''Hartwrightia'' is a genus of North American

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 ...

s in the tribe

Eupatorieae Eupatorieae is a Tribe (biology), tribe of over 2000D.J.N.Hind & H.E.Robinson. 2007. Tribe Eupatorieae In: ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol.VIII. (Joachim W.Kadereit & Charles Jeffrey, volume editors. Klaus Kubitzky, general edi ...

of the family

Asteraceae Asteraceae () is a large family (biology), family of flowering plants that consists of over 32,000 known species in over 1,900 genera within the Order (biology), order Asterales. The number of species in Asteraceae is rivaled only by the Orchi ...

.D.J.N.Hind & H.E.Robinson. 2007. Tribe Eupatorieae In: ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol.VIII. (Joachim W.Kadereit & Charles Jeffrey, volume editors. Klaus Kubitzky, general editor). Springer-Verlag. Berlin, Heidelberg. The genus contains a single species, ''Hartwrightia floridana'', native to the US states of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

and

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The species is sometimes referred to by the common name Florida hartwrightia. Although superficially similar to some species in ''

Eupatorium ''Eupatorium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, containing from 36 to 60 species depending on the classification system. Most are Herbaceous plant, herbaceous perennial plant, perennials growing to tall. A few are shrubs ...

'', it can be distinguished by having a basal rosette of leaves, flowers of a different shape, and the fruit which lacks the parachute-like pappus found in ''

''. The plant is about one meter tall. It flowers in the fall and the flowers are white to pink or blue. The genus is named for plant collector Samuel Hart Wright, 1825–1905.

Taxonomy

''Hartwrightia'' is classified in the subtribe Liatrinae of the tribe

, along with, for example, ''

Liatris ''Liatris'' (), commonly known as gayfeather and blazing star is a genus of flowering plants in the tribe Eupatorieae within the family Asteraceae native to North America (Canada, United States, Mexico and the Bahamas). Some species are used ...

'', ''

Carphephorus ''Carphephorus'' is a genus of North American plants in the family Asteraceae. They are native to the southeastern United States from Louisiana to Virginia. Plants of this genus are known commonly as chaffheads.Garberia ''Garberia'' is a monotypic taxon, monotypic genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, containing the single species ''Garberia heterophylla''.synapomorphies In phylogenetics, an apomorphy (or derived trait) is a novel character or character state that has evolved from its ancestral form (or plesiomorphy). A synapomorphy is an apomorphy shared by two or more taxa and is therefore hypothesized to ...

but also differs at multiple sites. In contrast, it is almost an exact match in the

plastid A plastid is a membrane-bound organelle found in the Cell (biology), cells of plants, algae, and some other eukaryotic organisms. Plastids are considered to be intracellular endosymbiotic cyanobacteria. Examples of plastids include chloroplasts ...

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

sequences with ''Carphephorus corymbosus''. These results suggest that ''Hartwrightia'' may be of hybrid origin but is transgressive from either putative parental lineage for multiple morphological characters

Ecology

''Hartwrightia floridana'' is a

herbaceous 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 ...

which grows in the southeastern United States (

and

). It is found in open areas, for example in pine flatlands, but is not tolerant of grazing or solid forest cover. It seems to do better in the presence of regular fires. It is considered threatened and the biggest threat is loss of habitat. It requires wet soil, and is sensitive to hydrological changes. The seed is a sticky

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

without the large pappus which would suggest wind dispersal, so it is presumed to be transmitted by animals.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q5675497, from2=Q16056050 Eupatorieae Monotypic Asteraceae genera Endangered plants Flora of the Southeastern United States