On April 23, 2020, we proposed removing the dwarf-flowered heartleaf from the federal list of threatened and endangered species due to recovery. When the plant was listed as threatened under the ESA in 1989, there were only 24 known populations, distributed across eight counties. Today, there are at least 119 populations scattered across 10 North Carolina and three South Carolina counties. Of those 119 populations, 27 have more than 1,000 plants.
Read the proposal here.
Public participation
The public comment period for the proposal was April 26 - Jun 24, 2020.
About the dwarf-flowered heartleaf
Administrative documents related to the dwarf-flowered heartleaf can be found here: https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/2458
Description: Dwarf-flowered heartleaf is a low-growing evergreen perennial plant. It has heart-shape leaves that are four to six centimeters long, dark green and leathery, supported by long thin leaf stems connecting it to an underground stem. The jug-shaped flowers are usually beige to dark brown or purple and appear from mid-March to early June. The flowers are small and inconspicuous and are found near the base of the leaf stems, often buried beneath the leaf litter.
Habitat: Dwarf-flowered heartleaf grows in acidic soils along bluffs and adjacent slopes, in boggy areas next to streams and creek heads, and along the slopes of nearby hillsides and ravines.
Range: The upper piedmont region of Western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina.
