Scientific Name : Armeria maritima ssp. sibirica
Author : (Turcz. ex Boiss.) Nyman
NatureServe Explorer
Common Name : Sea Pink
Current Research Activities
1997 profile
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Taxonomy
Plumbaginaceae (leadwort family)
Listed by Ackerfield (2022) as Armeria maritima ssp. sibirica and Weber and Wittmann (2012) as Armeria scabra ssp. sibirica.
Ranks and Status
State Rank : S1
State Rank Reason : A. maritima ssp sibirica is very rare and is extremely restricted in range and is located only in the Hoosier Pass area in Colorado, USA. Hiking, grazing, roads, effects of climate change, and possible reactivation of mines all pose threats to the populations.
U.S. Endangered Species Act : none
Colorado Threatened and Endangered List : none
Other Statuses : USFS
Description and Phenology
General Description:
Leaf blades hairy or glabrous. Scapes glabrous or hairy. Inflorescences: sheath length usually 0.5-0.75 times diam. of flower head; outer involucral bracts 0.5-0.75 times length of flower head. Flowers monomorphic: stigmas papillate, pollen coarsely reticulate; calyx hairy throughout or on ribs only (Flora of North America 1993+).
Look Alikes:
Superficially resembles Allium geyeri, which has three petals and three sepals, while A. scabra has five lobes and pleats on the calyx, which is the conspicuous part of the flower.
Phenology:
Flowers late June to July, in fruit through August (Spackman et al. 1997).
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Habitat
Grassy tundra slopes, wet, sandy or spongy organic soils. Associated species include: Silene acaulis, Polemonium viscosum, Salix nivalis, Saxifraga rhomboidea, Artemisia frigida, Cerastium beeringianum, Tetraneuris grandiflora, Oxytropis splendens, Oxytropis podocarpa, Artemisia campestris ssp. borealis, Geum rossii var. turbinatum, Polygonum bistortoides, Trifolium dasyphyllum, Mertensia lanceolata, Lloydia serotina, Chionophila jamesii, Castilleja occidentalis, Artemisia scopulorum, Potentilla concinna, Rhodiola integrifolia.
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Elevation Range:
12,090 - 12,579 feet (3,685 - 3,834 meters)
Distribution
Colorado Endemic:
No
Range:
A. maritima ssp. sibirica is found only near Hoosier Pass; Park and Summit counties. Estimated range extent in Colorado of 60 square kilometers was calculated in GeoCAT using occurrence data provided by the Colorado Natural Heritage Program (2023). In the United States, this species can only be found in Alaska, New York, Utah, and Colorado, however, it can be found in most eastern and northern Canadian provinces.
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Threats and Management Issues
Hiking, proximity to roads, grazing, and climate change pose threats to the Colorado populations of A. maritima ssp sibirica. Reactivation of mines would also pose a threat.
References
- Ackerfield, J. 2022. Flora of Colorado. Second Edition. Bot. Misc. 60. BRIT Press, Fort Worth Botanic Garden/Botanical Research Institute of Texas, U.S.A. 861 pp.
- Colorado Native Plant Society. 1989. Rare plants of Colorado. Rocky Mountain Nature Association, Colorado Native Plant Society, Estes Park, Colorado. 73 pp.
- Colorado Native Plant Society. 1997. Rare Plants of Colorado, second edition. Falcon Press Publ., Helena, MT.
- Colorado Natural Heritage Program (CNHP). 2023. Biodiversity Tracking and Conservation System (Biotics 5). Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Colorado State University, Fort Collins.
- Flora of North America Editorial Committee, ed. (FNA). 1993+. Flora of North America North of Mexico. Oxford Univ. Press, New York, Oxford.
- Harrington, H. D. 1954. Manual of the Plants of Colorado. Sage Books, Denver, CO. 666 pp.
- Lefebvre, C. 1969. Self Fertility in Maritime and Zinc Mine Populations of Armeria Maritima. Evolution 24:571-577.
- Spackman, S., B. Jennings, J. Coles, C. Dawson, M. Minton, A. Kratz, and C. Spurrier. 1997. Colorado rare plant field guide. Prepared for Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service by Colorado Natural Heritage Program.
- USDA, NRCS. 2013. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Team, Greensboro, NC 27401-4901 USA.
- Weber, W. A. and R. C. Wittmann. 2012. Colorado Flora, Eastern Slope, A Field Guide to the Vascular Plants, Fourth Edition. Boulder, Colorado. 555 pp.
- Weber, W. A. and R. C. Wittmann. 2012. Colorado Flora, Western Slope, A Field Guide to the Vascular Plants, Fourth Edition. Boulder, Colorado. 532 pp.
- Welsh, S. L. 1974. Anderson's Flora of Alaska and Adjacent Canada. Brigham Young University Press, Provo, UT.
