''Chrysosplenium iowense'' is a species of flowering plant in the saxifrage family known by the common name Iowa golden-saxifrage. It is native to North America, where it is "primarily a Canadian species", occurring from the northern

Northwest Territories The Northwest Territories (abbreviated ''NT'' or ''NWT''; french: Territoires du Nord-Ouest, formerly ''North-Western Territory'' and ''North-West Territories'' and namely shortened as ''Northwest Territory'') is a federal territory of Canada. ...

south to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and east to

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

.''Chrysosplenium iowense''.
The Nature Conservancy. There are also disjunct, relictual''Chrysosplenium iowense''.
Flora of North America. occurrences within the United States, in the Driftless Area of

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

.''Chrysosplenium iowense''.
Center for Plant Conservation.

Description

''Chrysosplenium iowense'' is a small easily unnoticed plant with upright hairless stems. It is

stolon In biology, stolons (from Latin '' stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external s ...

iferous, with thin stolons and stems up to 15 centimeters tall. Flowering stems are not produced during the first season. Leaves occur on the stolons and the stems. The leaves are alternately arranged on the stems, with the lower leaves roundish in shape with seven to eleven lobes. The top two leaves are

adnate Adnate may refer to: * Adnation, in botany, the fusion of two or more whorls of a flower * Adnate, in mycology, a classification of lamellae (gills) * Conjoined twins Conjoined twins – sometimes popularly referred to as Siamese twins – are ...

(joined together) to the inflorescence branches. 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 cyme of up to 12 flowers with leaflike yellow-green

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s and small yellow or greenish

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 The term ''sepalum'' was coined b ...

s. The flowers have yellow anthers. The production of flowers varies by temperature, with the maximum flowering occurring when the substrate is around 11 to 12 °C. Plants require insects for pollination. The cuplike fruit capsule contains many reddish seeds.

Habitat

Populations of ''Chrysosplenium iowense'' are generally small, containing no more than a few hundred individuals. They inhabitant wet and moist streambanks and woods. In the southern part of its range this northern species occurs and persists in spots that are always cool to cold, such as ice caves and tunnels carrying cold air. In the US it is found on algific (cold producing) talus slopes derived from dolomite; where cold air seeps down from ice-caves on north facing slopes. These cool moist habitats are very limited in size, some being only a one square meter. Other species that are restricted to these relic boreal locations include ''Carex media'', ''

Adoxa moschatellina ''Adoxa moschatellina'', the moschatel, five-faced bishop, hollowroot, muskroot, townhall clock, tuberous crowfoot or Good Friday plant, is a species of flowering plant in the family Adoxaceae. This herbaceous perennial has a holarctic distribut ...

'', and several endemic

land snail A land snail is any of the numerous species of snail that live on land, as opposed to the sea snails and freshwater snails. ''Land snail'' is the common name for terrestrial gastropod mollusks that have shells (those without shells are known as ...

s. Associated plants include ''

Abies balsamea ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

'', ''

Acer spicatum ''Acer spicatum'', the mountain maple, dwarf maple, moose maple, or white maple, is a species of maple native to northeastern North America from Saskatchewan to Newfoundland, and south to Pennsylvania. It also grows at high elevations in the sout ...

'', ''

Betula alleghaniensis ''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the pa ...

'', '' Carex peckii'', ''

Circaea alpina ''Circaea alpina'', commonly called alpine enchanter's nightshade or small enchanter's nightshade, is a 10–30 cm tall perennial herb found in cool forests of the Northern Hemisphere. Description The leaves are opposite, ovate, 2–6 ...

'', '' Cornus canadensis'', '' Equisetum scirpoides'', '' Linnaea borealis'', '' Lycopodium'' spp., '' Maianthemum canadense'', ''

Mertensia paniculata ''Mertensia paniculata'', also known as the tall lungwort, tall bluebells, or northern bluebells, is an herb or dwarf shrub with drooping bright-blue, bell-shaped flowers. It is native to northwestern North America and the Great Lakes. Distribu ...

'', '' Rhamnus alnifolia'', ''

Ribes hudsonianum ''Ribes hudsonianum'' is a North American species of currant, known by the common name northern black currant. ''Ribes hudsonianum'' grows in moist wooded areas, such as mountain streambanks and in swamp thickets. They are upright to erect shr ...

'', ''

Taxus canadensis ''Taxus canadensis'', the Canada yew or Canadian yew, is a conifer native to central and eastern North America, thriving in swampy woods, ravines, riverbanks and on lake shores. Locally called simply "yew", this species is also referred to as Am ...

'', '' Trillium nivale'', and ''

Viburnum trilobum ''Viburnum trilobum'' (cranberrybush viburnum, American cranberrybush, high bush cranberry, or highbush cranberry) is a species of '' Viburnum'' native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to British Columbia, south to Washington sta ...

''.

Distribution

The US populations of ''Chrysosplenium iowense'' are likely relicts of

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...

flora that has survived glaciation, it now survives in boreal microhabitats. It is listed as an endangered species in Minnesota, and a threatened species in Iowa. Threats to this species include trampling and other disturbance by humans and cattle.

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 ...

is a threat for several reasons; the machinery damages the habitat and the process of logging leads to the succession of woody vegetation,

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited. Erosion is distin ...

, and changes in shade and

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 ...

Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

also alters the habitat. In

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

the plant grows in areas with busy oil and gas exploration activity. Some sources consider this species as '' C. alternifolium'' var. ''sibiricum''.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q5114944 iowense