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Abstract
Butterfly bush (Buddleja sessiliflora) reaches its northern range in southeast Arizona and herbarium records document seven historic localities from Pima and Santa Cruz counties. We visited all populations between 2014 and 2018, except for one reported from the Tohono O’odham Nation to discover that five historic localities were verified to be extant, and an additional locality was discovered in 2018. A total of 22 plants were documented during this study. All surveyed populations are isolated to 6–15 m areas and contained between one and seven plants. No propagules were found, except for a small 30 cm tall plant at the southernmost locality. It is unclear if any of these plants are still capable of reproducing in situ either sexually or vegetatively. Currently B. sessiliflora has no recognized state conservation status and is listed as unranked. Impacts to this riparian species with southern affinities may include climate change, diminishing water resources, invasive plant species and possible genetic bottlenecking due to isolation. Buddleja sessiliflora may be one of the rarest plants in southern Arizona.
Parent Publication
Keywords
forest restoration,
history,
climate,
soils,
vegetation,
geomorphology,
watersheds,
water quality,
water quantity,
fluvial ecosystems,
fish and invertebrate fauna,
riparian ecosystems
Citation
Verrier, James T.; Rodden, Iris E. 2022. The status of Buddleja sessiliflora (Scrophulariaceae) in Arizona. In: Neary, D. G.; Gottfried, G. J., eds. Collaboration Now for the Future: IV Conference on the Biodiversity and Management of the Madrean Archipelago. Proceedings RMRS-P-79. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station. p. 488-490.
