Texas ayenia (Ayenia limitaris)
Taxonomy:
View taxonomy in ITISListing Status: Endangered
Where Listed: WHEREVER FOUND
General Information
Texas ayenia is a small shrub and is a member of the chocolate family (Sterculiaceae).» Range Information
Current Range
Current range maps are only shown within the jurisdictional boundaries of the United States of America. The species may also occur outside this region.
Wherever found
Listing status: Endangered
- States/US Territories in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: Texas
- US Counties in which this population is known to or is believed to occur: View All
- USFWS Refuges in which this population is known to occur: Lower Rio Grande Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge
- Countries in which this population is known to occur: Mexico, United States
» Candidate Information
No Candidate information available for this species.
No Candidate Assessments available for this species.
No Candidate Notice of Review Documents currently available for this species.
No Uplisting Documents currently available for this species.
» Federal Register Documents
» Species Status Assessments (SSAs)
No Species Status Assessments (SSA's) are currently available for this species.
No Special Rule Publications currently available for this species.
» Recovery
- Species with Recovery Documents Data Explorer
- Recovery Priority Number: 8C
No Delisting Documents currently available for this species.
» Critical Habitat
No Critical Habitat Documents currently available for this species.
» Conservation Plans
No Conservation Plans currently available for this species.
» Petitions
No Petitions currently available for this species.
» Biological Opinions
To see all FWS Issued Biological Opinions please visit the BO Report.
» Life History
Habitat Requirements
The plant is best adapted to partially-shaded sites in shrubby savannas or the edges of brush thickets and arroyos, rather than either the dense shade of unbroken thickets, or open grassland. Typical associated plant species include trees, such as Texas ebony (Chloroleucon ebano), coma (Sideroxylon celastrinum) and anacua (Ehretia anacua), shrubs, such as Vaseys adelia (Adelia vaseyi), elbowbush (Forestiera angustifolia), crucita (Chromolaena odorata), blue mist-flower (Tamaulipa azurea), and amantillo (Abutilon trisulcatum), herbaceous plants, such as pigeon-berry (Rivina humilis) and tropical sage (Salvia coccinea), and grasses, including four-flower trichloris (Trichloris pluriflora), long-spike silver bluestem (Bothriochloa laguroides subsp. torreyana) and Texas tridens (Tridens texanus).
Food Habits
Texas ayenia has been found in a variety of alluvial soil types, ranging from heavy clay to fine sandy loam.
Movement / Home Range
The known populations range from Soto la Marina, in east-central Tamaulipas, Mexico and 200 miles (320 kilometers) north to Cameron, Hidalgo and Willacy counties, Texas.
Reproductive Strategy
Clusters of two or three flowers are formed on short stems arising from the upper leaf axils. The flowers have five green sepals and five pale-green to cream colored, kidney-shaped petals. The fruit is a five-chambered capsule covered with recurved, velcro-like hairs. When mature, the capsules violently split into five segments containing up to one seed each. The seeds are dark grayish brown to black, warty, tear-drop shaped. The plant will flower throughout the year if there is sufficient rainfall.
Other
Texas ayenia is a small shrub, typically from 1 to 3 feet (30 to 92 centimeters) in height. The heart-shaped leaves have finely-toothed margins, and the lower leaf surfaces are densely covered with fine hairs that appear star-shaped under magnification. The older stems are reddish-brown, speckled with numerous white dots (lenticels).
» Other Resources
NatureServe Explorer Species Reports-- NatureServe Explorer is a source for authoritative conservation information on more than 50,000 plants, animals and ecological communtities of the U.S and Canada. NatureServe Explorer provides in-depth information on rare and endangered species, but includes common plants and animals too. NatureServe Explorer is a product of NatureServe in collaboration with the Natural Heritage Network.
ITIS Reports-- ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System) is a source for authoritative taxonomic information on plants, animals, fungi, and microbes of North America and the world.
FWS Digital Media Library -- The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Digital Library is a searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video." +