Lepidospartum burgessii (Gypsum Scalebroom)

Family

ASTERACEAE

Scientific Name with Author

Lepidospartum burgessii B.L.Turner

Synonyms

NONE

Common Name

Gypsum Scalebroom

Agency Status
USFWS	State of NM	USFS	BLM	Navajo Nation	State Rank	Global Rank	R-E-D Code	NMRPTC Status	Strategy Status
	E		SEN		S1	G1	3-3-2	R	SS

Rare Plant Conservation Scorecard Summary
Overall Conservation Status	Documented Threats	Actions Needed
WEAKLY CONSERVED	Livestock farming/ranching, Reproductive failure	Population trend monitoring. Seed banking. Protect existing population, update ACEC plan, withdraw from mining laws. Study reproduction.

To download the Scorecard click here.

Counties

OTERO

Description

Broomlike shrub up to 1.5 m tall; stems many-branched, covered with silvery, matted, feltlike hairs out of which protrude numerous small oil blisters; leaves needlelike, alternate, 5-12 mm long; heads 3-4, terminal on stems; flowers 3, rarely 4, per head, bright yellow; achenes covered by dense white hairs and topped by a pappus of many slender bristles. Flowers June to October with peak in late July through early September.

Similar Species

This species has been mistaken for Chrysothamnus but the three rounded bracts of the involucre on the heads distinguish it from that genus.

Distribution

New Mexico, southern Otero County, Alkali Lakes; adjacent Texas, Hudspeth County.

Habitat

Stabilized gypsum dunes with Chihuahuan desert scrub and arid grassland; 1,050-1,110 m (3,500-3,700 ft).

Remarks

A very narrow endemic of the Alkali Lakes area west of the Guadalupe Mountains.

Conservation Considerations

There is little evidence of recruitment in Lepidospartum burgessii. Seed set is negligible and clonal propagation appears low. Development of private land may negatively impact the species.

Important Literature

*New Mexico Native Plants Protection Advisory Committee. 1984. A handbook of rare and endemic plants of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.

Ladyman, J.A.R., L. DeLay, P. Gegick and M.A. Bogan. 1999. Status and reproductive biology of Lepidospartum burgessii (Burgess broomshrub or gypsum scalebroom). Report to: U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resource Division, Arid Lands Field Station, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Turner, B.L. 1977. Lepidospartum burgessii (Asteraceae, Senecioneae), a remarkable new gypsophilic species from Trans-Pecos Texas. Wrightia 5:354-355.

Information Compiled By

Juanita A.R. Ladyman 1999

For distribution maps and more information, visit Natural Heritage New Mexico