Hudsonia tomentosa (Beach Heather)
Also known as: | Woolly Beach-heather, False Heather, Woolly Hudsonia, Poverty Grass |
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Genus: | Hudsonia |
Family: | Cistaceae (Rockrose) |
Life cycle: | perennial woody |
Origin: | native |
Status: |
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Habitat: | sun; dunes, pine barrens, sandy beaches |
Bloom season: | May - July |
Plant height: | 4 to 8 inches |
Wetland Indicator Status: | none |
MN county distribution (click map to enlarge): | |
National distribution (click map to enlarge): |
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Detailed Information
Flower:
Single flowers densely packed along branching stems in a spike-like array. Flowers are about ¼ inch wide, 5 bright yellow oval petals set about a fine spray of 9 to 18 spidery yellow stamens, surrounding a single style.
Leaves and stem:
Leaves are evergreen, minute and scale-like, pressed against stems, densely covered in fine hairs giving them a grayish green cast. The many branching stems are dense and mat-like.
Fruit:
Fruit is a 3-sectioned capsule containing 3 to 6 seeds.
Notes:
An inhabitant of sunny, dry sandy soils, Beach Heather's growth habit gives all the appearances of a desert survivor. A glorious but fleeting display in bloom, it must be caught in the early hours of the day as the intensifying sun burns away the day's petals like dew on the morning grass. Beach Heather is a rare species, found primarily on sand dunes and blow-outs. According to the DNR, this rare habitat in Minnesota has been mostly destroyed due to development and misguided attempts at reforestation. Damage caused by recreational vehicles (ATVers do love their dunes) put remaining areas at risk as well. Much of the remaining dune fields in Minnesota are now under the care of the DNR, so hopefully they will be safe. Beach Heather was added to the Special Concern list in 1996 and was elevated to a Threatened species in 2013.
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More photos
Photos by K. Chayka and Peter M. Dziuk taken at Helen Allison SNA in Anoka county.
Comments
Have you seen this plant in Minnesota, or have any other comments about it?
on: 2014-06-01 12:46:04
Found this in the sand blowout by the eastern hill on Thursday, May 29th.
on: 2015-07-29 12:59:01
This appeared on our beach about 15 years ago and we've been letting it spread ever since. (No raking!) It holds the dunes down beautifully and all sorts of small wildlife find refuge. It has spread to the neighbors beach too.
on: 2022-07-02 16:24:29
Little patch of these along one of the trails over the dunes at Park Point. Caught them just as flowers were shrivelling for the day, or i would have walked right past them thinking they were baby junipers.
on: 2024-10-18 12:32:04
There are still viable subpopulations in the sandiest of dunes and blowouts in Bunker Hills Regional Park, Andover/Blaine/Coon Rapids/Ham Lake. Observed in summer and fall of 2024. A rarity and what a beauty.