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Piedmont Barren Strawberry

Waldsteinia lobata




walo_flowers
 walo
 Piedmont_barren_strawberry



State Heritage Status Rankings

Georgia (S2), North Carolina (S1), South Carolina (S2)



 

Description:

Piedmont barren strawberry, also known as lobed barren-strawberry, is a perennial herb with rounded, mostly 3-lobed leaves (NatureServe 2003) that spreads by subsurface stolons and forming strawberry-like colonies. The leaves are rounded with cordate bases, 3 to 5 lobed, hairy, and the margins are irregularly toothed. The leaves are 3.5 to 7.0 cm in length and about as wide. The leaves are attached to the stem by a long softly hairy petiole. The basal leaf lobes occasionally overlap especially on new leaves. The overlap produces an asymmetrical shape to the leaf. The leaves are evergreen, but turn a brilliant burgundy red color in the fall and winter. Each spring the burgundy red leaves are replaced with fresh leaf growth. Piedmont barren strawberry produces loose clusters of flowers from March to May at the terminus of a long, soft, hairy flowering stalk which equals or exceeds the height of the leaves. The flower consists of 5 bright yellow petals that are 2.5 to 4.0 mm in length by 1 to 2 mm in width. The petals are oblong to narrowly elliptic and nearly as long as the sharply pointed hairy sepals. Stamens are numerous, approximately 50 or more. From June to July, a fruit is produced as a cluster of 4 to 6 brown achenes (Patrick et. al. 1995).

Habitat:

Piedmont barren strawberry inhabits steep slopes and terraces above mountain streams where conditions of constant high humidity and shade prevail. Often part of the shallow mantle of moss and duff that covers boulders or river bluff ledges. These sites are often characterized by stands of Rhododendron and mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) (NatureServe 2003). The species also does well on moist slopes within transmission line rights-of-way above streams with the above mentioned associates. The plants featured on this page were found on steep slopes above an intermittent stream under two 500 KV transmission lines in Dawson County, Georgia.

Range:

Piedmont barren strawberry is endemic to the Piedmont and Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia and adjacent South Carolina. Unconfirmed, historic records exist for piedmont barren strawberry in North Carolina, however the majority of occurrences (approximately 20) are in Georgia (NatureServe 2003).





References

  • NatureServe. 2003. Internet Resource. NatureServe.

  • Patrick, T.S., Allison, J.R., and Krakow, G.A. 1995. Protected Plants of Georgia: AN INFORMATION MANUAL ON PLANTS DESIGNATED BY THE STATE OF GEORGIA AS ENDANGERED, THREATENED, RARE, OR UNUSUAL. Georgia Natural Heritage Program. Internet Resource. Protected Plants of Georgia.

  • Radford, A.E., Ahles, H.E., Bell, C.R. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

  • USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5. Internet Resource USDA Plants Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

  • Weakley, A.S. 2002. Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia, Working Draft. Internet Resource. Flora of the Carolinas and Virginia.