Index of Species Information
SPECIES: Coptis trifolia
Introductory
SPECIES: Coptis trifolia
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Sullivan, Janet. 1992. Coptis trifolia. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/forb/coptri/all.html [].
Revisions--Scientific and common names changed from: Coptis groenlandica, goldenthread
to: threeleaf goldthread, Coptis trifolia on 6 June 2014. These citations: [45, 49]
were also added then.
ABBREVIATION :
COPTRI
SYNONYMS :
Coptis groenlandica (Oeder) Fern. [12,24,25,45]
Coptis trifolia (L.) Salisb. var. groenlandica (Oeder) Fassett
Coptis trifolia (L.) Salisb. subsp. groenlandica (Oeder) Hultén [45]
NRCS PLANT CODE :
COTR2
COMMON NAMES :
threeleaf goldthread
trifoliate goldthread
Alaska goldthread
canker-root
TAXONOMY :
The scientific name for threeleaf goldthread is Coptis trifolia (L.) Salisb. [45, 49].
LIFE FORM :
Forb
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Coptis trifolia
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Threeleaf goldthread is distributed from Labrador south to Maryland and in the
Appalachian Mountains to North Carolina and Tennessee. It extends west
to Alaska in small pockets across Canada, with a more continuous
distribution in Alaska and British Columbia [24,29].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES18 Maple - beech - birch
FRES19 Aspen - birch
FRES20 Douglas-fir
FRES22 Western white pine
FRES23 Fir - spruce
FRES24 Hemlock - Sitka spruce
STATES :
AK CT DE IN IL IA ME MD MA MI
MN NH NJ NY NC OH PA RI TN VT
VA WV WI AB BC MB NB NF NT NS
ON PE PQ SK YT
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
1 Northern Pacific Border
2 Cascade Mountains
8 Northern Rocky Mountains
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K001 Spruce - cedar - hemlock forest
K002 Cedar - hemlock - Douglas-fir forest
K012 Douglas - fir forest
K013 Cedar - hemlock - pine forest
K015 Western spruce - fir forest
K020 Spruce - fir - Douglas-fir forest
K093 Great Lakes spruce - fir forest
K094 Conifer bog
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest
K099 Maple - basswood forest
K102 Beech - maple forest
K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
K106 Northern hardwoods
K107 Northern hardwoods - fir forest
K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
1 Jack pine
5 Balsam fir
12 Black spruce
13 Black spruce - tamarack
16 Aspen
18 Paper birch
20 White pine - northern red oak - red maple
21 Eastern white pine
22 White pine - hemlock
23 Eastern hemlock
24 Hemlock - yellow birch
25 Sugar maple - beech - yellow birch
27 Sugar maple
28 Black cherry - maple
30 Red spruce - yellow birch
31 Red spruce - sugar maple - beech
32 Red spruce
33 Red spruce - balsam fir
34 Red spruce - Fraser fir
35 Paper birch - red spruce - balsam fir
37 Northern white-cedar
38 Tamarack
51 White pine - chestnut oak
60 Beech - sugar maple
107 White spruce
201 White spruce
202 White spruce - paper birch
204 Black spruce
205 Mountain hemlock
215 Western white pine
223 Sitka spruce
224 Western hemlock
225 Western hemlock - Sitka spruce
226 Coastal true fir - hemlock
227 Western redcedar - western hemlock
228 Western redcedar
229 Pacific Douglas-fir
230 Douglas-fir - western hemlock
251 White spruce - aspen
253 Black spruce - white spruce
254 Black spruce - paper birch
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Threeleaf goldthread is commonly associated with cool, moist habitats on poor to
moderately well drained soils at low to middle elevations [10]. It
often occurs in or near peatlands of various types [21]. It occurs in a
number of plant associations but is not considered indicative of
particular associations, although it is more often associated with
coniferous canopies than with hardwood [4].
In Ontario, threeleaf goldthread is usually associated with sites under or near
black spruce (Picea mariana), as opposed to sites that are open or near
other tree species [8]. In northern Idaho, it usually grows underneath
western white pine (Pinus monticola) stands in association with other
moisture-loving plants [30]. In Michigan, it is scattered in open
coniferous forests on gleysolic or organic soils on sites receiving
water. It is common in nutrient-poor wetlands and is an oxylophytic
species characteristic of Mor humus formations [26]. In New York, it
occurs in riparian areas [7]. In Labrador, threeleaf goldthread is a
wide-ranging, upland species that occurs on a variety of soil types from
boggy to well-drained [14,23].
Threeleaf goldthread is considered diagnostic for particular edaphic conditions
[6] (see Site Characteristics). It occurs as a dominant understory
species in an eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis)-wild lily-of-the-valley
(Maianthemum canadense)-threeleaf goldthread type found in low lying areas in
northern Wisconsin and Michigan [6,27]. It is considered indicative of
minerotrophic water (water that carries mineral nutrients into the peat)
in peatlands [22]. It is an understory dominant in the mountain hemlock
(Tsuga mertensiana)-yellow cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis)/blueberry
(Vaccinium spp.) type, the western hemlock-yellow cedar/blueberry/skunk
cabbage (Lysichiton americanum) type, the Sitka spruce (Picea
sitchensis)/blueberry/American skunkcabbage type, and the mountain
hemlock/blueberry types of both low and high elevations [10].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS
SPECIES: Coptis trifolia
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Threeleaf goldthread foliage is used as food in small amounts by ruffed grouse
[18,19].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
COVER VALUE :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
NO-ENTRY
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Native Americans chewed threeleaf goldthread roots to treat mouth sores. They
also made tea from the roots to treat mouth sores. The tea was also
used as an eyewash, to treat indigestion, and as a tonic after prolonged
illness [39].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Coptis trifolia
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Threeleaf goldthread is a small, scapose, evergreen forb. It has a long, slender
creeping rhizome that is a bright golden yellow. With no main stem,
threeleaf goldthread is many branched and frequently matted [12,40,46].
