A researcher discovered a ‘rare’ wildflower that only grows in New Jersey—after studying a plant that everyone assumed to belong to another species.
In the Pine Barrens region of southern New Jersey, Temple University researcher Sasha Eisenman helped identify the long mistaken plant as unique to the state—a discovery that could help protect it for years to come.
In research published in Phytotaxa, Eisenman confirmed the plant is distinct from its closest known relatives, and formally named it Triantha × novacaesariensis—a Latinization of New Jersey.
“It’s very special, very rare (and) only exists in this one place in the entire world,” said Mr. Eisenman, an associate professor in horticulture.
That place is part of what makes the finding so compelling.
Stretching across nearly a million acres in southern New Jersey, the Pine Barrens National Reserve is one of the region’s most ecologically distinctive landscapes, home to rare habitats and plant life. Eisenman said the discovery is especially striking because the northeastern United States has been studied so extensively.
“To really identify something as new and unique is pretty rare these days,” he said.
For years, the plant, which features clusters of thin, strap-like leaves and white 6-petaled flowers that rise above the surrounding grasses, had been identified as Triantha racemosa, a species typically found much farther south or suspected to be a hybrid of Triantha racemosa and Triantha glutinosa.
To reach that conclusion, Eisenman combined genetics, fieldwork, and historical plant records, and studied plant samples preserved for long-term study, from across the US and Canada. He then compared them with field samples from New Jersey and related populations in Maine; New York; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Alabama; Georgia and Florida.
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The study found that all three New Jersey plants carry a unique genetic signature and have distinct physical traits that set them apart from each other. The two previously known plants are also geographically isolated from the newly named wildflower.
“There’s genetic differences, there’s structural and morphological differences, and there’s also isolation,” Eisenman told Temple News.
That isolation is central to the story. According to the research, the nearest known populations of T. glutinosa and T. racemosa are hundreds of miles away. Eisenman said the evidence suggests the New Jersey plants likely originated long ago when the two species intermingled but have persisted on their own for thousands of years.
“It’s been a stable population or group of populations for a long time,” he said. “It’s not just a chance accident.”
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The finding also carries real conservation value. Because the plant is now officially identified, researchers and land managers have a clearer basis for recognizing its significance and planning for its care.
“It’s really important to have a name on a plant in order for it to be conserved and protected,” Eisenman said. “Until it’s been identified as unique and named with a unique identification, it doesn’t have as much opportunity for protection and stewardship.”
The project began more than a decade ago and drew on support from a wide network of researchers, herbarium curators, and conservation partners across the U.S. and Canada.
For Eisenman, who studies naturally occurring and cultivated plants, the discovery reflects both a longstanding interest in plants and a broader commitment to sustainability.
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The next step is for New Jersey to figure out how best to protect it.
“For a rare plant tucked into one of New Jersey’s most distinctive natural landscapes, being formally recognized and given a name could make all the difference,” he concluded.
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