Palmetto
Palatlakaha Environmental and Agricultural Reserve
In August of this year a team made up of representatives from FDEP, FWC, Florida Forest Service, Lake County Parks and Trails and myself (representing both the Lake Beautyberry Chapter of FNPS and the local Audubon Chapter, OVAS) met to review the resource management of Palatlakaha Environmental and Agricultural Reserve, also known as P.E.A.R. Park. The team was led by Wendy Poag of Lake County Parks and Trails, who oversees the resource management of the property.
This 268-acre reserve, located in central Lake County, was farmed by UF/IFAS as an agricultural research station from 1955 to 1996, growing grapes, watermelons and other cucurbits. In 2001, the land was leased to Lake County and has since been managed with the goal of restoring its historical native ecosystems, and to provide for native wildlife, preserve cultural resources and offer passive recreation to the public. Before restoration began, the upland areas of the preserve were covered by exotic grasses and other nuisance species.
After viewing the property, the team commended various accomplishments that have been achieved as a result of cooperative efforts between the county and dedicated volunteers of the P.E.A.R. Association and the local community. Numerous grants aided these efforts, funding projects including a 50-acre scrub oak restoration for the endangered scrub jay, demonstration and educational native plant and butterfly gardens which contain several listed plants, widening of the riverine corridor using native trees and understory plants, a meadow area of native bunch grasses and wildflowers, a bluebird nest box trail, a memorial grove of native trees and shrubs, a nature/science center, and a heritage grape arbor and community vegetable garden that provide an agricultural component. Volunteers continue to maintain many of these areas.
In 2007, the county began work to restore native groundcover to most of the remaining acreage and will eventually restore scrub oak, sandhill, flatwoods and pine flatwoods areas. Methods employed include prescribed fire, seeding, herbicide application and planting. Hand pulling of weeds is used whenever possible. Wetland restoration of altered depressional ponds has been undertaken with great success and was commended by the land review team.
Diversity has been increased and resident wildlife is abundant. Birds such as northern bobwhite, eastern towhee, eastern bluebird, raptors, and many species of wintering and migratory birds including grasshopper sparrows and bobolinks can be found at P.E.A.R. Species of concern such as Florida scrub jay, American kestrel, gopher tortoise, American alligator, eastern indigo snake, and Florida sandhill crane either reside or have been observed on property. The team recommended documentation
Continued on page 8
Save the Date for the 2015 FNPS Annual Conference, May 28-31, Tallahassee, Florida
The 2015 FNPS Conference, “Born to Burn – Conservation, Preservation, & Restoration on Public & Private Land ” is ideally located in Tallahassee, where some of Florida’s most interesting natural areas are a short drive away. Hard work has been going on behind the scenes, and the Conference Committee is planning a variety of fascinating field trip options that simply can’t be experienced elsewhere in the state. In between enjoying field trips and listening to presentations at the Challenger Learning Center, attendees who choose to stay at the conference hotel will relax at the stylish Aloft Tallahassee Downtown.
A short walk from the hotel, native plant vendors will gather at the Downtown Market, where shoppers can purchase native
plants and related goods, as well as local art, cottage foods, and fresh produce. Three opportunities to meet and greet are available at diverse social events – go to one, or all three. Locations include the historic capitol building, with its view of downtown Tallahassee; the 1930’s era historic Wakulla Springs Lodge, nestled beside beautiful Wakulla Springs; and the seldom-visited Tall Timbers Research Station, recognized as the home of the study of fire ecology and research on the longleaf pine ecosystem. Come to Tallahassee, May 28-31, 2015, and experience the best of North Florida. Check the FNPS website for updates – more information will be added to the Conference page as planning continues. Visit www.fnps.org/conference/2015
Above: Wendy Poag, of Lake County Parks and Trails, and the P.E.A.R. review team.
Photo: Peg Urban.
