''Vernonia proctorii'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common name Proctor's ironweed. It is endemic to

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, where there are two populations. It is threatened by the destruction of its habitat. It is a federally listed

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 ...

of the United States. This plant was first discovered in 1987 at

Cerro Mariquita Cerro is Spanish for "hill" or "mountain". Toponyms ;Bolivia: * Cerro Rico, the "Rich Mountain" containing silver ore near Potosi, Bolivia ;Brazil: *Cerro Branco, a municipality of Rio Grande do Sul *Cerro Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, a municipa ...

in the

Sierra Bermeja Sierra Bermeja is a mountain range in southwestern Puerto Rico. It forms the southern boundary of the Lajas Valley and it is bordered by La Parguera in the Caribbean Sea coast. It extends from the municipality of Cabo Rojo in the west to Lajas i ...

of Puerto Rico.USFWS
Determination of endangered status for three Puerto Rican plants.
''Federal Register'' April 27, 1993. It was described to science as a new species in 1989.Urbatch, L. E. (1989)
''Vernonia proctorii'' (Asteraceae: Vernonieae), a New species from Puerto Rico.
''Systematic Botany'' 14(4) 589-92. It is a

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

growing up to 1.5 meters tall with a stem covered in silvery hairs. The leaves have shiny green blades which are oval in shape and measure up to 3.5 centimeters long by 2.6 wide. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...

is a cluster of 2 to 5

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

containing small purple flowers. The single wild population has 150 individuals as of the year 2008. Another population was started in 2009 when 36 cultivated individuals were planted in the

Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge Cabo Rojo National Wildlife Refuge (Spanish: ''Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre de Cabo Rojo'') is an 1,836-acre National Wildlife Refuge located in southwestern Puerto Rico, in the municipality of Cabo Rojo. The refuge is a habitat for numbe ...

. Both populations are healthy and the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

considers the plant's outlook to be improving. It is still threatened because the population at the type locality is on privately owned land that may be used for

grazing In agriculture, grazing is a method of animal husbandry whereby domestic livestock are allowed outdoors to roam around and consume wild vegetations in order to convert the otherwise indigestible (by human gut) cellulose within grass and other ...

or cleared for development.USFWS
''Aristida chaseae'', ''Aristida portoricensis'' (pelos del diablo), ''Lyonia truncata'' var. ''proctorii'' and ''Vernonia proctorii'' 5-Year Reviews.
December 2010.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q7922302 proctorii Endemic flora of Puerto Rico Plants described in 1989 Endangered flora of the United States