| Status |
| Description |
| Life History |
| Habitat |
| Distribution |
| Field Characters |
| Causes of Decline |
| Recovery Needs |
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Agalinis skinneriana
Skinner's False-foxglove
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Status Status is unknown; additional field surveys are necessary to determine current population trends. Previously, the species was a Category 2 (58 FR 188; September 30, 1993), but currently has no Federal status.
Life History
Skinner's false-foxglove is an annual, hemiparasite. Although hemiparasitic plants take water and minerals from other plants, they are not wholly dependent upon the host to survive. Hemiparasites have chlorophyll and produce food (= carbohydrates) by photosynthesis. Skinner's false-foxglove flowers and sets fruit from late July to September.
Habitat
This species is found in dry sandy soils of prairies, open areas, and oak-hickory forests.
Distribution
Skinner's false-foxglove has been historically rare throughout its range, which extends from southwestern Ontario, Canada, to Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. This area straddles much of the transition between eastern deciduous forest and the tall grass prairie. Only one specimen has been collected in Oklahoma -- from Delaware County in the 1929. However, this specimen was destroyed by fire during shipping. No plants have been found in Oklahoma since.
Field Characters
Skinner's false-foxglove can be distinguished from other species of Agalinis in Oklahoma by its yellowish-green color and small, subglobose capsules, 3/32 to 3/16 inches (3-5 mm) in diameter. Like the Ear-leafed False-Foxglove, Skinner's False-Foxglove has opposite leaves, paniculate inflorescences and purplish-pink flowers, but its leaves are linear to filiform as opposed to lanceolate, and are not lobed at the base.
Causes of Decline
Skinner's false-foxglove historically has been an enigmatic species. It is difficult to find and often is confused with a related species, Gattinger's false-foxglove (Agalinis gattingeri), which is currently considered a synonym. The degree of decline and mechanisms responsible are difficult to ascertain.
Recovery Needs
Since it is uncertain whether there are any populations Skinner's false-foxglove presently in Oklahoma, recovery strategies are unclear.
Description
Skinner's false-foxglove is a hemiparasitic annual. Mature plants are covered with short, stiff hairs. Stems grow from 7.9 to 23.6 inches (20-60 cm) in height. Stems are four-angled and unbranched or shortly branched. Leaves are numerous, opposite, and borne directly on the stem. They are long, narrow, and tend to be a yellowish green in color. Venation is pinnate. Inflorescences are a group of one to eight flowers on unbranched flowering stalks. Flowers are 3/8 to 9/16 inch (1.0-1.5 cm) long with short pedicels (= stalk of a single flower). Bracts (= small green leaflike organs) are at the base of each flower. Corollas are rose to lavender with two yellow lines and red spots inside. The petals are fused into a bell shaped tube with five short lobes. The upper two limbs are slightly longer and over arch the lower three, creating a weakly bilateral shape. The four stamens are covered with silky hairs. The upper two stamens are shorter than th e lower two. S tamens do not extend beyond the corolla. Each flower bears one pistil with a long style. Fruits are capsules that split open along several vertical lines. Seeds are small, about 3/64 inch (0.7-0.9 mm) long, triangular and numerous. They have a netted texture on the surface.