The Quarterly Journal of the Florida Native Plant Society
Palmetto
FNPS Board of Directors
Executive Officers
President .............................Anne Cox
Past President......................Steve Woodmansee
Vice President, Admin. .............Deborah Chayet
Vice President, Finance ........Devon Higginbotham
Treasurer .............................Kim Zarillo
Secretary .............................Martha Steuart
Committee Chairs
Communications ..................Shirley Denton
– Social Media .....................Laurie Sheldon
– Website ............................Shirley Denton
Conference ..........................Marlene Rodak
Conservation .......................Juliet Rynear
– Subcommittee ..................Annie Schmidt
Education & Outreach ..........Debra Klein
Finance ...............................Devon Higginbotham
– Membership .....................Jonnie Spitler
Land Management Partners ...Danny Young
– Vice Chair East..................Danny Young
– Vice Chair West .................Kevin Love
– Vice Chair Panhandle ........Gail Fishman
Landscape .....................Karina Veaudry
Policy & Legislation ........Gene Kelly
Science .........................Paul Schmalzer
Council of Chapters
Leadership: Julie Becker
Secretary: Scott Davis
Vice Chair: Neta Villalobos-Bell
Directors-at-Large
David A. Feagles, Jon Moore
To contact board members: Visit www.fnps.org or write care of: FNPS PO Box 278, Melbourne FL 32902-0278
Society Services
Executive Director ................Kellie Westervelt
Administrative Services .......Cammie Donaldson
Editor, Palmetto ....................Marjorie Shropshire
Editor, Sabal Minor ...............Stacey Matrazzo
Webmaster ..........................Paul Rebmann
MEMBERSHIP:
Make a difference with FNPS
Your membership supports the preservation and restoration of wildlife habitats and biological diversity through the conservation of native plants. It also funds awards for leaders in native plant education, preservation and research.
● Individual $35
● Family or household $50
● Contributing $75 (with $25 going to the Endowment)
● Not-for-profit organization $50
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● Full time student $15
To become a member, contact your local Chapter Representative, call, write, or e-mail FNPS, or join online at www.fnps.org
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The purpose of the Florida Native Plant Society is to conserve, preserve, and restore the native plants and native plant communities of Florida.
Official definition of native plant:
For most purposes, the phrase Florida native plant refers to those species occurring within the state boundaries prior to European contact, according to the best available scientific and historical documentation. More specifically, it includes those species understood as indigenous, occurring in natural associations in habitats that existed prior to significant human impacts and alterations of the landscape.
The Palmetto (ISSN 0276-4164) Copyright 2014, Florida Native Plant Society, all rights reserved. No part of the contents of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without written consent of the editor. The Palmetto is published four times a year by the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) as a benefit to members. The observations and opinions expressed in attributed columns and articles are those of the respective authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official views of the Florida Native Plant Society or the editor, except where otherwise stated.
Editorial Content
We welcome articles on native plant species and related conservation topics, as well as high-quality botanical illustrations and photographs. Contact the editor for guidelines, deadlines and other information.
Editor: Marjorie Shropshire, Visual Key Creative, Inc. palmetto@fnps.org ● (772) 285-4286 ● 1876 NW Fork Road, Stuart, FL 34994
Features
4 A Collaboration of Passion, Purpose and Science
Discover how a collaboration between the Bok Tower Gardens Rare Plant Conservation Program and the Center for Plant Conservation seeks to prevent the extinction of Florida’s rarest plant species. Article by Donna Bollenbach and Juliet Rynear.
9 Yaupon Redeemed
Yaupon holly, a common understory shrub over much of the southeastern coastal plain, has leaves that brew up into a tasty cocktail of stimulating alkaloids and health-conferring antioxidants. Article by Jack Putz.
