Quillwort

Common Name: Quillwort

Scientific Name:  Isoetes tegetiformans

Origin: Georgia's granite outcrops

Family: Isoetaceae

Bloom time: Non-blooming

In 2016, the Garden partnered with Plum Creek Timber (now Weyerhauser) and The Nature Conservancy to deepen existing depressions along the high lines of granite outcrops to better safeguard and conserve colonies of mat-forming quillwort (Isoetes tegetiformans). Clonal colonies of I. tegetiformans were collected from selected outcrops for propagation at the Garden. Six solution pools were deepened at two distinct sites, and propagated plant material was inserted into small holes in the granitic soil of the pools. Five of the six pools have retained integrity in their hardpan and support additional populations of Isoetes tegtiformans. Three natural populations are currently safeguarded in ex situ at the Garden.