''Matelea alabamensis'' is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family known by the common names Alabama milkvine, Alabama anglepod, and Alabama spiny-pod. It is native to the southeastern United States, where it occurs in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

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 ...

.''Matelea alabamensis''.
The Nature Conservancy.''Matelea alabamensis''.
Center for Plant Conservation. This

rhizomatous In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from axillary buds and grow hori ...

perennial herb produces one to three stems which creep across the ground or twine around adjacent vegetation, reaching several meters in length. They are green or maroon-tinged, filled with a milky sap, and dotted with reddish glands on the newer parts. The oppositely arranged leaves are borne on petioles a few centimeters long which are covered in scattered hairs. The yellow-green leaf blades are up to 10 to 15 centimeters long. The

inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, 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 mai ...

is an

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

of rotate flowers each about 2.5 centimeters across. The corolla has five yellow-green lobes with a green netting pattern. Flowering occurs in March through June. Flowering is more likely on vines that climb up, rather than spread along the ground. The fruit is a yellow-green, spiky follicle up to 10 centimeters long. The seeds have a tuft of long, white hairs at one end that help them

disperse Disperse was a Christian rock band from Southern Indiana active from 1996 to 2004. The band was formerly known, with an adjusted roster, as "Stuff." Members (as of 2004 dispersion) :Chelsey Pieratt - Vocals :Chris Billings - Lead Guitar :And ...

on the wind. This plant grows in ravines in forests, generally in the area between the dry upper slopes and the moist lower slopes. The plant grows in areas where there are many other plants to climb but that also receive sunlight. The species is tolerant of shade but are more robust and produce more fruit in sunnier areas. The plant relies on regimes of natural disturbance to keep the forest open enough for it to thrive; in some areas the disturbance comes in the form of storms. The

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

is dominated by ''

Magnolia grandiflora ''Magnolia grandiflora'', commonly known as the southern magnolia or bull bay, is a tree of the family Magnoliaceae native to the Southeastern United States, from Virginia to central Florida, and west to East Texas. Reaching in height, it is a ...

'' and ''

Fagus grandifolia Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted species i ...

'' and sometimes

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

s and hickories. Associated species include '' Quercus hemisphaerica'', '' Q. virginiana'', ''

Q. nigra Q, or q, is the seventeenth letter of the English alphabet. Q may also refer to: People * Q, pseudonym of Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, the Cornish writer * Q, pseudonym used by the originator of QAnon, an American far-right conspiracy theory * Q ...

'', '' Q. alba'', ''

Carya cordiformis ''Carya cordiformis'', the bitternut hickory, also called bitternut, yellowbud hickory, or swamp hickory, is a large hickory species native to the eastern United States and adjacent Canada. Notable for its unique sulphur-yellow buds, it is one ...

'', '' C. glabra'', '' C. pallida'', ''

Prunus serotina ''Prunus serotina'', commonly called black cherry,World Economic Plants: A Standard Reference, Second Edition'. CRC Press; 19 April 2016. . p. 833–. wild black cherry, rum cherry, or mountain black cherry, is a deciduous tree or shrub in the r ...

'', ''

Tilia americana ''Tilia americana'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, native to eastern North America, from southeast Manitoba east to New Brunswick, southwest to northeast Oklahoma, southeast to South Carolina, and west along the Niobrara River to ...

'', ''

Liquidambar styraciflua ''Liquidambar styraciflua'', commonly known as the American sweetgum among other names, is a deciduous tree in the genus ''Liquidambar'' native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central A ...

'', ''

Pinus echinata The shortleaf pine or ''Pinus echinata'' is a species of coniferous tree endemic to the United States. The shortleaf pine is sometimes referred to as the "old field", "spruce", "rosemary", "yellow", "two-leaf" and "heart" pine. The common name " ...

