Nature Conservancy Transfers Piedmont Prairie to Plant Conservation Program

Mineral Spring Barrens Home to Rare Native Sunflower

Durham — July 20, 2009 — The Nature Conservancy recently transferred 60 acres of Union County prairie to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Plant Conservation Program. The property is home to Schweinitz’s Sunflower, which the federal government listed as an endangered species in 1991. The Nature Conservancy acquired the Barrens soon after that declaration.

“We’ve worked to restore the prairie habitat,” says the Conservancy’s Margit Bucher. “The Plant Conservation Program, which is totally devoted to preserving rare North Carolina plants, is the perfect partner to continue and build on this project.”

Bucher also credits UNC-Charlotte Professor Larry Barden and his students for their work to study the habitat needs of the sunflower.

”Our department is pleased to accept this generous donation of valuable property from The Nature Conservancy,” said Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler. “This donation saved the state considerable acquisition funds and will create our newest Plant Conservation Preserve. On this preserve, we will be able to protect and manage two of North Carolina’s at-risk plant species: the Georgia Aster and Schweinitz’s Sunflower.”

The NC Natural Heritage Program rates the site as nationally significant because it is one of the few sites left where Schweinitz’s sunflower occurs in natural habitat. Mineral Spring Barrens is one of the best remaining examples of Piedmont prairie. Early European explorers described wide swathes of prairies across the Piedmont. These grassy plains were kept open by fire and the grazing of large animals such as elk and bison. European settlers suppressed fires and converted the prairies to farmland. Large animals were driven from the area. Continued development destroyed most of the remaining prairie and the habitat had virtually disappeared by the mid-1800s.

Occasional small pockets of prairie are found in the piedmont. In addition to the native sunflower, they also include a host of other rare plants. Grassland bird species such as prairie warbler and bobwhite quail are also found there. The Nature Conservancy and other conservation groups restore prairies with controlled burning.

Schweinitz’s Sunflower is a showy plant. It grows approximately six feet tall, but can occasionally double that height. Its yellow blooms occur from late August until frost. It is named for Lewis David von Schweinitz, a Moravian minister who first identified the flower in the early 1800s. Although the sunflower bears his name, Schweinitz’ true love was fungi; he is known as the father of North American mycology.

The NCDA&CS Plant Conservation Program works to conserve the native plant species of North Carolina in their natural habitats.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.