April 24, 2026
Provided Image/Yianni Laskaris for Temple University
A Temple University scientist discovered that a New Jersey wildflower, above, is a biologically unique species that only grows in the Pine Barrens.
A Temple University researcher discovered that a wildflower in the Pine Barrens is a rare species that only grows in New Jersey.
The plant, which has been formally named Triantha × novacaesariensis, has thin leaves and white flowers with six petals. It's taller than many grasses and provides food for a variety of pollinators.
Botanists have been aware of the plant for over 100 years, long believing it was a variety of Triantha racemosa — which is known as coastal false asphodel and grows in Southeastern United States. In the early 2000s, though, researchers suggested it could be a hybrid of that wildflower and Triantha glutinosa — which is known as sticky false asphodel and grows in New England and Canada. Those differences in classification hadn't been explored until Sasha Eisenman, a botanist and department chair at Temple's Tyler School of Art and Architecture, began researching.
"It was never really understood what the status of the New Jersey material was, and it was never really studied and defined in any further detail," Eisenman said. "That has left this question mark in the botanical community about this particular population of plants in New Jersey, and that's where I came into the story, really wanting to fully understand what is the status of this particular group of plants."
His research showed the New Jersey variety has its own genetic traits and physical attributes and is geographically isolated from both of those other species, meaning it is not a variety of either. In fact, Eisenman said it's so rare that it appears to only grow in the Burlington County portion of the national preserve.
It being exclusive to the Pine Barrens was key in proving that it was a new species. Both varieties of asphodel are hundreds of miles away — too far for the New Jersey plant to develop from them. Eisenman said the species likely originated in the same place, but they have been on their own for thousands of years.
Eisenman used genetic analysis, historical records and fieldwork to come to his conclusion. The university said he studied samples from Maine, New York, Alabama, Georgia and Florida and compared those with what was found in New Jersey.
Now that the wildflower has been identified, local conservationists and scientists can plan for its care and learn more about its significance. Eisenman said his study was peer-reviewed, and the findings could mean a protected status for the plant.
The discovery also further shows the unique biodiversity of the Pine Barrens, which has been studied extensively and is home to many rare habitats and plants.
"Even though this region of our country and the natural environment has been a center of botanical work for so long, there are still interesting and novel things to discover," Eisenman said. "It also is part of this very unique habitat and assemblage of plants that exist in that habitat."
