Thermopsis mollis, Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner
Carey, Jennifer H. 1994. Thermopsis mollis, Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available: https://research.fs.usda.gov/feis/species-reviews/themol
| Abbreviation | Common Name | Scientific Name | Classification | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plants | ||||
| THEMOL | Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner | Thermopsis mollis | Life Form: Plants/Forb Kingdom: Plantae Class: Dicot Order: Fabales Family: Fabaceae Genus: Thermopsis | Fed. Protected: No Nativity: Native Invasiveness: Noninvasive |
Taxonomy
The currently accepted scientific name for Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner is Thermopsis mollis (Michx.) M. A. Curtis (Fabaceae) [7,10,16,22].
The following two varieties are recognized:
- Thermopsis mollis var. mollis
- Thermopsis mollis var. fraxinifolia (Torr. & Gray) Isely [10]
Synonyms
- Thermopsis fraxinifolia (Torr. & Gray) Isely [10]
Other Common Names
soft bush pea
General Distribution
Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner occurs from southern Virginia south to northern Georgia. The typical variety is more common in the Piedmont, and T. m. var. fraxinifolia occurs primarily in the Appalachian Mountains [10].
States and Provinces
- United States: GA, NC, SC, TN, VA
Site Characteristics
Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner occurs on moist and dry sites in upland areas of the Piedmont and Appalachian Mountains [10]. It occurs on dry slopes, ridges, and roadsides [7,10,14,16,21]. Thermopsis mollis var. fraxinifolia occurs up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m) elevation [10].
Plant Communities
Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner occurs in open woods and clearings [14,16,22]. No information was available on associated plant species.
Botanical Description
Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner is a native, rhizomatous, perennial herb with moderately branched, erect stems that grow 1.0 to 4.9 feet (0.3-1.5 m) tall. The racemes are terminal. The fruit is a legume about 1.6 to 2.8 inches (4-7 cm) long [7,10,16,22]. Thermopsis spp. generally have deep, woody, creeping rhizomes [1]. In Saskatchewan, prairie thermopsis (T. rhombifolia) roots were 0.1 to 0.2 inch (0.3-0.5 cm) in diameter and 2.6 to 5.6 feet (0.8-1.7 m) deep [5]. Thermopsis spp. are drought resistant [1].
Raunkiaer Life Form (Raunkiaer 1934)
- Hemicryptophyte
Seasonal Development
The typical variety flowers April through May and fruits ripen June through August. Thermopsis mollis var. fraxinifolia flowers May through July and fruits July through August [10,16].
Regeneration Processes
Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner regenerates vegetatively and by seed. Thermopsis spp. spread by underground rhizomes and form broad patches [1,5]. In California, the seeds of Santa Ynez false lupine (T. macrophylla var. agina) required scarification for laboratory germination [3].
Successional Status
Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner is probably intermediate in shade tolerance. It colonizes roadsides but also occurs on shady slopes [10].
Immediate Fire Effects
Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner is probably top-killed by fire.
Postfire Regeneration Strategy (Stickney 1989)
- Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
Fire Adaptations
Thermopsis spp. of the western United States resist fire by sprouting from rhizomes [3,13]. Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner probably responds similarly, and buried seed may germinate after fire.
Plant Response to Fire
Information on the response of Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner to fire is lacking in the literature. Santa Ynez false lupine sprouted after a prescribed fire in southern California, and the fire stimulated germination of seeds [3]. One year after a high-severity August fire in Alberta, there was no statistically significant difference in percent cover of prairie thermopsis on burned and unburned sites [13]. One year after a low-severity fire in Colorado, there was no statistically significant difference in percent cover or density of spreading thermopsis (T. divaricarpa) on burned and unburned sites [23].
Fire Regimes
For fire regime information, search FEIS for this species by entering the species name or acronym on the home page and selecting “Fire Regime” as the publication type.
Fire Management Considerations
No entry.
Federal Status
None
Other Status
No entry.
Importance to Wildlife and Livestock
Thermopsis spp. contain quinolizidine alkaloids which discourage browsing by wildlife and livestock [1].
Palatability and Nutritional Value
No entry.
Cover Value
No entry.
