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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Thermopsis mollis | Soft Bush Pea
ABBREVIATION :
THEMOL
SYNONYMS :
Thermopsis fraxinifolia (Torr. & Gray) Isely [10]
SCS PLANT CODE :
THMO2
THMOF2
THMOM2
COMMON NAMES :
soft bush pea
Allegheny Mountain goldenbanner
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for soft bush pea is Thermopsis
mollis (Michx.) M. A. Curtis (Fabaceae) [7,10,16,22].
The following two varities are recognized:
T. m. var. mollis
T. m. var. fraxinifolia (Torr. & Gray) Isely [10]
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Jennifer H. Carey, October 1994
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Carey, Jennifer H. 1994. Thermopsis mollis. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Thermopsis mollis | Soft Bush Pea
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Soft bush pea 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].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES15 Oak - hickory
STATES :
GA NC SC TN VA
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
GRSM
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
SAF COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Soft bush pea occurs in open woods and clearings [14,16,22]. No
information is available on associated plant species.
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Thermopsis mollis | Soft Bush Pea
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Thermopsis spp. contain quinolizidine alkaloids which discourage
browsing by wildlife and livestock [1].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION 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 AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Thermopsis mollis | Soft Bush Pea
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Soft bush pea 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 :
Hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Soft bush pea 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].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Soft bush pea 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].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Facultative Seral Species
Soft bush pea is probably intermediate in shade tolerance. It colonizes
roadsides but also occurs on shady slopes [10].
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].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Thermopsis mollis | Soft Bush Pea
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Thermopsis spp. of the western United States resist fire by sprouting
from rhizomes [3,13]. Soft bush pea probably responds similarly, and
buried seed may germinate after fire.
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Thermopsis mollis | Soft Bush Pea
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Soft bush pea is probably top-killed by fire.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Information on the response of soft bush pea to fire is lacking in the
literature. Santa Ynez false lupine sprouted after a prescibed 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].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Thermopsis mollis | Soft Bush Pea
REFERENCES :
1. Allen, O. N.; Allen, E. K. 1981. The Leguminesae, a source book of
characteristics, uses, and nodulation. Madison, WI: The University of
Wisconsin Press. 1981 p. [18260]
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]
Index
Related categories for Species: Thermopsis mollis
| Soft Bush Pea
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