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Shortia galacifolia Torr. & Gray
Oconee Bells
Federal Protection: No US federal protection
State Protection: Endangered
Global Rank: G2G3
State Rank: S1
Element Locations Tracked in Biotics: Yes
SWAP 2015 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
SWAP 2025 Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN): Yes
2025 SGCN Priority Tier: High Conservation Concern
Element Occurrences (EOs) in Georgia: 3
Habitat Summary for element in Georgia: Mesic forests with mountain laurel and rhododendron
Perennial herb forming clumps of leaves along horizontal stems (stolons) creeping across the ground, sometimes forming a dense groundcover. The leaves are 1 - 3 inches (3 - 8 cm) long, alternate, round or oval, shiny, leathery, dark green with a network of pale veins, a heart-shaped base, flat or slightly indented tip, and coarsely toothed margins, each tooth with a tiny, pointed tip; the leaves turn maroon and persist during the winter. The leaf stalk is 1.5 - 6 inches (4 - 15 cm) long. Flowers are white, bell-shaped, nodding and held singly at the top of a stalk up to 7 inches (18 cm) tall, each flower with 5 white or pale pink, toothed petals; the stamens are topped with flap-like anthers pointing inwards. The fruit is a 3-valved capsule up to 0.2 inch (5 - 6 mm) long.
Oconee Bells resembles Galax (Galax urceolata), but Galax leaves are always round with rounded tips; the leaf margins are finely toothed; the teeth have bristles but not pointed tips; and the veins are not pale and conspicuous. Galax flowers are tiny and held in a long, erect, slender spike.
None in Georgia.
Moist, forested slopes along mountain streams bordered by Rhododendron and Mountain Laurel. Plants flourish in small, sunny gaps in this habitat.
Oconee Bells is a perennial herb that reproduces sexually by seed as well as vegetatively by the spread of horizontal stems (stolons) creeping across the ground, rooting at nodes, and producing new plants at nodes. New shoots are produced by mature plants in late summer, along with next year’s flower buds. The flowers of Oconee Bells are pollinated by insects, primarily bees, which are attracted by a mild fragrance and the presence of pollen; there are no nectaries in the flowers. Its seeds are dispersed downslope by gravity and germinate best in patches of bare mineral soil produced by disturbances such as small landslides or tree blowdowns. Seedlings appear in August, overwinter with seed leaves (cotyledons) only, and develop true leaves the following spring. Plants will not flower until they are four or more years old.
Surveys are best conducted during flowering (mid-March–mid-April); the leaves are distinctive year-round (turning maroon in winter) but may be buried in leaf litter.
Northeast Georgia, northwest South Carolina, and adjacent areas of North Carolina, in humid ravines associated with the Appalachian escarpment. Plants outside this range are likely garden escapes or deliberate transplants.
Logging, clearing, road building, and second-home development. Stream impoundment. Invasion by exotic pest plants. Plant poaching.
Shortia galacifolia is ranked S1 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, indicating that the species is critically imperiled in Georgia. It is listed as Endangered by the State of Georgia. Only one population is known in Georgia, on National Forest land; some have speculated that this population was transplanted from a nearby South Carolina site in an effort to rescue plants during Lake Jocassee construction.
Prevent impoundment of mountain and escarpment streams. Avoid logging, clearing, or other disturbance to the canopy and ground layer in mature forests. Eradicate exotic pest plants. Prosecute plant poachers.
Chafin, L.G. 2007. Field guide to the rare plants of Georgia. State Botanical Garden of Georgia and University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Davies, P. A. 1952. Geographical variation in Shortia galacifolia. Rhodora 54: 121-124. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23305397?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Davies, P. A. 1955. Distribution and abundance of Shortia galacifolia. Rhodora 57: 189-201. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23306488?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
GADNR. 2020. Element occurrence records for Shortia galacifolia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Resources Division, Social Circle, Georgia.
Jones, S.M. 1987. Shortia: solving one mystery. Tipularia, Journal of the Georgia Botanical Society 1(2): 23-25.
Jones, S.M. and M.K. Augspurger. 1988. Seed germination and phenology of Shortia galacifolia T. & G. (Diapensiaceae). Castanea 53: 140-148. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4033335?seq=1#metadata_info_tab_contents
Kral, R. 1983. A report on some rare, threatened, or endangered forest-related vascular plants of the South. Technical Publication R8-TP2. United States Forest Service, Atlanta.
Massey, J.R., D.K.S. Otte, T.A. Atkinson, and R.D. Whetstone. 1983. Atlas and illustrated guide to the threatened and endangered vascular plants of the mountains of North Carolina and Virginia, Technical Report SE-20. Department of Agriculture, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Asheville, North Carolina. https://www.srs.fs.fed.us/pubs/684
NatureServe. 2020. Shortia galacifolia species account. NatureServe Explorer. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.149979/Shortia_galacifolia
Nesom, G. Shortia galacifolia species account. Flora of North America, vol. 8. http://beta.floranorthamerica.org/Shortia_galacifolia
Patrick, T.S., J.R. Allison, and G.A. Krakow. 1995. Protected plants of Georgia. Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Natural Heritage Program, Social Circle.
Vivian, V.E. 1967. Shortia galacifolia: life history and microclimatic requirements. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club 94: 369-387.
Weakley, A.S. 2015. Flora of the southern and mid-Atlantic States. University of North Carolina Herbarium, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.herbarium.unc.edu/flora.htm
Linda G. Chafin
L.Chafin, Aug. 2008: original account.
D.Weiler, Feb. 2010: added pictures.
L. Chafin, May 2020: updated original account.
