WSMV in Nashville reports that
the Tennessee purple coneflower, which grows only in cedar glades,
and only in three counties in the world,
is being taken off the endangered species list:
Less than one percent of endangered species ever get taken off the list.
The
Tennessean reports:
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans to officially remove the wildflower by Sept. 2, from its list of plants that are near extinction.“The Tennessee coneflower’s recovery is an example of what can be achieved through the combined efforts of dedicated partners,” said Cindy Dohner, the Service’s Southeast Regional Director, in an emailed announcement.
Echinacea tennesseensis was thought extinct until Dr. Elsie Quarterman rediscovered it in 1969 in the cedar glades which are her academic specialty. She was 59 then.
Now she is 100, and still being honored
by her students
and by her state.
Aunt Elsie
was born in Valdosta and played basketball for Hahira High School,
before she started her very long career in botany and plant ecology.
As aye, Elsie!
-jsq
PS: This post owed to Patrick Quarterman.
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