Never let it be said that all the wonders in the world have ben discovered. A Vermont botanist has found a rare plant in the state not seen in over a century. It's a tiny floodplain herb.
Grace Glynn said she's been hunting for the false mermaid-weed (Floerkea proserpinacoides) since she started her job. It only took her a year to track down the herb, so let's all give a round applauds to her keen eye. No one has seen the herb since 1916 making the find even that more impressive.
Glynn came across the small herb earlier this year. She noticed that the plant was actually unnoticed in the background of another rare specimen that the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department took. Excited by the discovery, she visited the area and found the plant near a stream. She also located more of the plant downstream.
In a Facebook post, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department celebrated the accomplishment. They wrote, "Since 1916, no botanist has seen false mermaid-weed (Floerkea proserpinacoides) in Vermont... until now! Grace Glynn, our new state botanist, has been on the hunt for this tiny floodplain herb since starting the job about a year ago. Earlier this spring her persistence paid off when Grace recognized a sprig of false mermaid-weed in the background of a photo of another rare plant sent in by colleague Molly Parren. One lightning fast field visit later, Grace had confirmed false mermaid-weed on a private streamside parcel in Addison County! A second visit, and she had located more of the elusive plant on public conservation land just downstream of the original site."
