American globeflower

Description

Trollius laxus is a rare flowering plant species in the buttercup family, Ranunculaceae. It is native to North America and is considered to have two subspecies, one with a distribution is the east and one in the west. Common names for Trollius laxus include American globeflower and American spreading globeflower. The American Globeflower, Trollius laxus is an endangered species of flowering plants Native to Northeastern United States. This species of plants is limited in range by their ability to exclusively survive in wetlands and marshes. Thus, clusters of the species are constantly threatened by the ever-changing hydrology of the range they are confined to. Trollius laxus is a rare, herbaceous perennial only found in a small range of fens or wetland habitats fed by groundwater in northeastern United States. In these calcium rich fens, the T. laxus can be locally abundant. They can also be found in Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. During spring, T. laxus is one of the first flowers to bloom in the Rocky Mountain. Its distribution is limited by light intensity and hydrology. Wetlands and marshes have consistent groundwater discharge which means that water levels will typically be high in these areas. This will result in anoxia and ultimately lower the amount of nutrients present. It is thought that the plants evolved to endure these conditions so that they have less competition for sunlight. While T. laxus prefers these wetter conditions, the plant can also grow in drier conditions if there is enough sunlight present. Increased sunlight will increase the biomass of these plants but, there is a threshold before the plant's growth will plateau or even decline. The combination of seasonal drying along with very high light intensities can result in the competitive exclusion of T. laxus. In order for T. laxus to meet this requirement of light intensity and hydrology, it must sacrifice the size of its range. This is a factor that causes its distribution to be limited. Trollius laxus is a perennial found predominantly in forested wetlands with cold alkaline groundwater. This plant is one of the first to flower in the spring from mid-April to early May in Connecticut, and the seeds are ripened by mid-June where they are dispersed passively with the help of wind and water. Trollius laxus has few effective pollinators including the sweat bee, the Cuckoo bee, and a fly within the family Tachinidae.