Macranthera

{{Short description|Genus of plants}}

{{Speciesbox

| image = Macranthera flammea 322441620.jpg

| image_caption = Macranthera flammea photographed in Jackson County, Mississippi

| status = G3

| status_system = TNC

| status_ref = {{cite NatureServe |id=2.146651 |title=Macranthera flammea |access-date=18 February 2025}}

| taxon = Macranthera flammea

| authority = (W.Bartram) Pennell

| parent_authority = Nutt. ex Benth.

| synonyms = {{Species list

|Gerardia flammea|W.Bartram

|Conradia fuchsioides|Nutt.

|Macranthera fuchsioides|(Nutt.) Leconte & Benth.

|Macranthera lecontei|Torr.

|Tomilix bracteata|Raf.

|Toxopus calycinus|Raf.

|Toxopus gymnanthes|Raf.

|Dasistoma tubulosa|Bertol.

|Macranthera fuchsioides var. lecontei|(Torr.) Chapm.

}}

| synonyms_ref = {{cite powo |id=148770-2 |title=Macranthera flammea (W.Bartram) Pennell |access-date=18 February 2025}}

}}

Macranthera is a monotypic plant genus in the family Orobanchaceae containing only the species Macranthera flammea, commonly known as the flameflower or hummingbird-flower.{{cite web |last1=Weakley |first1=A.S. |author2=Southeastern Flora Team |name-list-style=amp |title=Macranthera flammea (flameflower) |website=Flora of the Southeastern United States |publisher=University of North Carolina Herbarium and North Carolina Botanical Garden |location=Chapel Hill, U.S.A. |version=2025 Edition |url=https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/main.php?pg=show-taxon-detail.php&lsid=urn:lsid:ncbg.unc.edu:taxon:{B21FF4A2-B2C7-49EC-B0A7-9B2D53BC47BC} |access-date=19 February 2025}} It is endemic to the Coastal Plain of the south-eastern United States.

Distribution and habitat

Largely restricted to the Gulf Coastal Plain of the south-eastern United States, Macranthera flammea is native to the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi, ranging as far east as Bulloch County in eastern Georgia.{{cite book |last1=Sorrie |first1=Bruce A. |editor1=Flora of North America Editorial Committee |chapter=Macranthera flammea (W. Bartram) Pennell |title=Magnoliophyta: Tetrachondraceae to Orobanchaceae |series=Flora of North America North of Mexico |volume=17 |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York and Oxford |page=562 |isbn=9780190868512 |oclc=1101573420 |chapter-url=https://floranorthamerica.org/Macranthera_flammea}} It occurs in and around bogs, bayheads, creeks, ecotones, and seepage slopes from sea level up to {{cvt|100|m}} above sea level.

Ecology

Macranthera flammea flowers from July to October, and has adapted to flower prolifically following fires. The flowering period coincides with the arrival of ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) in its range as part of their migration across the Gulf of Mexico.

References