Scrophularia macrantha (Mimbres Figwort)
SCROPHULARIA COCCINEA GRAY; SCROPHULARIA NEOMEXICANA SHAW
| USFWS | State of NM | USFS | BLM | Navajo Nation | State Rank | Global Rank | R-E-D Code | NMRPTC Status | Strategy Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E | SEN | SEN | S2 | G2 | 2-1-3 | R | SS |
| Overall Conservation Status | Documented Threats | Actions Needed |
|---|---|---|
| WEAKLY CONSERVED | Fire & fire suppression. Mining and quarrying. |
inventory and threat impact monitoring (fire impacts). Seed banking |
Herbaceous perennial, 4-11 dm tall, with 1-several stems; leaves glabrous, opposite or whorled, broadly lanceolate to ovate, coarsely serrate, thin, 6-8 cm long; inflorescence a loose, few-branched, terminal panicle, somewhat glandular pubescent; flowers showy, tubular, bilabiate, bright red, 13-22 mm long, glandular pubescent; fertile stamens 4, fifth stamen sterile, rounded, longer than broad; stigma capitate; fruit a somewhat woody, oblong, 2-chambered, septicidal capsule, 8-11 mm long; seeds numerous, small, rugose. Flowers July to October.
The long red flowers of Scrophularia macrantha easily separate it from other species of Scrophularia in southern New Mexico.
New Mexico, Grant and Luna counties, Mimbres Mountains, Kneeling Nun, and Cook's Peak.
Steep, rocky, usually north-facing igneous cliffs and talus slopes, occasionally in canyon bottoms; piñon-juniper woodland and lower montane coniferous forest; 2,000-2,500 m (6,500-8,200 ft).
This plant is presently known only from several widely separated populations. In contrast to other species of Scrophularia, which are insect pollinated, S. macrantha is pollinated by hummingbirds (Lightfoot and Sivinski 1994). This plant is now in the garden trade under the name redbirds-in-a-tree.
Mining activities in Chino Pit at the Kneeling Nun outcrop will probably impact portions of that population. Other potential threats are wildfire, unregulated mining, road maintenance & construction. Many of the known sites in the Black Range burned in the 2013 Silver Fire. Although plants survived the immediate impacts of the fire, persistence is questionable in severely altered habitats.
Lightfoot, K. and R. Sivinski. 1994. Status report on Scrophularia macrantha Greene ex Stiefelhagen. New Mexico State Forestry and Resources Conservation Division, Santa Fe.
*New Mexico Native Plants Protection Advisory Committee. 1984. A handbook of rare and endemic plants of New Mexico. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
Soreng, R.J. 1982. Status report on Scrophularia macrantha. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, New Mexico Ecological Services Field Office, Albuquerque.
Torrey, J. 1859. Botany of the boundary. In: W.H. Emory. Report of the U.S. and Mexican Boundary Survey. House Executive Document 135, 34th Congress, 1st session, volume 2, part 1, 27-276.
For distribution maps and more information, visit Natural Heritage New Mexico