Ecology of the endangered species Solidago shortii. VII. Survivorship and flowering, and comparison with common, geographically-widespread Solidago species

Ecology of the endangered species Solidago shortii. VII. Survivorship and flowering, and comparison with common, geographically-widespread Solidago species. Survivorship and flowering of plants at three population sites and vernalization and photoperiod requirements for flowering were determined for Solidago shortii (Asteraceae), a federal-endangered species endemic to northeastern Kentucky. Of 1344 seedlings marked at site 12 in May 1989, ca. 58% and 2% of the plants were alive at the end of their first and ninth growing seasons, respectively. None of the marked plants at this site flowered in 1989 or in 1990; only 1-13% of those alive each year flowered in 1991-1997. All of the 29 and 25 seedlings marked at sites 2 and 11, respectively, were dead by the end of their fifth growing season; none of them flowered. Survivorship curves differed significantly among and within sites. Solidago shortii does not require vernalization to flower, and it is a facultative short-day plant. Survivorship and flowering requirements of S. shortii do not differ from those reported in the literature for common, geographically-widespread Solidago species.