Agalinis maritima
{{Short description|Species of plant}}
{{Italics title}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Agalinis maritima iNat-25451547.jpg
| taxon = Agalinis maritima
| authority = (Rafinesque) Rafinesque
| synonyms = *Gerardia maritima
}}
Agalinis maritima, commonly called saltmarsh false foxglove, is an annual herbaceous plant. It is a halophytic, obligate wetland species found in the eastern Atlantic seaboard from Nova Scotia to Texas, extending further south towards the Lucayan Archipelago and the Greater Antilles.{{Cite web |title=Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - The University of Texas at Austin |url=https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=AGMA3 |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=www.wildflower.org}}{{Cite web |title=Agalinis maritima |url=https://levypreserve.org/plant-listings/agalinis-maritima/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=Leon Levy Native Plant Preserve |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |last=Mold |first=Robert J. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sA6qilydg_kC |title=Ecology of Halophytes |date=2012-12-02 |publisher=Elsevier |isbn=978-0-323-14437-7 |pages=43 |language=en}}
Distribution
Agalinis maritima is found in coastal salt and brackish marshes, including mangrove swamps and salt flats.{{Cite book |last1=Godfrey |first1=Robert K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Gz0iVFmZR7YC |title=Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States: Dicotyledons |last2=Wooten |first2=Jean W. |date=2011-07-01 |publisher=University of Georgia Press |isbn=978-0-8203-4243-6 |pages=667 |language=en}} In Maine, it was most often found in high (upper) salt marsh where slight depressions have sparse vegetative cover and low competition from species such as Spartina patens.{{Cite journal |last1=St. John Vickery |first1=Barbara |last2=Vickery |first2=Peter D. |date=1983 |title=Note on the Status of Agalinis Maritima (raf.) Raf. in Maine |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23314620 |journal=Rhodora |volume=85 |issue=842 |pages=267–269 |jstor=23314620 |issn=0035-4902}}
Description
Sometimes confused with Agalinis purpurea, saltmarsh false foxglove can be recognized from its fleshy, obtuse leaves.{{Cite web |title=Agalinis maritima (saltmarsh agalinis): Go Botany |url=https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/agalinis/maritima/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org}}{{Cite journal |last1=Latvis |first1=Maribeth |last2=Souza |first2=Vinicius Castro |last3=Tank |first3=David C. |last4=Soltis |first4=Pamela S. |last5=Soltis |first5=Douglas E. |date=2024-07-24 |title=An Evolutionary Framework for Agalinis (Orobanchaceae; The False Foxgloves) Reveals a Rapid South American Radiation that Includes Esterhazya |url=https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/10.1600/036364424X17095905880222 |journal=Systematic Botany |language=en |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=455–481 |doi=10.1600/036364424X17095905880222 |issn=0363-6445|url-access=subscription }} It has pink or purple flowers arranged in short racemes; the blooms usually fall off within a day.{{Cite book |last1=Elliman |first1=Ted |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dPrnCwAAQBAJ |title=Wildflowers of New England |last2=Trust |first2=Native Plant |date=2016-05-11 |publisher=Timber Press |isbn=978-1-60469-740-7 |pages=300 |language=en}} It blooms in August and September.{{Cite book |last=Club |first=Torrey Botanical |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3eTzAAAAMAAJ |title=Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club |date=1915 |publisher=Torrey Botanical Club. |pages=338 |language=en}} Agalinis maritima is a low-growing annual plant that reaches about {{Convert|10|cm|in}}. It is usually branched from the base upwards with ascending branches.
It has a highly supported sister relationship Agalinis kingsii.
Conservation
Agalinis maritima is threatened in New York state and rare in Maine and New Hampshire.{{Cite web |title=Seaside Agalinis Guide - New York Natural Heritage Program |url=https://guides.nynhp.org/seaside-agalinis/ |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=guides.nynhp.org}} It is endangered by invasive phragmites and wetland destruction due to human development.
References
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