Research from Sasha Eisenman of Tyler School of Art and Architecture confirms that a Pine Barrens plant is unique to New Jersey, unlocking new opportunities for conservation.

In the Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey, Temple researcher Sasha Eisenman helped identify a rare plant—long mistaken for something else—as unique to the state. The discovery could help protect it for years to come.

Now, in research published in Phytotaxa, Eisenman, chair and associate professor in the departments of Architecture and Environmental Design and Landscape Architecture and Horticulture at Temple’s Tyler School of Art and Architecture, confirms the plant is distinct from its closest known relatives. The study formally names it Triantha × novacaesariensis, a plant that exists only in New Jersey.

For years, the plant had been identified as Triantha racemosa, a species typically found much farther south or suspected to be a hybrid of Triantha racemosa and Triantha glutinosa. But Eisenman’s research found the New Jersey population is genetically distinct, physically different in key ways and geographically isolated from both. In the Pine Barrens, the plant features clusters of thin, strap-like leaves and nearly white six-petaled flowers that rise above the surrounding grasses and native plants.

“It’s very special, very rare,” Eisenman said. “It only exists in this one place in the entire world.”

That place is part of what makes the finding so compelling.

Stretching across nearly a million acres in southern New Jersey, the Pine Barrens National Reserve is one of the region’s most ecologically distinctive landscapes, home to rare habitats and plant life. Eisenman said the discovery is especially striking because the northeastern United States has been studied so extensively.

“To really identify something as new and unique is pretty rare these days,” he said.

To reach that conclusion, Eisenman combined genetics, fieldwork and historical plant records. He studied herbarium specimens, a collection of plant samples preserved for long-term study, from across the United States and Canada, then compared them with field samples from New Jersey and related populations in Maine; New York; New Brunswick, New Jersey; Alabama; Georgia and Florida.

The study found that the New Jersey plants carry a unique genetic signature and have distinct physical traits that set them apart from the two related species.

“There’s genetic differences, there’s structural and morphological differences, and there’s also isolation,” Eisenman said.

That isolation is central to the story. According to the research, the nearest known populations of Triantha glutinosa and Triantha racemosa are hundreds of miles away. Eisenman said the evidence suggests the New Jersey plants likely originated long ago when the two species intermingled but have persisted on their own for thousands of years.

“It’s been a stable population or group of populations for a long time,” he said. “It’s not just a chance accident.”

The finding also carries real conservation value. Because the plant is now officially identified, researchers and land managers have a clearer basis for recognizing its significance and planning for its care.

“It’s really important to have a name on a plant in order for it to be conserved and protected,” Eisenman said. “Until it’s been identified as unique and named with a unique identification, it doesn’t have as much opportunity for protection and stewardship.”

The project began more than a decade ago and drew on support from a wide network of researchers, herbarium curators, and conservation partners across the U.S. and Canada. In New Jersey, the work also required permits and coordination with environmental agencies and land managers.

For Eisenman, the discovery reflects both a longstanding interest in plants and a broader commitment to sustainability. A horticulture professor by training, he studies naturally occurring and cultivated plants, and much of his broader research focuses on green infrastructure and environmental resilience.

“I think Temple has a core mission of sustainability,” he said. “Conservation and sustainability of this rare species is in line with Temple’s mission.”

Now that the plant has a name, Eisenman said the next step is for New Jersey to figure out how best to protect it.

“For a rare plant tucked into one of New Jersey’s most distinctive natural landscapes, being formally recognized and given a name could make all the difference,” he said.