12
The Origin of Florida Scrub Plant Diversity
A look at some of the fundamental questions on the origins of scrub plant diversity, such as how scrub habitats formed, and where their unique assemblage of species came from. Article by John Schenk. Call for
Research Track Papers and Poster Presentations
The Florida Native Plant Society Annual Conference will be held in Tallahassee, Florida, May 28-31, 2015. The Research Track of the Conference will include presented papers Saturday, May 30, and a poster session on Friday, May 29.
Researchers are invited to submit abstracts on research related to native plants and plant communities of Florida including preservation, conservation, and restoration. Presentations are 20 minutes in total length (15 min. presentation, 5 min. questions).
Abstracts of not more than 200 words should be submitted as a MS Word file by email to Paul A. Schmalzer at: paul.a.schmalzer@nasa.gov by February 1, 2015. Include title, affiliation, and address. Indicate whether you will be presenting a paper or poster.
A Collaboration of Passion, Purpose and Science
Bok Tower Gardens Rare Plant Conservation Program
“Today nearly 30 percent of the native flora in the United States is considered to be of conservation concern. Without human intervention, many of these plants may be gone within our lifetime. Eighty percent of the at-risk species are closely related to plants with economic value somewhere in the world, and more than 50 percent are related to crop species...but it can be saved.”
Center for Plant Conservation
Ask the average Florida citizen to name at least one endangered native animal in the state and they will likely mention the Florida manatee or the Florida panther. Ask the same person to name one endangered native plant and they give you a blank stare. Those of us working to conserve Florida’s unique plant species know this all too well, and if the job isn’t difficult enough, a lack of funding and support for the conservation of land supporting imperiled plant communities makes it harder. Bok Tower Gardens Rare Plant Conservation Program is one of 39 botanical institutions throughout the United States that collaborate with the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) to prevent the extinction of native plants in the United States. Created in 1984, CPC institutions house over 750 living specimens of the nation’s most endangered native plants, the largest living collection of rare plants in the world. According to the CPC, five percent of all native flora is on or qualifies for the federal endangered species list, and Florida is the No. 3 hotspot for critically imperiled plant diversity (CPC, n.d.). Of the 64 rare Central and North Florida plants under curation at the Bok Tower Gardens Rare Plant Conservation Program, 29 are federally-listed and 35 are state-listed as endangered or threatened native flora (Bok Tower Gardens n.d.). Like endangered animals, native plants are threatened by increased development, fi re suppression in fi re-adapted communities, habitat destruction and invasive
Photos: 1. Bok Tower 2. Ziziphus celata 3. Bonamia grandiflora 4. Juliet Rynear in the greenhouse 5. Rare Plant Conservation Program National Collection
Beds at Bok Tower Garden 6. Monitoring Warea amplexifolia 7. Imperiled scrub plant rescue 8. Clitoria fragrans 9. Conradina etonia 10. Conradina glabra 11. Dicerandra frutescens 12. Chrysopsis floridana. Photos 1, 2, 3 ,5, 10, 12 – Donna Bollenbach; 4, 8, 9, 11 – Joel Jackson; 6, 7 – Juliet Rynear.
Donna Bollenbach and Juliet Rynear
species. However, more legal protections exist for endangered animals because they are considered public property, whereas plants are considered private property. Except for commercial purposes, private landowners can remove or destroy rare plant populations on their property without a permit. This lack of protection for plants is rooted in British Common Law, which was adopted by the American legal system. Under Common Law, animals belong to the government, but plants belong to the landowner, so private landowners can destroy protected plants with impunity and the government cannot intervene.
CPC institutions, such as Bok Tower Gardens Rare Plant Conservation Program work to overcome this inequity. Native plants, defined by the CPC as those that have been growing in our state before human settlement (CPC n.d.), provide us with food, medicines, fuel, flavor, fragrance, beauty and so much more. They are intrinsic to our survival and our quality of life. Each time we allow a plant to go extinct we are not only destroying a part of our heritage, but a possible cure for a disease or a valuable food source. It is this knowledge and passion for native plants that drives the Rare Plant Conservation Program and countless volunteers to spend hours in the scorching Florida sun rescuing, restoring and monitoring imperiled native plant populations.
