''Filipendula rubra'', also known as queen-of-the-prairie, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Rosaceae native to the northeastern and central United States and southeastern Canada. It prefers full sun or partial shade and moist soil, but tolerates drier soil in a shadier location. It grows tall and firm, and produces blooms that are tiny and pink above its ferny, pointy leaves.Explore Cornell - Home Gardening - Flower Growing Guides - Growing Guide." Explore Cornell - Home Gardening - Flower Growing Guides. N.p., 2006. Web. 23 Oct. 2013. Of the numerous garden

cultivars A cultivar is a kind of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and which retains those traits when propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue cult ...

, 'Venusta' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. It includes the full range of cultivated p ...

Distribution and habitat

The species is native from Pennsylvania westward to Illinois, and north of Georgia. However, ''F. rubra'' is fairly successful as an alien species in places such as Massachusetts, where it was first recorded in 1875 and is still found. In many places where it is native, such as Indiana, and places where it is alien as well, ''F. rubra'' is a threatened species. The typical habitat of ''F. rubra'' is wetland plant communities, particularly calcareous fens, although it is occasionally found in spring seeps and wet prairies. Populations are generally small and widely separated from one another as a result of the rarity and smallness of calcareous fens.

Description

The plant is a spreading

herbaceous Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials. Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous" The fourth edition of ...

perennial In horticulture, the term perennial ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the year") is used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. It has thus been defined as a plant that lives more than 2 years. The term is also ...

growing to tall by wide. With large lobed leaves and branching red stems, it produces corymbs of deep pink or peach, sweet fragrant flowers in the summer.

Inflorescences In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branches. An inflorescence is categorized on the basis of the arrangement of flowers on a main axis ( pe ...

of ''F. rubra'' are

panicles In botany, a panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a p ...

possessing 200–1,000 small pink-petaled flowers on 1–2 m stems can have somewhere to 5,000 seeds. The numerous

stamens The stamen (: stamina or stamens) is a part consisting of the male reproductive organs of a flower. Collectively, the stamens form the androecium., p. 10 Morphology and terminology A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filamen ...

give the flower a fuzzy appearance. Each flower has carpels that are free from one another, while also having five to 15

pistils Gynoecium (; ; : gynoecia) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl (botany), whorl of a flower; it consists ...

. However, these seeds are small due to the large size of its clones yet when seeds are produced seedlings may fail to establish in large numbers. The plant grows in an aggressive manner with its creeping roots. The foliage texture of the plant is coarse and the color ranges from a medium to dark green. ''Filipendula rubra'' is a perennial which grows up to 2.5 m (8 ft) by 1.3 m (4 ft 3in) at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone (UK) 2. It is in flower from July to August, and the seeds ripen from August to September. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is self-fertile. The plant is pollinated by bees, flies, and beetles. The plant attracts wildlife.

Pollination

''Filipendula rubra'' is known for its air-borne pollen, however pollination is only effective (can create a seed) when pollen is transferred to a different plant, due to the fact that ''F. rubra'' is self-incompatible. The vast majority of pollen will be derived from inflorescences within the same clone and thus incompatible. Pollination is aided by insects such as sweat bees spreading pollen.

Conservation

''Filipendula rubra'' is considered an endangered species by the

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that aims to meet the needs of commerc ...

Natural Resources Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...

in Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina and it is considered threatened in Iowa and Michigan.

Causes for endangerment

Although ''Filipendula rubra'' is considered an endangered species by the

in several of the states that it is native to, it is not caused by animals who eat the plant, or any diseases that may infect a plant. Rather, ''F. rubra'' is considered endangered or threatened because of its trouble pollinating. The process the plant has to go through in order to pollinate is more difficult than that of regular plants due to its inability to fertilize itself (explained further in the section above about pollination). ''F. rubra'' is further endangered by habitat loss throughout much of its native distribution.

Uses

Native Americans have used the root of ''F. rubra'' in traditional medicine for treating heart problems and as an aphrodisiac. The root has a high tannin content, making it useful as an

astringent An astringent (sometimes called adstringent) is a chemical that shrinks or constricts body tissues. The word derives from the Latin '' adstringere'', which means "to bind fast". Astringency, the dry, puckering or numbing mouthfeel caused by t ...

for treating diarrhea, dysentery, and bleeding. The plant is used in gardens for the aesthetically pleasing and fragrant flowers which smell like lilac. A good number of both native and conventional nurseries sell some, yet it is still an uncommon plant in most American gardens and landscapes. 'Venusta' is the most common cultivar that bears a good bright rose-pink color. It grows in full sun or part-shade and needs moist to draining wet soil; it suffers from drought. It sends up its sort of maple-like foliage early in spring. It spreads by rhizomes, underground stems, so it becomes a spreading clump that eventually becomes a mass. It is easy to dig up and reset like many perennials when it gets too big and crowded or spreads to much. It does self-sow some to a lot in gardens. If it starts to look poorly from drought, one can easily prune it down and it will grow back some to look better. Although aesthetically appealing for humans, ''F. rubra'', based on current knowledge of the plant's floral and faunal associations, offers comparatively little value to wildlife. For instance, it is not a host plant for butterflies and native moths nor does it produce any nectar. Its magenta flowers are the color that typically draws butterflies but they will expend energy to get to the flowers and find no nectar. It competes for continually shrinking, due to human development, wetland acreage with plants that support more wildlife. Additionally, its seeds are not an important food source for birds or rodents. Herbivores do not find its foliage appealing. Its flowers are a source of food for insects that consume pollen. However, some sources say the plant mainly uses wind pollination, a pollination strategy that typically makes comparatively little pollen available for pollen-consuming insects. As a result, some conservationists suggest using this plant in aesthetics-oriented gardens but focusing more on other species for restoration work.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q5448566 rubra Flora of Ontario Flora of the United States Flora without expected TNC conservation status Plants described in 1906