Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Geocaulon lividum
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Photo © 2004, 2005 by Anderson Smith.
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Introductory
SPECIES: Geocaulon lividum
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Matthews, Robin F. 1994. Geocaulon lividum. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/forb/geoliv/all.html [].
Revisions : On 7 October 2014, the common name of this species was changed from: northern comandra
to: false toadflax, and the photo above was added.
ABBREVIATION :
GEOLIV
SYNONYMS :
Comandra livida Richards [[14]
SCS PLANT CODE :
COLI3
COMMON NAMES :
false toadflax
northern comandra
northern toadflax
timberberry
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name of false toadflax is Geocaulon
lividum (Richardson) Fern. (Santalaceae) [13,26,28,35]. There are no
recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms.
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
See OTHER STATUS
OTHER STATUS :
The Montana Natural Heritage Program lists false toadflax as globally
secure (G4) but imperiled in Montana (S2) because of rarity or because
other factors make it vulnerable to extirpation [20]. The U.S. Forest
Service classifies false toadflax as sensitive in Montana; it has
been located on the Flathead and Kootenai National Forests [31].
False toadflax is included on Maine's list of Plant Species of
Special Concern [43] and is considered threatened in New Hampshire [40];
however, it is widespread in the Mahoosuc Range on the Maine-New
Hampshire border [29,40]. It is also threatened in New York and has
been assigned a state rank of S1 (critically imperiled in New York state
because of extreme rarity or is extremely vulnerable to extirpation from
New York State due to biological factors) [41,42]. False toadflax
was known from a single site in Vermont, a tiny bog on Mt. Mansfield,
but has not been found since 1901 and is now presumed extirpated in that
state [40].
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Geocaulon lividum
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
False toadflax is distributed from Newfoundland to Alaska south to
northern Washington, northern Idaho, northwest Montana, New England, New
York, and northern portions of the Great Lakes States [9,13,14,20,26].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES19 Aspen - birch
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
FRES28 Western hardwoods
STATES :
AK ID ME MI MN MT NH NY WA WI
AB BC MB NB NF NT NS ON PQ SK
YT
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
5 Columbia Plateau
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K094 Conifer bog
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
1 Jack pine
5 Balsam fir
12 Black spruce
13 Black spruce - tamarack
16 Aspen
18 Paper birch
35 Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
37 Northern white-cedar
38 Tamarack
201 White spruce
202 White spruce - paper birch
203 Balsam poplar
204 Black spruce
206 Engelmann spruce - subalpine fir
217 Aspen
222 Black cottonwood - willow
251 White spruce - aspen
252 Paper birch
253 Black spruce - white spruce
254 Black spruce - paper birch
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
False toadflax is not listed as a dominant or codominant understory
species in available publications.
Species commonly associated with false toadflax throughout its range
include American green alder (Alnus viridis ssp. crispa), bog Labrador
tea (Ledum groenlandicum), bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi), willow
(Salix spp.), crowberry (Empetrum nigrum), twinflower (Linnaea
borealis), prickly rose (Rosa acicularis), mountain cranberry (Vaccinium
vitis-idaea), bog blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), highbush cranberry
(Viburnum edule), bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), one-sided wintergreen
(Pyrola secunda), bluejoint reedgrass (Calamagrostis canadensis),
horsetails (Equisetum spp.), feathermosses (Hylocomium splendens and
Pleurozium schreberi), and lichens (Cladonia spp. and Peltigera
aphthosa) [3,5,21,38].
False toadflax has a significantly (p<.10) higher presence (a
classification of relative frequency values) in black spruce (Picea
mariana) forests than in white spruce (P. glauca) forests throughout the
boreal spruce-fir forests of North America [19].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Geocaulon lividum
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
In Alaska, spruce grouse consume small amounts of false toadflax
berries in the fall [7]. The berries are also eaten by red-backed
voles [37].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
False toadflax is an alternate host for the canker-producing comandra
blister rust fungus (Cronartium comandrae). The rust infects jack pine
(Pinus banksiana) but is not a "serious enemy" [35].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Geocaulon lividum
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
False toadflax is a perennial, hemiparasitic forb. It has creeping
rhizomes, located in the humus layer of the soil. The leafy stems are 4
to 12 inches (10-30 cm) tall. The inflorescence is a cymule with two to
three green or purple flowers. The central flower is perfect, but the
others have stamens only. The fruit is a one-seeded, orange drupe
[9,13,28,35,36].
False toadflax is a root parasite that forms haustoria (lateral
outgrowths of the root) which connect it to a host's roots or rhizomes.