To understand the work of the CPC one has to understand the science behind it. The goal of any conservation program is to protect and restore biodiversity. Biodiversity is defined as the variety of life on Earth. On a large scale, biodiversity includes the variety of living organisms within ecosystems, or landscapes, in the world, such as deserts, rainforests, wetlands and scrub, to name only a few. On a smaller scale, biodiversity is measured at the molecular level within the genes of individual plants and plant populations. The greater the genetic diversity within a population, the more likely it will be that the population will survive long into the future.
Partial List of Plants in the National Collection Monitored by Bok Tower Gardens
Scientific Name
Common Name(s)
Asimina tetramera four-petal pawpaw
Bonamia grandiflora scrub morning-glory, large-flowered bonamia, Florida bonamia
Calamintha ashei Ashe’s savory
Calamintha dentata toothed savory
Chionanthus pygmaeus pygmy fringe-tree
Chrysopsis floridana Florida goldenaster
Clitoria fragrans scrub pigeon-wing
Conradina canescens short-leaved rosemary
Conradina etonia etonia rosemary
Conradina glabra Apalachicola rosemary
Conradina grandiflora large-flowered rosemary
Crotalaria avonensis Avon Park harebells, Avon Park rabbit-bells
Cucurbita okeechobeensis Okeechobee gourd
Cuphea aspera tropical wax weed
Deeringothamnus rugelii var. pulchellus white squirrel-banana, beautiful pawpaw
Deeringothamnus rugelii Rugel’s pawpaw, yellow squirrel-banana
Dicerandra christmanii Garrett’s mint, Christman’s dicerandra
Dicerandra cornutissima longspurred balm, longspurred mint
Dicerandra frutescens scrub balm, scrub mint
Dicerandra immaculata var. savannarum Lakela’s mint
Eryngium cuneifolium snakeroot, wedge-leaved button-snakeroots, wedge-leaved eryngo
Euphorbia telephioides telephus spurge
Harperocallis flava Harper’s beauty
Hypericum cumulicola scrub hypericum, highlands scrub St. John’s-wort, highlands scrub hypericum
Justicia pringlei
Liatris ohlingerae
Cooley’s water-willow, Cooley’s justicia
Florida gay-feather, scrub blazingstar
Liatris provincialis Godfrey’s blazing-star
Lupinus westianus var. aridorum scrub lupine
Macbridea alba white birds-in-a-nest
Matelea alabamensis Alabama anglepod, Alabama spiny-pod
Nolina brittoniana Britton’s bear-grass
Paronychia chartacea papery whitlow-wort, paper-like whitlow-wort
Polygala lewtonii
Lewton’s polygala
Polygonella basiramia wireweed
Polygonella macrophylla large-leaved jointweed
Prunus geniculata scrub plum
Spigelia gentianoides gentian pinkroot
Warea amplexifolia
Warea carteri
Ziziphus celata
clasping warea, wide-leaf warea
Carter’s mustard, Carter’s pinelandcress, Carter’s warea
Florida ziziphus, ancient ziziphus
Thus, when creating procedures to collect plant material for the propagation and reintroduction of rare plants, CPC institutions partner with scientists, government agencies, private and public landowners, and concerned citizens to develop protocols that are designed to protect and conserve the unique genetic diversity within our native plant populations. To do this, partners need
to consider the natural community of each species, its historical range, the potential for outbreeding or inbreeding depression, hybridization with closely related congeners, and the condition of each introduction site (level of fire suppression and impact of invasive species). Hybridization is the exchange of genetic material (or interbreeding) of different species or genetically dissimilar
individuals from the same species (Wittler 2014). While biologists agree that some hybridization occurs naturally in the course of evolution, and is sometimes beneficial, rampant hybridization that results from the introduction of invasive species (including the movement of native species outside their historical range) is a threat to biodiversity. These man-made events, which bring two previously isolated species of the same genera into contact, can result in genetic swapping that, more often than not, results in a weaker, less fit plant, or one that is infertile. According to Donald Levin in his article Hybridization and Extinction, “Most hybrids are inferior to their parents. Some abort as embryos, others die as juveniles, and others still grow to adulthood, but cannot reproduce.” (Levin, 2002). Such an event, often referred to as “extinction by hybridization,” is especially damaging to rare species coming into contact with more abundant ones. Interbreeding between a rare and prolific species can eventually create a hybrid that displaces the native population.