Threeleaf goldthread forms endomycorrhizal associations [34].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Hemicryptophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Threeleaf goldthread propagates from rhizomes and tends to form colonies [20,47].
No documentation on seed set or fertility is available.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Threeleaf goldthread is common in coniferous forests, swamps, bogs, and road
banks [41]. It occurs in thickets, mossy places, cedar swamps, and in a
diversity of damp woods and banks [24,46]. Threeleaf goldthread is most
frequently found in low light, cool, moist conditions on relatively
infertile soils [1,9,13,17,47]. It usually occurs on Histosolic or
Spodosolic soils (podzolic soils), which are poorly drained and acidic,
with a deep, often not well-decomposed, organic layer [7,20,23,31,47].
Plant associates not listed in Distribution and Occurrence include:
Shrubs: Hairy raspberry (Rubus pubescens), lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium
angustifolium [V. myrtilloides]), wild sarsaparilla (Aralia nudicaulis),
bog blueberry (Vaccinium uliginosum), lingonberry (V. vitis-idaea),
Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), speckled alder (Alnus rugosa),
partridge berry (Mitchella repens), raspberry (Rubus idaea), willow
(Salix pyrifolia), small cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus), Viburnum
alnifolium, American fly honeysuckle (Lonicera canadensis), laurel
(Kalmia angustifolia) [2,8,21,31,34,43].
Forbs: Bunchberry (Cornus canadensis), Cypripedium acaule, wild
lily-of-the-valley, starflower (Trientalis borealis), woodsorrel (Oxalis
montana), yellow beadlily (Clintonia borealis), sedge (Carex spp.),
creeping wintergreen (Gaultheria hispidula), goldenrod (Solidago
macrophylla), violet (Viola spp.), bedstraw (Galium spp.), Aster
ciliolatus, softleaved sedge (Carex disperma), leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne
calyculata), common fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium), glandular
willowweed (E. glandulosum), woodland horsetail (Equisetum sylvaticum),
Virginia strawberry (Fragaria virginiana), naked miterwort (Mitella
nuda), Smilacina trifolia, mountain lover (Pachystima myrsinites), robin
run-away (Dalibarda repens) [2,8,19,20,21,31,39,43].
Ferns and allies: Hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctiloba), moonwort
(Botrychium spp.), woodferns (Dryopteris cristata, D. carthusiana, D.
spinulosa), clubmosses (Lycopodium obscurum, L. annotinum, L.
ludiculum), interrupted fern (Osmunda claytoniana) [19,20,31,43,39].
Mosses: Calliergonella schreber, Hypnum cristacastrensis, Bazzania
trilobata, Deiranum scoparium, feathermoss (Pleurozium schreberi),
Ptilidium ciliare, Sphagnum spp. [2,8,22,39]
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Threeleaf goldthread is not tolerant of disturbance and disappears after logging,
although it is not clear whether its disappearance is due to loss of the
canopy or mechanical damage to the roots [30]. It appears to be
intolerant of closed canopies but does require some shade, possibly
because of its preference for moist sites [26,42].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Flowering occurs from May to July, depending on latitude [12,46].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Coptis trifolia
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Threeleaf goldthread does not appear to be well adapted to fire, despite its
rhizomatous habit. It is shallow rooted and occurs in areas that tend
to have long fire rotations (up to 500 years) [15].
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
Rhizomatous herb, rhizome in soil
Ground residual colonizer (on-site, initial community)
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Coptis trifolia
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Threeleaf goldthread will survive cool fires, sprouting from the rhizome if
top-killed. However, the rhizome is sufficiently near the surface that
it may be killed by moderate-severity fires. Removal of the overstory
appears to have a negative effect on threeleaf goldthread survival
[5,14,15,42,44].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
After both spring and fall prescribed fires, threeleaf goldthread responded with
vigorous vegetative reproduction but no seed production. Both fires
were relatively cool, consuming only the surface litter layer.
Overstory scorch was limited to 6.6 feet (2 m), and flame heights were
no higher than 20 inches (50 cm) [5]. In New Brunswick, a similarly
cool prescribed fire resulted in patchy charring of the surface litter
and negligible removal of the organic matter. Vegetation returned
quickly from surviving rhizomes [44]. In a study of post wildfire
changes in average individual biomass, threeleaf goldthread increased from 0.0004
ounce (0.01 gm) dry weight per individual to 0.001 ounce (0.03 gm) per
individual. No population decline was indicated [48].
In other studies of post wildfire succession, threeleaf goldthread reappeared
slowly [33,42]. Threeleaf goldthread was found to decrease significantly after a
wildfire in a black spruce-feathermoss forest [15]. In a study to
increase lowbush blueberry, removal of the overstory by logging in the
fall of 1949 followed by prescribed fires in the spring of 1951 and the
spring of 1952 resulted in a severe decline of threeleaf goldthread [20].
In a postfire successional study, threeleaf goldthread did not reappear in burned
plots until crown cover developed to 40 percent or more [33].
Similarly, Shafi [42] reports that threeleaf goldthread increased gradually after
wildfire as the canopy developed, but then the population declined
rapidly as the canopy closed.
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
NO-ENTRY
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Coptis trifolia
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