Orbexilum macrophyllum (Rowlee in Small) Rydberg. Subgenus: Orbexilum. Bigleaf Scurfpea. Phen: Jun; Jul-Aug? Hab: Wooded slopes of mountain on Blue Ridge escarpment, precise habitat not known (probably nutrient-rich dry woodlands). Dist: This species was discovered on 18 June 1897 and subsequently collected on 8 June 1899 by E.C. Townsend, somewhere on the double peak of Tryon Mountain and White Oak Mountain, Polk County, NC, a phytogeographically interesting area with disjunct, endemic, and relictual species largely of midwestern affinities
Origin/Endemic status: Endemic
Other Comments: It is currently presumed to be extinct, following a number of unsuccessful attempts to relocate it. Isely (1990) states that the assignment of "this distinctive species" to Orbexilum is "reasonably assumptive," since fruits have never been seen.
Synonymy: = K1, K3, K4, S, SE3, Grimes (1988), Grimes (1990), Isely (1998), Turner (2008); = Psoralea macrophylla Rowlee in Small – RAB, W
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