Extinction by hybridization can also work another way. If one species is defined by features that are homozygous recessive alleles, then hybridization with a closely related species that features dominant alleles for those particular features can quickly mask the characters that define the recessive species. The threat of undesired hybridization must also be avoided when introducing rare plant populations. The CPC and its institutions, such as Bok Tower Gardens Rare Plant Conservation Program, perform much needed research to develop successful protocols needed to propagate rare plant species, introduce rare plants back into the wild, and to establish new rare plant populations onto protected sites. The institutions follow strict scientific protocols created by the CPC when collecting seeds and cuttings from existing plant populations so as to protect existing wild populations. Living plants are rescued from the wild when development of a site is imminent and assured. The rescued
plants are transplanted into specially prepared beds within the National Collection or hardened-off in the nursery until they can be reintroduced to a protected site. The living specimens within the National Collection are used for research or cloned by root and/or stem cuttings to use for population introductions onto protected sites. Only shoots or cuttings are used to clone some species because their seeds are very prone to hybridizing with similar species in the nearby plant beds or in the wild. The staff keeps meticulous records. Seeds collected from the wild are accessioned and tracked in a database and every plant or clone in the greenhouse has a unique number that associates it with its collection source and collection date. The permanent tags will remain with the plants for many years to allow researchers to continue to track the success of each population introduction by monitoring each plant’s health, growth and reproduction.
The task of finding suitable protected locations to reintroduce rare plant populations into the wild falls on the local institutions in collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other federal, state, and local public agencies. In Florida, that task is becoming increasingly difficult as the last remaining parcels of intact, imperiled natural communities are being developed for housing, roads and planned communities. For example, some of the last remaining parcels of scrub habitat on the Mount Dora Ridge occur in small city parks.
According to the CPC, “Tasks like identifying and managing threats, planning or implementing habitat restoration actions, restoring the plant populations themselves, fine tuning land management practices, and planning for future maintenance are actions at the community level that require a good functional understanding of the habitat type” (CPC 2006).
At the start of each project, conservation partners look for suitable habitat (the natural community or communities
within which the target species occurs) within the historical range of the species. Florida’s unique biogeography and natural history has given rise to many unique native plant communities that evolved on isolated islands during interglacial periods when sea level was much higher than it is today. This isolation led to a high degree of endemism (plants occurring only in Florida). At the present time, there are 29 federally-listed endemic plant species in the Florida scrub community alone. Further, some species are adapted to specific microhabitats within a plant community (Hartnett and Richardson 1989; Menges et al. 1999; Richardson et al. 2014).
In addition to finding a location that meets the growing requirements of the plant, conservation professionals must consider what other plants are growing in the surrounding areas. If the habitat is in reproductive proximity to a population of either native or non-native plants in the same genera that may hybridize with the introduced populations, they must rule out that habitat. Once a suitable location has been chosen and a population has been successfully introduced, scientists must continue to monitor the population for many years to document long-term viability.
Juliet Rynear pointing out recently sprouted seeds taken from refrigeration. Photo by Donna Bollenbach
Land Management
of the population of these species and their breeding success. Bird and butterfly surveys are being conducted on a regular basis and populations are increasing.
