Bok Tower Gardens > The Gardens > Conservation > Endangered Plants > Recent Efforts

Recent Efforts

Bok Tower Gardens’ Conservation Program is committed to rare plant preservation. Through the efforts of its four-member staff, numerous ongoing projects are supported onsite at the Garden as well as offsite.

Some highlights from the Conservation Program for December 2010-June 2011

Florida Goldenaster (Chrysopsis floridana)

This federally and state listed plant is only found in three counties of west central Florida (Hillsborough, Manatee and Hardee) in sunny, bare patches of sand in sand pine scrub. Historically known also from Pinellas County, all natural populations have been extirpated there. The Rare Plant Conservation Program has been working to introduce populations on protected lands. As of August 2010, a total of 3,146 plants have been propagated and planted out within three protected sites in Manatee and Pinellas Counties. In 2011, seed germination trials were set up to learn more about the seed biology of this species and to generate seedlings for another population introduction. Results are showing germination rates ranging from 7% – 83%, with a high variation in rates between the different population and different harvest years. Roughly 150 plants are currently in the greenhouse ready to be part of a new population on protected land in Hardee County.

Rare Plant Rescue

On occasion, the Rare Plant Conservation Program is alerted to impacts that development projects may have on rare plant populations. Given the opportunity to bring specimens from the population into the National Collection to preserve the genetic material unique to the population, the Conservation Program will collect plants or seeds and preserve them at Bok Tower Gardens. In May 2011, 86 plants of the endangered Longspurred Mint (Dicerandra cornutissima) were rescued from an area in Marion County that is undergoing road work. The plants are currently growing in the greenhouse and will become part of the ex situ collection of rare species at Bok Tower Gardens.

Brooksville Bellflower (Campanula robinsiae)

Annual population surveys of several rare plant species throughout central Florida are performed by the Rare Plant Conservation Program. In the spring of each year, two populations of Brooksville Bellflower are visited. The exact perimeter of where this annual occurs each year is GPS mapped, and each plant is counted to help track fluctuations in population size over time. Colored pin flags are used to help in the counting. In 2011, one of the populations saw its third highest number, at 2,550 plants, while no plants were found within the other population.

Seed Collection and Preservation Efforts

Collecting fresh seed each year from wild populations is important to help preserve a species. Seeds are then stored in either ambient, refrigeration or freezer temperatures, or cryogenically stored in liquid nitrogen at the National Center for Germplasm Research and Preservation in Fort Collins, CO. Seeds are also used to gather much-needed information for each species on germination requirements, seed storage, propagation, seedling growth parameters and lifecycle. Since January 2011, seeds have been collected from the Florida Goldenaster (Chrysopsis floridana), Scrub Lupine (Lupinus aridorum), Florida Ziziphus (Ziziphus celata) and the Ocala Vetch (Vicia ocalensis). Photo at left is of Florida Ziziphus seed being sown for a germination trial that compares seed viability across harvest years.

Clasping Warea (Warea amplexifolia)

Clasping Warea is an extremely rare annual of the mustard family. Most of the few remaining populations are on private land and are gradually being lost to development or other factors. In an effort to preserve this species, in 2011 the Rare Plant Conservation Program performed its first experimental introduction of propagated seedings on protected land. Both seeds and seedlings were introduced to a Lake County-owned property with the help of volunteers and Lake County biologists. Seedlings were watered after being planted, and will be monitored for growth and survival throughout 2011.

Networking for Rare Plant Conservation

Each year Bok Tower Gardens collaborates with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens to host the annual Rare Plant Task Force meeting. This two-day meeting brings together conservation professionals from a variety of disciplines and from all over the state to share successes, discuss priorities and strategies and form partnerships for new projects. On March 31 – April 1, 2011, nearly 40 participants gathered at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens in Coral Gables. The participants enjoyed nine presentations on managing rare plant populations, several research posters, a group discussion on climate change, a guided tram tour of the gardens and a choice of several educational field trips to rare plant locations in south Florida.