in South America.Walsh, Roberta A. 1994 ...

'', '' Polygala cymosa'', '' Lobelia boykinii'', ''

Sagittaria ''Sagittaria'' is a genus of about 303. Sagittaria Linnaeus
''Flora of North ...

'' spp., and ''

Lachnanthes caroliniana ''Lachnanthes'' is a genus of monocotyledonous plants in the bloodwort family containing only one species, i.e., ''Lachnanthes caroliniana'', commonly known as Carolina redroot or bloodroot. The plant is native to eastern North America, from sou ...

''. It is adapted to habitat that is prone to disturbance such as

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire ...

and flooding. This species is threatened by the loss of its habitat, for example, the loss of Carolina bays when they are converted to agriculture and

silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, and quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests and wo ...

and other uses. During development, the local

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is calle ...

is altered, eliminating natural springs and causing polluting

runoff Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

. The bays are also altered during

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

operations.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7320495 aristosa Flora of the United States