Mountain Golden Heather

Mountain golden heather was discovered by Thomas Nuttal on the summit of Table Rock, North Carolina in 1816. The subsequent failure of several botanists to relocate the species at Table Rock, or anywhere else within Linville Gorge, throughout the 1960s and 1970s led many to assume the species extinct, until it was rediscovered in the late 1970s. It was listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act in 1980. There are now six known populations, the last one of those discovered in 1987. Mountain golden heather is one of three species in the Hudsonia genus.  It is a tiny, needle-leaved shrub, appearing somewhat like a large moss or low juniper, with yellow flowers. The plant is only known to occur on chilhowee quartzite, a rare rock type in North Carolina. The two greatest threats to the plant are trampling associated with outdoor recreation and fire suppression.

Habitat

Mountain golden heather is only found in the Linville Mountains in North Carolina, limited to chilhowee quartzite ledges and outcrops exposed to direct sunlight.  It may survive for a while in areas shaded by trees but requires fire or other means to maintain habitat in suitably open conditions.  All known occurrences of mountain golden heather lie between 2,800 – 3,850 feet in elevation.  The sandy soil produced from this rock type is typically shallow (less than 10 inches) and interspersed with gravel.  

Physical characteristics

Shrub form, typically 8-15 cm high and 15-20 cm across with alternate leaves 3-8 mm long.  Yellow flowers are 5-7 mm long that produce ovoid 3 mm long fruit capsules with 2-3 oblong or ovoid seeds 1 mm long.      

Reproduction

The plant flowers in late May and reach peak bloom in early June.  The flowers, which only last one day, may self-pollinate in the late afternoon when the flower closes.  The fruiting phase occurs from late June through July, by early August very few seeds remain in their fruiting capsules.      

Geography

There are six known populations of mountain golden heather, and all occur in Pisgah National Forest in Burke and McDowell counties, North Carolina.  Most of these populations are confined to 8 kilometers of the Jonas Ridge along the eastern rim of the Lineville Gorge from Table Rock Mountain to Shortoff Mountain, with an additional population at nearby Woods Mountain.  The plant grows on sandy soil that is produced by the erosion of chilhowee quartzite rock.  This rock type is only found in the Linville Mountains of North Carolina and therefore likely limits the extent of this species.          

• Determination of Hudsonia montana to be a Threatened Species, with Critical Habitat, 45 FR 69360-69363 (Oct. 20, 1980).
• Krings, A., S. Goyette, D. Suiter, and M. Samuels. 2012–present. Rare plants of North Carolina: Federally listed species and their congeners. Version 1.2. North Carolina State University, Raleigh. [http://herbarium.ncsu.edu/rare/; (accessed December 10, 2021)].
• Morse, L.E. 1979. Systematics and ecological biogeography of the genus Hudsonia (Cistaceae), the sand heather. Ph.D. dissertation. Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. August 1979. 
• Rhodes, Thomas S., and Conrad, Stephen G., 1985, Geologic Map of North Carolina: Department of Natural Resources and Community Development, Division of Land Resources, and the NC Geological Survey, compiled by Brown, Philip M., et al, and Parker, John M. III, and in association with the State Geologic Map Advisory Committee, scale 1:500,000. 
• The North Carolina Dept. of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources, Division of Land Resources, NC Geological Survey, in cooperation with the NC Center for Geographic Information and Analysis, 1998 (updated 2007), Geology - North Carolina (1:250,000), coverage data file geol250. The data represents the digital equivalent of the official State Geology map (1:500,000 scale), but was digitized from (1:250,000 scale) base maps.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1983. Mountain Golden Heather Recovery Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta, Georgia. 26 pp.
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 2019.  Mountain Golden Heather Five-Year Review. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Asheville, North Carolina. 38 pp.