View source for Biology:Hexastylis contracta

{{Short description|Species of flowering plant}}
{{speciesbox
|image = Hexastylis contracta.jpg
|status = G3
|status_system = TNC
|status_ref = <ref name=natureserve>{{Cite web
 | publisher =[[Organization:NatureServe|NatureServe]]
 | title = ''Hexastylis contracta''
 | url = http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Hexastylis+contracta+
 | accessdate = 2017-01-15}}</ref>
|genus = Hexastylis
|species = contracta
|authority = Blomquist
|}}

'''''Hexastylis contracta''''', commonly known as the '''mountain heartleaf''',<ref name=Weakley>{{cite web |url=http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm |title= Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States}}</ref> is a species of flowering plant in the [[Biology:Aristolochiaceae|pipevine family]].

It is native to eastern North America, where it has an unusual distribution. It is nearly endemic to the Cumberland Plateau of Kentucky and {{wipe|Tennessee}}, but there are disjunct populations in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina and Virginia.<ref name=Weakley/><ref>{{BONAP|ref|genus=Hexastylis|species=contracta|accessdate=15 January 2017}}</ref> Its preferred habitat is the deep shade of acidic forests, often growing under ''[[Biology:Kalmia latifolia|Kalmia latifolia]]'' and ''[[Biology:Rhododendron maximum|Rhododendron maximum]]''.<ref name=Weakley/><ref>[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=233500666 Flora of North America]</ref> Due to its restricted range, it is considered vulnerable.<ref name=natureserve/>

It flowers in late spring, where it produces a tube shaped flower at ground level.<ref>[http://eppcapp.ky.gov/nprareplants/details.aspx?species=Hexastylis+contracta Kentucky State Nature Preserves Commission]</ref>

==References==
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q18033036}}

[[Category:Aristolochiaceae]]

{{Sourceattribution|Hexastylis contracta}}