''Agalinis acuta'' is an annual hemiparasitic plant native to Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Common names include sandplain gerardia and sandplain false foxglove. It is one of about 70 species that comprise genus '' Agalinis''. It currently resides within the family Orobanchaceae, but historically was aligned with members of the Scrophulariaceae. This was one of several re-alignments that were the consequence of the disintegration of the Scrophulariaceae as the result of conclusions based on molecular phylogeny data from the chloroplast genome. While historically regarded as a separate species, molecular phylogenetic data indicates that ''Agalinis acuta'' should be consolidated as part of the species ''

Agalinis decemloba ''Agalinis'' (false foxglove) is a genus of about 70 species in North, Central, and South America that until recently was aligned with members of the family Scrophulariaceae. As a result of numerous molecular phylogenetic studies based on vari ...

''. ''Agalinis acuta'' received federal protection on public lands upon being listed as in 1987 under the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

.U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1988. Determination of Agalinis acuta to be an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. Federal Register 53:34701-34705. Threats to extinction mentioned in the report listing the species were those that are characteristics of most threatened species;

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological processes ...

, lack of regulatory mechanisms protecting the species, and

overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to replenish. The term app ...

for commercial or academic purposes.Center for Plant Conservation
This annual herb grows up to 35 or 40 centimeters tall. The leaves are linear in shape, up to 2.5 centimeters long and one millimeter wide. Flowers are borne on

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence. Such inflorescences are described as ''pedicellate''. Description Pedicel refers to a structure connecting a single flower to its inflorescence. In the absenc ...

one or two centimeters long. Each flower has a hairy tubular calyx of sepals with triangular lobes. The flower corolla is up to 1.3 centimeters long with a tubular throat and rounded, notched lobes. It is pink with a red-spotted white throat. Flowers occur in late summer and early fall, and the flower withers after one day, often less than a full day.The Nature Conservancy
/ref> The flowers are

self-compatible Self-incompatibility (SI) is a general name for several genetic mechanisms that prevent self-fertilization in sexually reproducing organisms, and thus encourage outcrossing and allogamy. It is contrasted with separation of sexes among individuals ...

. This plant occurs in sandy coastal plain habitat in poor, dry soils. It is a member of sandplain grassland communities and openings in coniferous forest. It thrives in areas that have been disturbed by processes such as grazing or fire, clearing out most other vegetation. Two populations grow in

cemeteries A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite or graveyard is a place where the remains of dead people are buried or otherwise interred. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek , "sleeping place") implies that the land is specifically designated as a buri ...

that are constantly landscaped. There are 22 or 23 occurrences, the population numbers fluctuating year to year. The species is threatened by the loss of its habitat to development, and alteration of remaining habitat. The plant requires open space on clear ground, and it does not do well if litter and vegetation builds up or trees grow and form a shady canopy. Some populations of the plant are actually tended by allowing sheep to graze in their habitat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4691137 acuta Flora of New York (state)