Seabeach Amaranth Scientific Name Family Name Amaranthus pumilus Raf. Amaranthaceae Amaranth Family Did you know? There was a 40-year stretch, between 1950 and 1990, when no plants were documented from the beaches on Long Island. Replenishment of the beaches and better protection of the vegetation through bird fencing may have permitted the species to recover. Summary Protection Threatened in New York State, Threatened federally. Rarity G2, S2 This level of state protection means: listed species are those with: 1) 6 to fewer than 20 extant sites, or 2) 1,000 to fewer than 3,000 individuals, or 3) restricted to not less than 4 or more than 7 U.S.G.S. 7 ½ minute topographical maps, or 4) listed as threatened by U.S. Department of Interior. This level of federal protection means: Listed as Threatened in the United States by the US Department of Interior. A global rarity rank of G2 means: This species is imperiled globally because of rarity (typically 6-20 known populations or few remaining individuals) or very vulnerable to extinction throughout its range because of other factors. A state rarity rank of S2 means: This plant is threatened/imperiled in New York because of rarity (typically 6-20 populations or few remaining individuals) or is vulnerable to extirpation from New York due to biological factors. Conservation Status in New York There are nine large occurrences of seabeach amaranth, usually encompassing large barrier islands. Occurrences are separated by ocean inlets or by large stretches of highly-developed beach that are inhospitable to the plants. Extensive searches of all Long Island beaches have not found additional populations. NYNHP Conservation Guide - Seabeach Amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus)
Short-term Trends In the last 20 years numbers have fluctuated between hundreds of plants to hundreds of thousands of plants islandwide. Numbers peaked in 2002 and have slowly declined. Long-term Trends With continued protection and management, the number of plants will probably stabilize in the thousands or even tens of thousands. Conservation and Management Threats The plants are subject to the natural threats of storm damage and succession by beachgrasses. Humans threaten the plants by driving over them with vehicles, beach raking, and by trampling them. Conservation Strategies and Management Practices Seabeach amaranth needs wide natural beaches free from vehicle use and excessive trampling. The use of string fencing provides enough protection to enable it to germinate and produce fruit. Research Needs There are a number of research needs to understand its distribution, germination and growth, and interaction with its environment. Habitat The plants occur on barrier island beaches between the foredune and the wrack line and also on open overwash areas behind the foredune. Beaches are usually over 20 meters wide and protected from foot traffic and vehicles (Steve Young, pers. obs.). Sea beaches (Fernald 1970). Sea-beaches (Gleason and Cronquist 1991). Associated Ecological Communities Maritime Beach A community with extremely sparse vegetation that occurs on unstable sand, gravel, or cobble ocean shores above mean high tide, where the shore is modified by storm waves and wind erosion. Associated Species American Beachgrass (Ammophila breviligulata) Beach Wormwood (Artemisia stelleriana) Crested Saltbush (Atriplex cristata) American Sea-rocket (Cakile edentula) Seaside Spurge (Chamaesyce polygonifolia) Sea-chickweed (Honckenya peploides ssp. robusta) NYNHP Conservation Guide - Seabeach Amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) 2
Green Carpet-weed (Mollugo verticillata) Seabeach Knotweed (Polygonum glaucum) Russian Thistle (Salsola kali) Identification Comments Upon germination, this plant forms a small unbranched sprig but soon begins to branch profusely into a clump, often reaching a foot in diameter but less than a foot in height and consisting of 5 to 20 branches. Occasionally a clump may get as large as a yard or more across, with a hundred or more branches. The stems are fleshy and pink-red or reddish, with small rounded leaves that are 1.3-2.5 cm in diameter. The leaves are cluster toward the tip of the stem, are normally stiff and a somewhat shiny, spinach-green color, with impressed veins, and a small notch at the rounded tips. Flowers and fruits are relatively inconspicuous and are borne in clusters along the stem. Best Life Stage for Identifying This Species Seabeach amaranth may be identified vegetatively throughout its growing season. The Best Time to See Vegetative shoots appear early summer, flowers late summer and fruits persistent until first frost. Vegetative Flowering Fruiting Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec The time of year you would expect to find Seabeach Amaranth in New York. Similar Species The species is unique among the amaranth in its habitat or overall growth form. Taxonomy Kingdom Plantae Phylum Anthophyta Class Dicots (Dicotyledoneae) Order Caryophyllales Family Amaranthaceae (Amaranth Family) NYNHP Conservation Guide - Seabeach Amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) 3
Additional Common Names Coast Amaranth Additional Resources Links USDA Plants Database http://plants.usda.gov/java/namesearch?mode=sciname&keywordquery= AMARANTHUS+PUMILUS NatureServe Explorer http://natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/natureserve?searchname=amaranthus+pumil US Google Images http://images.google.com/images?q=amaranthus+pumilus Best Identification Reference Flora of North America Editorial Committee. 2003. Flora of North America North of Mexico, Volume 4, Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, Part 1. Oxford University Press, New York. References Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. 8th edition. Corrected printing (1970). D. Van Nostrand Company, New York. 1632 pp. Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. 910 pp. Holmgren, Noel. 1998. The Illustrated Companion to Gleason and Cronquist's Manual. Illustrations of the Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. The New York Botanical Garden, Bronx, New York. Keys, Jr.,J.; Carpenter, C.; Hooks, S.; Koenig, F.; McNab, W.H.; Russell, W.;Smith, M.L. 1995. Ecological units of the eastern United States - first approximation (cd-rom), Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service. GIS coverage in ARCINFO format, selected imagery, and map unit tables. NatureServe. 2005. NatureServe Central Databases. Arlington, Virginia. USA New York Natural Heritage Program. 2010. Biotics database. New York Natural Heritage Program. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. Albany, NY. Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Univ. North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC. 1183 pp. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1993. Amaranthus pumilus (seabeach amaranth) determined to be threatened. Federal Register 58(65): 18035-18042. Weakley, Alan, Margit Bucher and Nora Murdock. 1996. Recovery plan for seabeach amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) Rafinesque. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta, Georgia. 59 pp. Weldy, T. and D. Werier. 2010. New York flora atlas. [S.M. Landry, K.N. Campbell, and L.D. Mabe (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research NYNHP Conservation Guide - Seabeach Amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) 4
http://www.fccdr.usf.edu/. University of South Florida http://www.usf.edu/]. New York Flora Association http://wwws.nyflora.org/, Albany, New York Weldy, Troy W. and David Werier. 2005. New York Flora Atlas. [S.M. Landry, K.N. Campbell, and L.D. Mabe (original application development), Florida Center for Community Design and Research. University of South Florida]. New York Flora Association, Albany, NY. Available on the web at (http://atlas.nyflora.org/). New York Natural Heritage Program 625 Broadway, 5th Floor, Albany, NY 12233-4757 Phone: (518) 402-8935 acris@nynhp.org This project is made possible with funding from: - New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program - Division of Lands & Forests, Department of Environmental Conservation - New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation Information for this guide was last updated on Aug 04, 2017 This guide was authored by Richard M. Ring NYNHP Conservation Guide - Seabeach Amaranth (Amaranthus pumilus) 5