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Agalinis decemloba (Greene) Pennell
Ten-lobe Purple Foxglove
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: No Georgia state protection
Global Rank: G3G4
State Rank: S1
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP High Priority Species (SGCN): Yes
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 9
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Dry, grassy meadows.
Annual herb with yellowish-green, sparsely branched, angled stems 4 - 16 inches (10-40) tall; the angles of the stems are smooth or only very slightly rough; dried plants are pale yellowish-green not black. Leaves are 0.6 - 1 inch (1.5 - 2.5 cm) long, very narrow, tapering to pointed tips, opposite. Flowers are pink, about 0.5 inch (1 - 1.5 cm) long, with five lobes spreading from a short, broad tube, each lobe slightly notched at the tip; the tube is hairy on the outside; the throat of the flower is white with two yellow lines, a scattering of dark pink or purple spots, and a patch of pink hairs at the base of the two upper lobes; the calyx is green and cup-shaped with 5 pointed lobes and conspicuous veins; the flower stalks are mostly 0.2 - 0.8 inch (0.5 - 2 cm) long; there are 4 hairy stamens. Fruits are yellowish-brown capsules about 2 - 3 mm in diameter with many tiny yellowish-brown seeds.
The two Agalinis species in Georgia that are most similar to Agalinis decemloba are known only in the Coastal Plain. Blunt-leaf Purple Foxglove (Agalinis obtusifolia) has roughly hairy stems and leaves, bluntly rounded leaf tips, and flowers without the two yellow lines. Agalinis tenella (Few-flowered Purple Foxglove), a rare species, occurs in dry, sandy to loamy openings in the Coastal Plain. It has roughly hairy stems and leaves, flowers with two yellow lines, and flower lobes that are not notched at the tips.
Other relatively common and similar Agalinis species that occur in northwest Georgia:
Purple False Foxglove (Agalinis purpurea) has a larger flower (1.8-3.8 cm) long, a short flower stalk less than 0.2 inch (1-5 mm) long, and a fruit stalk less than 0.3 inch (8 mm) long;
Thread-leaf False Foxglove (Agalinis setacea) has dull green leaves and stems, often suffused with red or purple, and flowers that are 0.6-1 inch (1.5-2.5 cm) long with yellow lines;
Slender-leaf False Foxglove (Agalinis tenuifolia) has flowers with the upper lobe folded forward over the stamens, sometimes nearly blocking the throat; there are two yellow lines in the throat but there is no patch of hairs.
There are a total of 11 rare Agalinis species in Georgia:
Agalinis aphylla (Scale-leaf Purple Foxglove) occurs in pitcherplant bogs and pine flatwoods in the Coastal Plain.
Agalinis decemloba (Ten-lobe Purple Foxglove) occurs in dry, sandy or loamy soils in sunny, disturbed areas in northwest Georgia.
Agalinis divaricata (Sprawling Purple Foxglove) occurs in dry, grassy, pine-scrub oak ridges in the Coastal Plain.
Agalinis filicaulis (Spindly Purple Foxglove) occurs in seasonally wet, longleaf pine-wiregrass savannas in the Coastal Plain.
Agalinis filifolia (Seminole Purple Foxglove) occurs in dry, sandy, longleaf pinelands in the Coastal Plain.
Agalinis gattingeri (Gattinger's Purple Foxglove) occurs in cherty soils in oak-pine woods and rocky glades in Catoosa County in northwest Georgia.
Agalinis georgiana (Georgia Purple Foxglove) occurs in moist wiregrass pinelands in the Coastal Plain. For more information, see: https://www.georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/profile?group=plants&es_id=19802
Agalinis harperi (St. Marks Purple Foxglove) occurs in pine savannas, bogs, interdune swales species in the Coastal Plain.
Agalinis laxa (Lax Purple Foxglove) occurs in dry longleaf pine sandhills in the Coastal Plain. For more information, see: https://georgiabiodiversity.org/portal/editprofile?group=plants&es_id=17175
Agalinis maritima var. grandiflora (Saltmarsh Purple Foxglove) occurs in saltmarshes in the Coastal Plain.
Agalinis tenella (Few-flowered Purple Foxglove) occurs in dry, sandy to loamy openings in the Coastal Plain.
Acidic soils at the edges of woodlands, farm roads, and fields; rocky glades; open, grassy roadside and utility rights-of-way, and frequently disturbed (mowed), sunny sites over sandy soil.
Ten-lobed Purple Foxglove is an annual herbaceous species, reproducing only by seed. Its flowers are visited by a variety of bees searching for nectar and pollen that likely pollinate some flowers. It is also capable of self-fertilization, with a very high percentage of self-fertilized flowers producing fertile fruit. The fruits contain many tiny seeds that are wind-dispersed.
As with all species of Agalinis, Ten-lobe Purple Foxglove is hemi-parasitic, meaning that it is capable of synthesizing carbohydrates through photosynthesis and that it derives other nutrients and water by attaching to other plants. The attachment is by haustoria, small root-like structures on Agalinis roots that penetrate the roots of host plants and extract nutrients and water.
The identity of Agalinis decemloba was recently expanded to include A. acuta. Pettengill and Neel (2011) found that there was “insufficient evidence to support the evolutionary distinctiveness of the listed taxon A. acuta. We recommend that it be synonymized under A. decemloba ...” The description and information in this profile follows these recommendations and includes A. acuta.
The plants must be in flower, August to September, to make a positive identification. Fruits and leaves may persist until first frost and can be useful in identification.
Georgia and Alabama, north to New York and Massachusetts. It is rare throughout its range.
Conversion and fragmentation of grassland habitat, herbicide use in rights-of-way and farm fields, and fire suppression.
Ten-lobed Purple Foxglove is ranked S1 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that it is critically imperiled in Georgia. Only two populations are known, both in northwest Georgia. One occurs in a powerline right-of-way, and is flourishing under the current mowing regime. Another along a farm road has not been observed since 1990.
Encourage right-of-way owners and managers to use mowing and fire instead of herbicides in right-of-way management. Introduce prescribed fire to woodlands and grasslands. Restore prairie and savannah habitats. Collect seeds for safeguarding and seed increase.
GADNR. 2019. Element occurrence records for Agalinis decemloba. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division. Social Circle, Georgia.
NatureServe. 2019. Species account for Agalinis decemloba. NatureServe Explorer: an online encyclopedia of life, Version 7.1. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Accessed 27 June 2019. http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Agalinis+decemloba
Neel, M. C. 2002. Conservation implications of the reproductive ecology of Agalinis acuta (Scrophulariaceae). American Journal of Botany 89(6): 972. doi:10.3732/ajb.89.6.972. PMID 21665696
New York Natural Heritage Program. 2019. NY online conservation guides: Sandplain Agalinis, Agalinis decemloba (Greene) Pennell. New York Natural Heritage Program, Albany, NY. Accessed 29 June 2018. https://guides.nynhp.org/sandplain-agalinis/
Pettengill, J.B. and M.C. Neel. 2011. A sequential approach using genetic and morphological analyses to test species status: the case of United States federally endangered Agalinis acuta (Orobanchaceae). American Journal of Botany 98(5): 859–871. https://bsapubs.onli U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service nelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.3732/ajb.1000267
Radford, A.E., H.E. Ahles, and C.R. Bell. 1968. Manual of the vascular flora of the Carolinas. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill.
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm.
Linda G. Chafin
Linda G. Chafin, 29 July 2019: original account.