'', '' P. taeda'', and '' P. glabra'', ''

Cornus florida ''Cornus florida'', the flowering dogwood, is a species of flowering plant, flowering tree in the family Cornaceae native to eastern North America and northern Mexico. An endemic population once spanned from southernmost coastal Maine south to n ...

'', ''

Hamamelis virginiana ''Hamamelis virginiana'', known as witch-hazel, common witch-hazel, American witch-hazel and beadwood, is a species of flowering shrub native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, and south to central Florida to eastern Te ...

'', ''

Ostrya virginiana ''Ostrya virginiana'', the American hophornbeam, is a species of ''Ostrya'' native to eastern North America, from Nova Scotia west to southern Manitoba and eastern Wyoming, southeast to northern Florida and southwest to eastern Texas. Populations ...

'', ''

Carpinus caroliniana ''Carpinus caroliniana'', the American hornbeam, is a small hardwood understory tree in the genus ''Carpinus''. American hornbeam is also known as blue-beech, ironwood, musclewood and muscle beech. It is native to eastern North America, from Mi ...

'', '' Magnolia ashei'', ''

Prunus umbellata ''Prunus umbellata'', called flatwoods plum, hog plum and sloe plum, is a plum species native to the United States from Virginia, south to Florida, and west to Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South C ...

'', ''

Rhus copallina ''Rhus copallinum'' (''Rhus copallina'' is also used, but this is not consistent with the rules of the International Association for Plant Taxonomy), the winged sumac, shining sumac, dwarf sumac or flameleaf sumac, is a species of flowering plant ...

'', ''

Vaccinium arboreum ''Vaccinium arboreum'' (sparkleberry or farkleberry) is a species of ''Vaccinium'' native to the southeastern and south-central United States. Description ''Vaccinium arboreum'' is a shrub (rarely a small tree) growing to , rarely tall, with a ...

'', '' V. elliottii'', '' Sebastiana fruticosa'', and various

liana A liana is a long-Plant stem, stemmed Woody plant, woody vine that is rooted in the soil at ground level and uses trees, as well as other means of vertical support, to climb up to the Canopy (biology), canopy in search of direct sunlight. T ...

s such as ''

Vitis ''Vitis'' (grapevine) is a genus of 81 accepted species of vining plants in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The genus consists of species predominantly from the Northern Hemisphere. It is economically important as the source of grapes, bot ...

'' spp. This is considered "one of rarest herbs in southeastern United States." The main threat to this rare species is the loss and degradation of its habitat. In Florida, some of the habitat has been converted to pine

silviculture Silviculture is the practice of controlling the growth, composition/structure, as well as quality of forests to meet values and needs, specifically timber production. The name comes from the Latin ('forest') and ('growing'). The study of forests ...

. While small amounts of logging may be beneficial to the plant by opening up the canopy, intense logging and

clearcutting Clearcutting, clearfelling or clearcut logging is a forestry/logging practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down. Along with Shelterwood cutting, shelterwood and Seed tree, seed tree harvests, it is used by foresters t ...

are destructive to the habitat.

Erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

may follow. The plant is also affected by

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

such as ''

Lonicera japonica ''Lonicera japonica'', known as Japanese honeysuckle and golden-and-silver honeysuckle, is a species of honeysuckle native to East Asia, including many parts of China. It is often grown as an ornamental plant, but has become an invasive species i ...

''.

Fire suppression Fire suppression may refer to: * Firefighting * Fire suppression systems * Wildfire suppression Wildfire suppression is a range of firefighting tactics used to suppress wildfires. Firefighting efforts depend on many factors such as the availabl ...

has led to the loss of one vector of natural disturbance that keeps the forest open, leading to reduction of light levels, which results in decreased fruit production.

Herbivory A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat n ...

by caterpillars and perhaps deer is apparently a problem. There are now "a couple dozen occurrences" remaining. Four populations are monitored at the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve by

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in ...

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q6786428 alabamensis Flora of Alabama Flora of Florida Flora of Georgia (U.S. state)