Conservation of Florida’s Endangered Plants
Carlos E. VazquezBiology MajorSpring 2012
Introduction• Hundreds of plant species native to
Florida are endangered or threatened– residential development– commercial development– invasive exotic plant species
• The Florida Endangered and Threatened Plant Grants Conservation Program – “to restore and maintain existing
populations of listed plants on public land and on private lands managed for conservation purposes”
– pollination– seed germination– reintroduction of populations to their natural
habitats
Residential development
Lime stone quarry (Alachua , Florida)Wisteria sinensis
Broussonetia papyrifera
ex situ Collections
• Bok Tower Gardens – Lake Wales, FL
• Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden– Miami, FL
• Development of propagation techniques
• Reintroduction of endangered plants to their natural habitat
Prunus geniculata
Liatris provincialisHypericum cumulicola
Dicerandra immaculata
Calamintha dentata
Bonamia grandifloraPolygala lewtoniiCucurbita okeechobeensis
St. Thomas University Collaboration
• Bok Tower Gardens partnership
• Conservation and Propagation of endangered species– plant tissue culture– molecular biology
• Design methodologies for fast propagation of in vitro plantlets
• Current Projects:– Ziziphus celata– Justicia cooleyi– Vicia ocalensis– Lupinus aridorium
Ziziphus celata
Vicia ocalensis
Justicia cooleyiLupinus aridorium
Ziziphus celata• Florida ziziphus• Endemic to Lake Wales Ridge in Central
Florida• 14 remaining populations
• Research at STU– decontamination process of 40% sodium
hypochlorite solution for 20 minutes– MS media in test tube
• Challenges– keeping media in good condition– difficulty inducing root growth
• Goal of experiment:– development of an in vitro system for
fast propagation and rooting of plantlets
Justicia cooleyi• Water Willow• Endemic to middle peninsular Florida • Main threats to J. cooleyi:
– residential and agricultural development– invasive plant species
• Research at STU– use of plant growth regulators that induce the
formation of shorter shoots– use of plant growth regulators that induce root
growth
• Challenges– maintain plants alive in vitro for long periods
of time
• Goal of experiment — development of a tissue culture method for
long-term storage of this species in vitro
Vicia ocalensis• Ocala vetch • There are only four known populations• Important role preventing disturbance to
streambank vegetation
• Research at STU– seeds were germinated in vitro – six to eight fast-growing seedlings were
placed horizontally on small sterile boxes containing nutrient media
• Challenges– it is not known if populations are clones or
if there is genetic diversity among them
• Experiment Results– rapid seed germination and fast shoots
and roots growth providing a large number of plantlets
Lupinus aridorum • Scrub lupine• Only 8 populations were found in 2008• Seed germination and seedling survival rates
are very low
• Research at STU– plantlets were propagated in vitro – small sections were transferred onto fresh
nutrient media– seedlings were grown inside test tubes
containing filter-paper wicks and liquid nutrient media
• Challenges– mechanical root damage during transplant to
their natural habitat
• Experiment Results– plantlets have been successfully transferred to
natural lupine habitats with survival rates of 50%
Summary
• STU-Bok Tower Gardens Partnership – conservation– propagation– reintroduction of plants to natural habitat
• Importance of rare plant conservation
• STU contribution to our planet
Special Thanks• Dr. Pilar Maul
• Isabel Ezquerra
• Marcela Jaramillo
• Cheryl Peterson
• Rare Plant Conservation at Bok Tower Gardens
• STU Science and Mathematics Fellows Program
• Florida-Caribbean Consortium in Agriculture Education (FCCAgE) Grant
• STU Library