Plantago cordata - Heart Leaf Plantain
Plantago cordata - Heart Leaf Plantain
On June 28, 2024, while performing transects at Window Cliffs State Natural Area for my Master's degree research, I stumbled across a plant I had never witnessed before. At first thought, I thought it was a Parnassia spp., but the plants looked too large and robust. Questioning that ID, I posted photos on Weakly’s Flora of the Southeastern United States Facebook group. Several individuals confirmed that it is indeed Plantago cordata.
Now knowing what I had found, I started looking to see if it was rare or had any conservation statuses. To my surprise, Plantago cordata is listed as an S1 (Critical Imperiled) in Tennessee. In almost every state where this plant is found it has an endangered or threatened status. Little did I know I found something pretty rare.
Link to NatureServe to see statuses.
https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.155726/Plantago_cordata
I reached out to Todd Crabtree, Tennessee State Botanist, he confirmed that indeed the plant I found was Plantago cordata. He told me this was a new endangered plant occurance for the state of Tennessee and a new county record. Plantago cordata has yet to be observed in Putnam County until now! Exciting to be the first individual to witness this species occuring in Putnam County.
I observed a total of 8 plants.
Now that this species has been known to occur in Putnam County, hopefully park rangers and botanists will manage this area to keep this species happy and sustaining.
Now, back to botanizing….
ESH.
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