Plants and Animals
Malus ioensis Prairie crabapple
Key Characteristics
Small tree or large shrub of woodland edges in far southwestern Michigan; bud scales pubescent; flowers pink with roughly 20 stamens and 5 styles; styles connate, very pubescent at the base; calyx lobes persistent in fruit; leaves, petioles, pedicels, and outer portion of sepals with dense, curly white hairs (i.e., tomentum) underneath. Both flowers (April to May) and mature fruit (September to October) can be used for identification.
Status and Rank
US Status: No Status/Not Listed
State Status: X - Presumed extirpated (legally 'threatened' if rediscovered)
Global Rank: G4 - Apparently secure
State Rank: SX - Presumed extirpated
Occurrences
| County | Number of Occurrences | Year Last Observed |
|---|
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
This is a species primarily native to the tallgrass prairie region of North America, immediately to the west of Michigan. Historical collections in Michigan are from a thicket along a stream bank in Berrien County, and a sandy woodland edge in Emmet County near an old Native American village. In the Chicago region, it is known from woodland edges and abandoned pastures, and elsewhere in its range from open woodlands, savannas, and prairies. In Michigan, this species may have been historically associated with these communities, which now persist in only small, degraded fragments.
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
Silver maple, green ash, red maple, black walnut, hackberry, black maple, Ohio buckeye, box elder, black ash, black willow, cottonwood, swamp white oak, sycamore, spice bush, redbud, paw paw, Kentucky coffee tree, red mulberry, Virginia blue-bells, common trillium, red trillium, stinging nettle, poison ivy, moneywort, Canada moonseed, wild ginger, skunk cabbage, honewort, kidney-leaved buttercup, false mermaid, and rough bedstraw.
Management Recommendations
A status survey for this species in Michigan is warranted. This species may be associated with prairie and savanna communities. It likely requires an open canopy and may be managed with prescribed fire and manual brush removal to limit woody encroachment.
Survey Methods
Random meander search covers areas that appear likely to have rare taxa, based on habitat and the judgment of the investigator.
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
- Gleason, H. A., and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. 2nd Ed. The New York Botanical Garden, New York, New York.
- Godfrey, R.K. and Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States. Dicotyledons. University of Georgia Press, Athens. 712pp.
- 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.
- Voss, E.G. 1996. Michigan Flora. Part III. Dicots (Pyrolaceae-Compositae). Bulletin of the Cranbrook Institute of Science and University of Michigan Herbarium. 622pp.