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• Nabalus boottii

Nabalus boottii — Boott's rattlesnake-root

Facts

Boott's rattlesnake-root is a globally-rare species, endemic to the Northeastern United States and represented by a handful of populations in New York and New England, where it occurs only in alpine habitats of Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. It is named after John Wright Boott (1788-1845) who first collected the plant in 1829 in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Habitat

Alpine or subalpine zones, ridges or ledges

Characteristics

• Flowers

  Bract color

  the bracts are not colored or tinged with with pink, red or purple

  Bract cycle number

  there is one main cycle of bracts

  Bract outer side hair type

  the bracts are not hairy on their outer surface

  Bract outer side hairs

  the bracts are not hairy on their outer surfaces

  Bract shape

  • the main bracts are lanceolate (widest above the base, then taper narrowly towards the tip)
  • the main bracts are of a different shape than the given options

  Bract spines

  the bracts have no spines

  Bract tip shape

  the tips of the bracts acute (have a sharp point)

  Bracts

  the bracts in separate cycles are similar or gradually changing from the outer to inner cycles

  Disk flower color

  NA

  Disk flower lobe number

  NA

  Disk flower number

  NA

  Disk flower proportions

  NA

  Disk flower reproductive parts

  NA

  Disk flower shape

  NA

  Flower head number

  each flowering stem has four or more flower heads on it

  Flower head outer flowers

  at the outer edge of the flower head, each flower has a single enlarged lobe or strap

  Flower head platform

  the base has no bristles or papery scales

  Flower head profile

  the disk is rounded across the top

  Flower head shape

  • NA
  • the sides of the flower head are roughly parallel, like a cylinder

  Flower type in flower heads

  the flower head has ray flowers only, meaning all of the individual flowers of the flower head have a strap-shaped ray, which may or may not have teeth at the very tip of the ray

  Height of flower head base

  8–12 mm

  Inflorescence shape

  the inflorescence is not flat-topped but appears rounded, with some flower heads distinctly higher than others

  Number of bracts at flower head base

  3–15

  Ovary beak

  • there is a beak on the ovary
  • there is no beak on the ovary

  Ovary cross-section

  the ovary has five or more corners in cross-section

  Ovary hair type

  the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary hairs

  the ovary has no hairs on it

  Ovary lines or ribs

  • there are seven to nine ribs visible on the ovary
  • there are ten or more ribs visible on the ovary

  Ovary surface

  the ovary surface has no points, bumps or wrinkles, though it may have lines, ribs or wings

  Ray flower color

  white

  Ray flower reproductive parts

  the ray flowers have both carpels and stamens

  Ray flowers

  • 11-15
  • 16-25
  • 6-10

  Ray length

  7–13 mm

  Reproductive system

  NA

  Smaller bracts at base of bracts

  there is no smaller, outer cycle of bracts

  Swelling at base of flower head

  the peduncles are not swollen, or only slightly

  Width of flower head base

  5–6 mm

• Fruits or seeds

  Number of pappus parts

  11 or more

  Ovary length in developed fruit

  5–6 mm

  Seed hair tuft color

  • the pappus hairs are another color
  • the pappus hairs are tan to dark brown

  Seed hair tuft details

  the pappus hairs are hooked or barbed

  Seed hair tuft length

  6–8 mm

  Seed hair tuft tips

  the pappus hairs are slender

  Seed tuft type

  the pappus is made of very fine hairs or bristles

  Tuft or plume on fruit

  at least a part of the plume is made up of fine bristles

• Glands or sap

  Sap

  the sap is milky and opaque, and may be white or colored

• Growth form

  Growth form

  the plant has one or more free-standing stems

  Plant lifespan

  the plant is perennial, it shows evidence of previous year's leaves, stems or stem bases

  Spines on plant

  the plant has no spines

  Underground organs

  • the plant has one or more swollen storage organs underground, such as bulbs, tubers or corms
  • there is a thickened taproot on the plant

• Leaves

  Final leaf segment length (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Final leaf segment width (compound lvs only)

  0 mm

  Hairs on underside of leaf blade

  the underside of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Hairs on upper side of leaf blade

  the upper side of the leaf is not hairy, or has very few hairs

  Leaf arrangement

  • alternate: there is one leaf per node along the stem
  • the leaves are growing only at the base of the plant (basal)

  Leaf blade base

  the leaf has a distinct petiole

  Leaf blade base shape

  the base of the leaf is cordate (heart-shaped) or sagittate (arrow-shaped)

  Leaf blade edges

  • the edge of the leaf blade has no teeth or lobes
  • the edge of the leaf blade has teeth

  Leaf blade hairs

  NA

  Leaf blade length

  20–80 mm

  Leaf blade shape

  • the leaf blade is elliptic (widest near the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is lanceolate (lance-shaped; widest below the middle and tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is ovate (widest below the middle and broadly tapering at both ends)
  • the leaf blade is triangular, with the stalk or attachment point on one of the sides

  Leaf blade tip

  • the tip of the leaf blade is acute (sharply pointed)
  • the tip of the leaf blade is obtuse (bluntly pointed)

  Leaf blade width

  5–30 mm

  Leaf disposition

  the lower leaves are larger, toothier, and/or on longer stalks than the upper leaves

  Leaf spines

  there are no spines on the leaf edges

  Leaf type

  leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets)

  Leaflet number

  0

  Specific leaf type

  the leaves are simple (lobed or unlobed but not separated into leaflets

• Place

  Habitat

  terrestrial

  New England state

  • Maine
  • New Hampshire
  • Vermont

  Specific habitat

  • alpine or subalpine zones
  • ridges or ledges

• Stem, shoot, branch

  Leaves on stem

  there is at least one full leaf above the base of the flowering stem

  Stem internode hair direction

  the hairs point mostly upwards to outwards

  Stem internode hair type

  • the hairs on the stem are plain, without glands or branches, and not tangled
  • the stem has no hairs between the nodes

  Stem internode hairs

  the stem has hairs between the nodes

Wetland status

Not classified

New England distribution and conservation status

From the dichotomous key of Flora Novae Angliae