A presentation on research conducted by St. Thomas University student, Carlos E. Vazquez. This slideshow was presented live as part of the STU Library's Earth Day celebration, "Focus on Florida Plans," on April 12, 2012.

1. Conservation of
Florida’s Endangered
Plants
Carlos E. Vazquez
Biology Major
Spring 2012

2. 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

3. Broussonetia papyrifera
Residential development
Wisteria sinensis Lime stone quarry (Alachua , Florida)

4. 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

6. Liatris provincialis
Hypericum cumulicola
Calamintha dentata
Dicerandra immaculata
Prunus geniculata
Cucurbita okeechobeensis Polygala lewtonii
Bonamia grandiflora

7. St. Thomas University
Collaboration
• Bok Tower Gardens partnership
• Conservation and Propagation of
endangered species
– plant tissue culture
Vicia ocalensis – molecular biology
• Design methodologies for fast
Ziziphus celata propagation of in vitro plantlets
• Current Projects:
– Ziziphus celata
– Justicia cooleyi
– Vicia ocalensis
– Lupinus aridorium
Lupinus aridorium
Justicia cooleyi

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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%

12. Summary
• STU-Bok Tower Gardens Partnership
– conservation
– propagation
– reintroduction of plants to natural habitat
• Importance of rare plant conservation
• STU contribution to our planet

13. 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