- Nitrophila mohavensis
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Nitrophila mohavensis 
Conservation status Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Core eudicots Order: Caryophyllales Family: Amaranthaceae Subfamily: Polycnemoideae Genus: Nitrophila Species: N. mohavensis Binomial name Nitrophila mohavensis
Munz & RoosNitrophila mohavensis is a rare species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name Amargosa niterwort. It is endemic to the Amargosa Desert straddling the border between California and Nevada near Death Valley. There are three occurrences known on the Nevada side[1] and fewer than five occurrences in California,[2] and the plant is a federally listed endangered species.
The plant grows only in alkaline salt pans made up of moist and drying, salt-encrusted clay soils surrounded by other halophytes, such as Atriplex confertifolia and Cleomella brevipes.[1][3] Its range is restricted and highly localized, making it vulnerable to severe losses or extinction in a single event.[4] It only occurs within and around the remnants of Carson Slough in the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, which is a protected area but is still affected by alterations in the hydrology of the landscape.[2] The plant relies on saturation of its soil by a high water table, and the main threat to its existence is the pumping of groundwater.[5] Other threats include potassium and zeolite mining in the area and occasional illegal off-road vehicle use.[5]
Amargosa niterwort is a petite rhizomatous perennial herb growing no more than about 10 centimeters tall. It produces erect branches, often in pairs, covered in fleshy oval-shaped green leaves 3 or 4 millimeters long. The inflorescence is a solitary flower or cluster of a few flowers emerging from between the leaves. The flower lacks petals but has pink petallike sepals which fade white with age.
References
- ^ a b Nevada Natural Heritage Program Rare Plant Fact Sheet
- ^ a b California Native Plant Society Rare Plant Profile
- ^ Flora of North America
- ^ USFWS. Determination of threatened status with critical habitat for six plants and one insect in Ash Meadows, Nevada and California; and endangered status with critical habitat for one plant in Ash Meadows, Nevada and California. Federal Register May 20, 1985
- ^ a b USFWS. Amargosa Niterwort Five Year Review. December 2007.
External links
Categories:- Amaranthaceae
- Halophytes
- Flora of Nevada
- Flora of the California desert regions
- Amargosa Desert
- Desert National Wildlife Refuge Complex
- Natural history of the Mojave Desert
- Endangered flora of California
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