Plant once considered extinct now flourishing in Ohio
A plant that was once considered to be extinct is now flourishing thanks to help from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
By Emily Sanderson
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OHIO (WLWT) — A plant that was once considered to be extinct is now flourishing thanks to help from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.
The rare plant, called the running buffalo clover, was officially taken off the endangered species list last year thanks to the work from ODNR.
“This is an exciting development in the area of conservation and is really something we can all celebrate,” Director Mary Mertz said in a statement. “Now that this wildflower is thriving in Ohio, we will take every step to make sure it continues to bloom for years and years to come.”
The plant is known to grow in the Appalachians to the Central Plains.
The name comes from its looks and habitat as the plant’s stems look like they’re running across the ground.
The plant was also once discovered where the grazing of bison helped maintain its habitat. But after bison had nearly gone extinct, the plant disappeared.
The plant was even determined to be extinct by the federal government until it was rediscovered in West Virginia in 1983, ODNR said.
Then, five years later, ODNR’s Natural Areas and Preserves’ botanists discovered the plant in Ohio.
It all comes 81 years after the plant had disappeared.
The discovery marked the beginning of the Division’s decades-long effort to ensure it not just survived but thrived, ODNR said.
In the following years, the plant has been discovered in a few nature preserves in Ohio, the largest at the Boch Hollow State Nature Preserve in Hocking County.
Botanists counted about 1,000 in 2010 but as of 2019, the number is nearly 7,000.
The plant will now be categorized to state potentially threatened. ODNR said teams will continue to monitor the populations to make sure they continue to thrive.
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