Ragged robin
Lychnis flos-cuculi
Family: Carophyllaceae
Fire effect on plant
Ragged robin will likely be top-killed by low-severity fire, but may be killed by more severe fire.
Key traits
This perennial, nonclonal herb has a rhizome-like pleiocorm (Klimešová et al. 2017). This structure supports a bank of buds at and below the soil surface (on average, six buds per shoot at the soil surface and 11 at a depth of 0-10 cm). The mean bud-bank depth is 4 cm (Klimešová et al. 2017).
Fire effects on seed in unknown. Seed dispersal distances are fairly short (seed is release by a breeze in a typical swaying sensor mechanism at top of stem). Dormant seed is long-persistent, i.e., surviving more than 5 years in the soil (Thompson et al. 1997).
Plant response to fire
The only account found for ragged robin responses to fire is from a Molinia caerulea meadow in Poland that was accidently burned in a (presumably) high-severity fire (Wójcik et al. 2022). Ragged robin was one species of several that was absent from the burnt plots for the 3 years of the study (2-5 years after the fire), suggesting slow regeneration of this population. The sizable bud bank of this species means survival after low-severity fire is likely.
Timing of life history
Perennial species. Seeds likely produced from second growing season. Flowering May to August.
Conservation status
None.
References
Klimešová, J., Danihelka, J., Chrtek, J., de Bello, F. and Herben, T. 2017. CLO-PLA: a database of clonal and budbank traits of the Central European flora. Ecology 98: 1179. [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Wójcik T., Kostrakiewicz-Gierałt, K., Makuch-Pietraś, I. 2022. The effect of accidental burning on habitat conditions and species composition of Molinia caeruleae meadows. Journal for Nature Conservation, 70; 126294 [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]
Thompson, K., Bakker, J. P., Bekker, R.M. 1997. Soil seed banks of NW Europe: methodology,density and longevity. Cambridge University Press. 276 pp [Empirical evidence; Academic literature]