The haustoria are white when young but become brown with age. They have
been described in detail. Some host genera include spruce (Picea spp.),
pine (Pinus spp.), birch (Betula spp.), willow (Salix spp.), alder
(Alnus spp.), and twinflower (Linnaea spp.). A more complete list of
host genera is available [36].
False toadflax is difficult to distinguish from low sweet
blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) varieties, and from bog blueberry
(V. uliginosum var. alpinum) [29]. It also closely resembles bastard
toadflax (Comandra umbellata) [40].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
Geophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
False toadflax presumably reproduces by seed and sprouting from
rhizomes. However, specific information on regeneration is not
available in the literature. Zasada [39] stated that undisturbed
feathermoss mats may inhibit germination of false toadflax seeds, but
not vegetative reproduction.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
False toadflax is found in bogs and moist coniferous or deciduous
woods [6,13,20,28]. It often occupies acid or sterile soils and damp
sands [26]. In British Columbia, false toadflax is an indicator of
continental boreal and cool temperate climates and nitrogen-poor soils.
It is found in montane to subalpine coniferous forests [17]. In New
England, false toadflax is found from sea level to 4,100 feet (1,200
m) elevation [15,29,40]. Populations in Montana are found in moist
spruce (Picea spp.) forests, often bordering wetland areas, from 3,000
to 3,300 feet (900-1,000 m) elevation [20].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
False toadflax is found in both open and closed, mature white spruce
and black spruce forests in Alaska that range in age from 70 to over 180
years [4,21,25].
False toadflax often occupies bottomland spruce-hardwood forests on
floodplains of the taiga of Alaska. It is found in balsam poplar
(Populus balsamifera) and black cottonwood (P. trichocarpa) stands with
thick shrub understories that follow the initial shrub (alder and
willow) stage after flooding. These stands are usually present for 20
to 100 years and are then replaced by white spruce if subsequent
flooding has not occurred. False toadflax persists through the
spruce stage and can be found in closed white spruce stands with a thick
feathermoss mat. Greatest cover is reached in later successional stages
such as in open white spruce stands (250+ years old), and in black
spruce stands on older terraces above the active floodplain [23,34].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
False toadflax flowers from May to August [9,13,28].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Geocaulon lividum
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Little information is available on false toadflax fire survival
strategies. It probably survives fire by sprouting from buried
rhizomes. Since fires in riparian and mesic sites are often
discontinuous, false toadflax may also colonize from unburned
patches.
False toadflax is present in black spruce and jack pine woodlands
that result from fire and have a fire return interval of less than 100
years, and often as little as 50 years [2,22,27].
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Geocaulon lividum
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
False toadflax is probably top-killed by most fires. Survival of
rhizomes is dependent on depth of burial and fire severity.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
False toadflax is found in postfire communities in the taiga of
interior Alaska. It may be present after fire in white spruce forests
on floodplains and river terraces on sites that are well drained, or in
black spruce forests that are poorly drained and underlain by
permafrost. False toadflax generally appears early in postfire
succession, increases slowly, and reaches greatest cover in late
successional, spruce-dominated forest. Mean percent frequency (f) and
cover (c) of false toadflax in postfire communities on white spruce
or black spruce sites follow [10]:
White spruce Black spruce
Stage Postfire YR f c Postfire YR f c
_____________________________________________________________________
Newly burned 0-1 0 0 0-1 2 <0.5
Moss-herb 1-5 4 <0.5 1-5 2 <0.5
Tall shrub-sapling 3-30 9 <0.5 5-30 1 <0.5
Dense tree 26-45 0 0 30-55 28 1
Hardwood 46-150 6 <0.5 -- -- --
Mixed hardwood-spruce -- -- -- 56-90 23 1
Spruce 150-300+ 60 3 91-200+ 70 4
In northeast Alaska, false toadflax was present on one of four sites
in postfire year 4 following the Porcupine River Fire of August, 1950.
The fire had burned all or most of the undecomposed material present and
was considered "severe" on the site where false toadflax was found.
False toadflax was present in postfire years 7 and 11, but was not
reported in postfire years 23 or 31 [11].
False toadflax had the following percent frequency and cover in
severely burned stands after the Wickersham Dome Fire near Fairbanks,
Alaska in June of 1971 [33]:
Black spruce Aspen
f c f c
_________________________________________________________________
1971 5 .05 -- --
1972 10 .10 0 0
1973 15 .25 0 0
1974 5 .05 0 0
unburned control 90 2.60 20 .65
In postfire succession in white spruce, black spruce, and balsam fir
(Abies balsamifera) stands on Isle Royale, Michigan, false toadflax
increases with stand age. It remains relatively unimportant in stands
less than 100 years old, then steadily increases until stands reach 200+
years of age [16].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Geocaulon lividum
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FEIS Home Page
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