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Once thought to occur only in its namesake state, the Virginia sneezeweed was listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1998. At the time, there were only 25 confirmed populations in Virginia.
Since then, with support from federal endangered species grants, partners have discovered thriving populations of this perennial plant in Missouri � and a population in Indiana � and have undertaken strategic conservation actions across the species� range to advance its recovery.
Thanks to these efforts, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is proposing to remove the Virginia sneezeweed from the list of threatened and endangered species.
Despite its name, the Virginia sneezeweed's path to recovery all started with a botanical mystery in Missouri.
A puzzling specimen
In October 1957, when most Americans were gazing skyward for sightings of Sputnik, Julian Steyermark was captivated by something he found growing on the side of the road in Missouri.
A respected botanist who literally wrote the book on Missouri’s flora, Steyermark was the right person to stumble upon a mysterious plant. But he was stumped. It was “a most puzzling specimen of Helenium,� he recalled in an article published in 1960 in Rhodora, the journal of the New England Botanical Club.
Helenium, a genus of perennial plants in the sunflower family, commonly known as “sneezeweed,� is not rare in Missouri. But Steyermark’s specimen didn’t quite match either of the known native species: common sneezeweed and purple-headed sneezeweed. It had characteristics of both.
He theorized it was a hybrid of the two.
Clue to lost treasure
John Knox had a different hypothesis. In October 1989, he drove 800 miles from Lexington, Virginia, to Pomona, Missouri � the site of Steyermark’s discovery � following directions the botanist left in the footnote to his entry for common sneezeweed in the “Flora of Missouri.� A clue to lost treasure.
Knox, a professor at Washington and Lee University, collected seeds and brought them back to Virginia to see if the plant was what he thought it was. Not a hybrid of two Heleniums, but an unexpected occurrence of another one: Helenium virginicum, or Virginia sneezeweed, a species Knox studied in Virginia.
He confirmed the plant's identity through a multi-year “common garden� experiment, which involves transplanting different plant species to the same controlled environment to compare their development.
In 1998, the identity of the Steyermark’s puzzling Helenium became a question of national interest when the Virginia sneezeweed was listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act. Confirming that this plant was growing in Missouri could be a step toward recovery.
It turned out to be a giant step.
Successful search party
In 2001, Knox’s finding was reaffirmed through genetic analysis. Soon after, Rhonda Rimer, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s recovery lead for Virginia sneezeweed, returned to the site of Steyermark’s discovery with a team of scientists from the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Center for Plant Conservation, and the Service.
They collected seeds for another experiment � a pilot propagation effort in which they successfully grew Virginia sneezeweed in a greenhouse and transplanted the plants to two sites on public land near the parent population.
Supported by federal endangered species grants, the partners also surveyed for and found dozens of new populations of Virginia sneezeweed in roadside ditches and on private land � thanks to landowners who welcomed requests from botanists to search for it. They found other populations on rights-of-way, and the Missouri Department of Transportation adjusted its mowing and herbicide spraying regime to better accommodate Virginia sneezeweed while keeping invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.
Learn more about invasive species at bay.
In 2020, the Service published a five-year review, taking into account population, genetic, and habitat data on Virginia sneezeweed collected since 1998, and recommended removing the species from the list of endangered and threatened species because it was no longer likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future.
At the time of listing, the greatest threat to the Virginia sneezeweed was habitat loss from projected future development.
“That anticipated level of development didn't pan out in the parts of Virginia where the species occurs, and of course, we found so many new populations in Missouri that have remained stable over the last two decades,� explained Kim Maison, the Service's lead biologist for the species.
The next chapter
Today there are more than 55 known populations of Virginia sneezeweed in Missouri � more than in Virginia. Of those in Virginia, six are on land managed by the U.S. Forest Service, and two are on state-owned land within Natural Area Preserves managed by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation, specifically dedicated to preserving the ephemeral wetland habitats used by Virginia sneezeweed.
Along with a proposal to delist the species, the Service will be developing a post-delisting monitoring plan in coordination with state partner agencies to monitor the plant for at least five years if a final determination is made to remove the species from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Plants.
Whatever the next chapter brings, Virginia sneezeweed makes the case for looking someplace new to find something that may be hidden in plain sight.
