Sabatia kennedyana Fernald. Plymouth Gentian. Phen: Jun-Aug; Aug-Oct. Hab: Seasonally exposed drawdown banks of the Waccamaw River, in adjacent ditches and disturbed flats (in se. NC and ne. SC), in cypress-gum swamps, very wet longleaf pine savannas, and very rarely on shores of beaver ponds (in e. VA, by introduction). Dist: This species has a strange, disjunct range, likely related to Pleistocene refugia on the (now) Continental shelf, present in s. NS; e. MA and RI; se. NC and ne. SC. The record of the species in e. VA (Caroline County) reported by Fleming & Ludwig (1996) has now been determined to be a deliberate introduction.

Origin/Endemic status: Native

Taxonomy Comments: Suarez-Gonzalez et al. (2015) presented evidence about genetic differentiation in the disjunct populations of this species.

Synonymy: = C, F, FNA14, GW2, K1, K3, K4, NE, Va, Wilbur (1955); = Sabatia dodecandra (L.) Britton, Sterns, & Poggenb. var. kennedyana (Fernald) H.E.Ahles – RAB

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Wetland Indicator Status:

• Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain: OBL
• Northcentral & Northeast: OBL

Heliophily: 9