Value for Rehabilitation or Restoration of Disturbed Sites
Thermopsis spp. of the western United States have been used for erosion control and rehabilitation of disturbed sites [1,4].
Other Uses
No entry.
Other Management Considerations
No entry.
Table A1— Forest and range ecosystems, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) physiographic regions, Kuchler plant associations, Society for American Foresters (SAF) forest cover types, and Society for Rangeland Management (SRM) rangeland cover types in which this species occurs.
Forest and Range Ecosystems (Garrison et al. 1977)
- FRES14 Oak-pine
- FRES15 Oak - hickory
BLM Physiographic Regions (Bernard and Brown 1977)
- None
Kuchler Plant Associations (Kuchler 1964)
- K100 Oak-hickory forest
- K104 Appalachian oak forest
- K111 Oak-hickory-pine
SAF Cover Types (Eyre 1980)
- 71 Longleaf pine-scrub oak
- 76 Shortleaf pine-oak
- 78 Virginia pine-oak
- 82 Loblolly pine-hardwood
SRM Rangeland Cover Types (Shiflet 1994)
- None
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2. Bernard, Stephen R.; Brown, Kenneth F. 1977. Distribution of mammals, reptiles, and amphibians by BLM physiographic regions and A.W. Kuchler's associations for the eleven western states. Tech. Note 301. Denver, CO: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management. 169 p. [434]
3. Borchert, Mark. 1989. Postfire demography of Thermopsis macrophylla H.A. var. agina J.T. Howell (Fabaceae), a rare perennial herb in chaparral. American Midland Naturalist. 122: 120-132. [7982]
4. Brown, Ray W.; Johnston, Robert S. 1979. Revegetation of disturbed alpine rangelands. In: Johnson, D. A., ed. Special management needs of alpine ecosystems. Range Science Series No. 5. Denver, CO: Society for Range Management: 76-94. [188]
5. Coupland, Robert T.; Johnson, R. E. 1965. Rooting characteristics of native grassland species of Saskatchewan. Journal of Ecology. 53: 475-507. [702]
6. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
7. Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p. (Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny Series; vol. 2). [14935]
8. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others]. 1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
9. Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. 2nd ed. New York: New York Botanical Garden. 910 p. [20329]
10. Isely, Duane. 1981. Leguminosae fo the United States: II. Subfamily Caesalpinioideae. Memoirs of the New York Botanical Garden. 25(2): 1-228. [23495]
11. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York: American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
12. Larisey, Mary Maxine. 1940. A revision of the North American species of the genus Thermopsis. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden. 27: 245-264. [23496]
13. Mowat, Catherine. 1990. Fire effects study for Quail Flats Fire, Dinosaur Provincial Park. Calgary, AB: Alberta Recreation, Parks and Wildlife Foundation, Dinosaur National Park. 37 p. [+]. On file with: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. [17454]
14. Rogers, C. Leland; Mullens, Nora E.; Shiflet, George W., Jr. 1974. Rare South Carolina plants. Castanea. 39(3): 287-290. [23493]
15. Oswald, Brian P.; Covington, W. Wallace. 1984. Effect of a prescribed fire on herbage production in southwestern ponderosa pine on sedimentary soils. Forest Science. 30(1): 22-25. [2805]
16. Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press. 1183 p. [7606]
17. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
18. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT; RWU 4403 files. 7 p. [20090]
19. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1994. Plants of the U.S.--alphabetical listing. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 954 p. [23104]
20. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Survey. [n.d.]. NP Flora [Data base]. Davis, CA: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Biological Survey. [23119]
21. Ware, Donna M. Eggers. 1973. Floristic survey of the Thompson River watershed. Castanea. 38(4): 349-377. [23494]
22. Wofford, B. Eugene. 1989. Guide to the vascular plants of the Blue Ridge. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 384 p. [12908]
23. Smith, Jane K.; Laven, Richard D.; Omi, Philip N. 1985. Vegetation changes in aspen stands resulting from prescribed burning in recreation areas of the Front Range of Colorado. Final Report. Contract Nos. RM-80-112-GR and RM-81-162-GR (EC-367): Eisenhower Consortium for Western Environmental Forestry Research. 53 p. On file with: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory, Missoula, MT. [23491] FEIS Home Page