Category Archives: Plants

The now unendangered Tennessee Coneflower

Aunt Elsie gets mentioned again for her pioneering career in plant ecology.

According to the Nature Conservancy (undated), Tennessee Coneflower — No Longer Endangered

After years of hard work and the support of many dedicated individuals, an iconic flower is once again thriving in Tennessee. On August 4, 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the removal of the Tennessee coneflower from the Endangered Species List, marking an extraordinary recovery from the brink of extinction. The story of the coneflower exemplifies the power of conservation.

In 1968, Vanderbilt biology professor Elsie Quarterman and graduate student Barbara Turner accidentally discovered the fuschia-colored coneflowers at Mount View Cedar Glade. The plant had been thought extinct until the rediscovery. In time, three other coneflower sites were discovered in Davidson and Wilson counties. In 1979, the Tennessee coneflower became one of the first plants to be recorded on the Endangered Species List.

Quarterman subsequently became a trustee of the Tennesee Chapter of The Nature Conservancy and urged the protection of the cedar glade habitats where the Tennessee coneflower and other rare plants have adapted to live in harsh, stony conditions.

Her nephew Patrick found this.

-jsq

Partridge pea

Bobwhite quail love to eat this native legume:


Pictures by John S. Quarterman, Lowndes County, Georgia, 11 September 2011.

I had to forage far to find this example of Chamaecrista fasciculata aka Cassia fasciculata! Oops, you didn’t see this, did you? Continue reading →

Dirt igloo door (sweet potato curing mound)

The slideshow of the building of the dirt igloo for the sweet potatoes ended before the adding of the door. So here’s the door, in place, with reference yellow dog:


Pictures of sweet potato curing teepee
by John S. Quarterman, 8 September 2011,
Okra Paradise Farms, Lowndes County, Georgia.
Yellow Dog was busy tracking something, so didn’t stay to pose.

The door is on the north side. It’s six pieces of 2×6″ pine, each 18″ long, three vertical and three horizontal, screwed together, and set inside the doorposts. Here’s a closeup: Continue reading →

Banking sweet potatoes

Why would we want a doorway to a dirt pile?


Terry Davis and John S. Quarterman banking sweet potatoes at Okra Paradise Farms.
Pictures by John S. Quarterman, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 August 2011.

Watch the slideshow and see:

-jsq

Elsie Quarterman’s Tennessee Coneflower taken off endangered species list

WSMV in Nashville reports that the Tennessee purple coneflower, which grows only in cedar glades, and only in three counties in the world, is being taken off the endangered species list:

Less than one percent of endangered species ever get taken off the list. The Tennessean reports:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to officially remove the wildflower by Sept. 2, from its list of plants that are near extinction.

“The Tennessee coneflower’s recovery is an example of what can be achieved through the combined efforts of dedicated partners,” said Cindy Dohner, the Service’s Southeast Regional Director, in an emailed announcement.

Echinacea tennesseensis was thought extinct until Dr. Elsie Quarterman rediscovered it in 1969 in the cedar glades which are her academic specialty. She was 59 then.

Now she is 100, and still being honored by her students and by her state.

Aunt Elsie was born in Valdosta and played basketball for Hahira High School, before she started her very long career in botany and plant ecology.

As aye, Elsie!

-jsq

PS: This post owed to Patrick Quarterman.