APSU biology professor awarded state contract to study endangered plants
October 1, 2011
Clarksville, TN – The Braun’s rock-cress is a strange-looking little plant with star-shaped hairs covering its stems and leaves. It grows almost exclusively in the shade, usually around rock outcroppings in forests, and if you were to happen upon it, you might mistake it for a weed.
The odds of you finding a Braun’s rock-cress, however, are extremely rare. The peculiar plant is only found in two areas of the world, and in the mid-1990s, it was listed as a federally endangered species. Earlier this year, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation awarded APSU professor of biology Dr. Carol Baskauf a $10,000 contract to study the population genetics of the plant species, and her research may provide valuable information aiding efforts to protect this plant. [Read more]