Plants and Animals
Trichostema brachiatum False pennyroyal
Key Characteristics
Annual forb of sandy soils or alvar; stem branched and finely glandular-hairy, with opposite elliptic leaves, aromatic when crushed; tubular bluish-purple flowers arise from the upper leaf axils with short, glandular-hair pedicels.
Status and Rank
US Status: No Status/Not Listed
State Status: T - Threatened (legally protected)
Global Rank: G5 - Secure
State Rank: S1 - Critically imperiled
Occurrences
| County | Number of Occurrences | Year Last Observed |
|---|---|---|
| Alpena | 1 | 1895 |
| Cass | 1 | 2007 |
| Chippewa | 2 | 2018 |
| Lenawee | 1 | 1986 |
| Oceana | 1 | 1997 |
Information is summarized from MNFI's database of rare species and community occurrences. Data may not reflect true distribution since much of the state has not been thoroughly surveyed.
Habitat
False pennyroyal occurs in dry prairies, sandy areas, thickets, roadsides, railroad rights-of-way, and occasionally on disturbed sites. In the northern portion of the state, it may also be found on limestone bedrock grasslands of Drummond and Thunder Bay Islands.
Natural Community Types
For each species, lists of natural communities were derived from review of the nearly 6,500 element occurrences in the MNFI database, in addition to herbarium label data for some taxa. In most cases, at least one specimen record exists for each listed natural community. For certain taxa, especially poorly collected or extirpated species of prairie and savanna habitats, natural community lists were derived from inferences from collection sites and habitat preferences in immediately adjacent states (particularly Indiana and Illinois). Natural communities are not listed for those species documented only from altered or ruderal habitats in Michigan, especially for taxa that occur in a variety of habitats outside of the state.
Natural communities are not listed in order of frequency of occurrence, but are rather derived from the full set of natural communities, organized by Ecological Group. In many cases, the general habitat descriptions should provide greater clarity and direction to the surveyor. In future versions of the Rare Species Explorer, we hope to incorporate natural community fidelity ranks for each taxon.
Associated Plants
Tumble grass, little bluestem, big bluestem, fall witch-grass, sheep sorrel, bitter milkwort, dwarf-dandelion, poverty grass, nut-grass sp, shining sumac, and sassafras. In alvar habitat, it may occur with northern white cedar, balsam fir, sand cherry, ground juniper, buffaloberry, bulrush sedge, Hill's thistle, Alaska orchid, flattened spike-rush, prairie dropseed, and fragrant sumac.
Management Recommendations
This species requires active management (fire, brush-clearing) to maintain or re-establish a prairie character where it occurs in southern Michigan. In northern Michigan, it primarily requires protection of habitat from direct disturbance, including ORV use and excessive foot traffic, and may also be susceptible to local alterations of hydrological regime.
Survey Methods
Random meander search covers areas that appear likely to have rare taxa, based on habitat and the judgment of the investigator.
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Meander search
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Survey Period: From first week of August to fourth week of September
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References
Survey References
- Elzinga, C.L., D.W. Salzer, and J.W. Willoughby. 1998. Measuring and Monitoring Plant Populations. The Nature Conservancy and Bureau of Land Management, Denver. BLM Technical Reference 1730-1. 477pp.
- Goff, G.F., G.A. Dawson, and J.J. Rochow. 1982. Site examination for Threatened and Endangered plant species. Environmental Management 6(4): 307-316
- Nelson, J.R. 1984. Rare Plant Field Survey Guidelines. In: J.P. Smith and R. York. Inventory of rare and endangered vascular plants of California. 3rd Ed. California Native Plant Society, Berkeley. 174pp.
- Nelson, J.R. 1986. Rare Plant Surveys: Techniques For Impact Assessment. Natural Areas Journal 5(3):18-30.
- Nelson, J.R. 1987. Rare Plant Surveys: Techniques for Impact Assessment. In: Conservation and management of rare and endangered plants. Ed. T.S. Elias. California Native Plant Society, Sacramento. 8pp.
Technical References
- Cooperrider, T.S. 1995. The Dicotyledonae of Ohio Part 2. Linaceae through Campanulaceae. Ohio State University Press, Columbus. 656pp.
- Gleason, H. A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second edition. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. 910pp.
- Gray, A. 1950. Gray's Manual of Botany; eighth ed. Van Nostrand Reinghold, New York. 1632pp.
- Holmgren, N.H. 1998. Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual. Illustrations of the vascular plants of Northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. New York Botanical Garden, Bronx. 937pp.
- Scoggan, H.J. 1978. The Flora of Canada. National Museum of Natural Science Publications Botany 4: 1711pp.
- Voss, E.G. 1996. Michigan Flora. Part III. Dicots (Pyrolaceae-Compositae). Bulletin of the Cranbrook Institute of Science and University of Michigan Herbarium. 622pp.
- Waterman, A.H. 1960. The Mints (Family Labiatae) of Michigan. Michigan State University. Biological series, Vol. 1 No. 8