# Howellia

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howellia
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{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants}}
{{Speciesbox
|image = Howelliaaquatilis.jpg
|status = G3
|status_system=TNC
|status_ref=<ref>{{cite web|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.136199/Howellia_aquatilis|title=''Howellia aquatilis''|author=NatureServe|publisher=NatureServe|location=Arlington, Virginia|website=NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer|access-date=3 April 2023|date=3 March 2023}}</ref>
|status2 = DL
|status2_system = ESA
|status2_ref = <ref name=fr86>{{Federal Register|86|31955}}</ref>
|display_parents = 2
|genus = Howellia
|parent_authority = [A.Gray](/source/Asa_Gray)
|species = aquatilis
|authority = A.Gray
}}

'''''Howellia aquatilis''''', the '''water howellia''', is a small plant in the family [Campanulaceae](/source/Campanulaceae) that was considered a federally threatened species between 1994<ref>{{Federal Register|59|35860}}</ref> and 2021 under the [Endangered Species Act of 1973](/source/Endangered_Species_Act_of_1973).<ref name=fr86/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/07/2019-21645/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-removal-of-howellia-aquatilis-water-howellia-from-the|title=Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removal of Howellia aquatilis (Water Howellia) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Plants|date=2019-10-07|website=Federal Register|access-date=2019-10-06}}</ref> It is the only species in the monotypic genus '''''Howellia'''''.<ref name=cpc>{{Cite web |url=http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/collection/cpc_viewprofile.asp?CPCNum=2278 |title=Center for Plant Conservation. |access-date=2011-04-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110807124520/http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/collection/cpc_viewprofile.asp?CPCNum=2278 |archive-date=2011-08-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [Thomas Jefferson Howell](/source/Thomas_Jefferson_Howell_(botanist)) and Joseph Howell discovered the species in 1878.<ref name=Companion>{{cite book |last= Engeman |first= Richard H. |title= The Oregon Companion: An Historical Gazetteer of The Useful, The Curious, and The Arcane |year= 2009 |publisher= [Timber Press](/source/Timber_Press) |location= [Portland](/source/Portland%2C_Oregon), [Oregon](/source/Oregon) |isbn= 978-0-88192-899-0 |page= 184}}</ref>

==Distribution==
The water howellia is found in large area of the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It can be found in [California](/source/California), [Idaho](/source/Idaho), [Montana](/source/Montana), and [Washington](/source/Washington_(state)), and it is known historically from [Oregon](/source/Oregon).<ref name=fed>[http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=Q2RM USFWS Species Profile.]</ref>

The plant grows in [wetland](/source/wetland) habitat surrounded by forests, which provide organic material.<ref name=cpc/> Associated tree species include ''[Populus trichocarpa](/source/Populus_trichocarpa)'' (California poplar), ''[P. tremuloides](/source/Populus_tremuloides)'' (quaking aspen), and ''[Fraxinus latifolia](/source/Fraxinus_latifolia)'' (Oregon ash).<ref name=cpc/> The water bodies are located in [glacial pothole](/source/glacial_pothole)s, [river oxbows](/source/Meander), ephemeral ponds, [flood plain](/source/flood_plain)s and other areas that fill with water periodically as snow melts and spring rain falls.<ref name=cpc/>

==Biology==
The plant produces two types of flowers. Submerged [cleistogamous](/source/cleistogamy) flowers remain closed and self-pollinate, and flowers that bloom above the surface of the water open into white blossoms and may cross with other individuals.<ref name=cpc/> Because it often pollinates itself, the species has a low [genetic diversity](/source/genetic_diversity).<ref name=cpc/> Seeds are produced in the water but they require open air for [germination](/source/germination), so they sprout when the wetland has dried in the fall.<ref name=cpc/>

==Conservation==
Threats to this species include loss of habitat to [logging](/source/logging) and draining and conversion to urban use, alteration of the local [hydrology](/source/hydrology) by placement of [dam](/source/dam)s and [dike](/source/Dyke_(construction))s, deposition of [silt](/source/silt), [livestock](/source/livestock) activity, [introduced species](/source/introduced_species) of plants, low genetic diversity, and climate change.<ref name=fs>[http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/rareplants/profiles/tep/howellia_aquatilis/index.shtml USFS Wildflowers.]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://plants.usda.gov/cgi_bin/topics.cgi?earl=plant_profile.cgi&symbol=HOAQ USDA Plants Profile]

{{Taxonbar|from1=Q9005061|from2=Q5921821}}
{{Authority control}}

Category:Lobelioideae
Category:Monotypic Campanulaceae genera

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Howellia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howellia) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howellia?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.