The county has provided beautiful pavilions, walkways, and trails that enhance the enjoyment of this peaceful preserve. One pavilion is atop “Pear Peak”, an overlook that offers a panoramic view of the property. A trail along the Palatlakaha River meanders through a relatively undisturbed mesic hardwood forest that could be considered an outstanding native landscape unto itself.
The review team commended the variety of educational opportunities for the public that are provided by Lake County Parks and Trails, including special events, walks, and nature programs. Signage, brochures, and artistic panels that depict the historical resources, ecosystems and wildlife of the area are on display, adding to the learning experience, and educating visitors about future restoration goals.
The team hopes that these efforts will continue and that adequate funding, staff and volunteers will be available to accomplish the worthy goals planned for P.E.A.R. Park’s future.
About the Author
Peg Urban is a self-taught naturalist. In 2002, she completed a module of the Florida Master Naturalist Program. Peg is also a photographer whose work focuses on the relationships between the native flora and fauna of Florida, and captures the beauty of the natural world. She is a long-time volunteer active in native ecosystem restoration work at P.E.A.R. Park.
Above, from upper left: A wildflower garden planted along the hiking trail; Wendy Poag, of Lake County Parks and Trails (far left), and Bobby Bonilla, Lake County Parks and Trails director (far right), with the P.E.A.R. review team; beautifully colored native meadow grasses; team members descending from the P.E.A.R. overlook; the Meadow Trail surrounded by wildflowers. Photos: Peg Urban.
Yaupon Redeemed
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet”
ACT II, SCENE II, ROMEO AND JULIET, WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
In my ethnobotanical novella entitled Timucuan Tea (available from the author upon request), the 12-year old protagonist is accused of providing his school’s football team with a controlled substance that miraculously converts them from losers into champions. Just as his fate seems sealed by the combined forces of the D.E.A. and the defeated team’s irate coach, his father, a shabbily dressed but brilliant biochemist, saves the day. The father reports that his son’s secret brew is yaupon tea. He also reveals that the tea contains unheralded concentrations of antioxidants, lots of the anti-tumor agent ursolic acid, plus a big dose of the methylxanthine alkaloids caffeine and theobromine. With those revelations, the boy looks more like a hero than a teenaged villain. Those revelations also make some entrepreneurial representatives of the local university worry about intellectual property rights and royalty sharing if they incorporate yaupon extract in their already famous CrocJuice Energy Drink. Yaupon is a common understory shrub over much of the southeastern coastal plain, sometimes growing in densities that are problematic for plantation foresters who treat it as a weed. It’s also a familiar yard hedge species, with a weeping form (“pendula”), a small-leaved form (“nana”), and dozens of other named horticultural varieties. On the University of Florida (UF) campus and around Gainesville, it’s the most commonly planted shrub. Pounds of leaves can be hand-stripped from the branches
A buckeye butterfly nectaring on yaupon flowers.
Photo by Peg Urban.
Left to right: Yaupon leaf and fruit details (photos by William Mark Whitten). Yaupon in bloom (photo by Peg Urban).
Francis E. “Jack” Putz
of planted or wild-grown shrubs in a matter of minutes. Yaupon holly leaves brew up into a tasty cocktail of stimulating alkaloids and health-conferring antioxidants. Yaupon tea was a daily pleasure for the Timucuan Indians of North Central Florida and the Seminoles and Crackers who followed them.
The claim that yaupon tea is tasty was recently supported by the results of a blind taste test conducted by UF undergraduate Alisha Wainwright. Alisha compared an infusion she brewed from yaupon leaves with yerba mate, a tea made from the leaves of a closely related but commercially available Ilex species from South America. To her surprise, most subjects, including confirmed yerba mate drinkers, preferred yaupon. This result is compelling given that yerba mate is exported from Argentina and Paraguay by the hundreds of tons each year whereas yaupon is currently under-appreciated as a beverage.
I can no longer hold off acknowledging that the scientific name for yaupon is Ilex vomitoria and that it was indeed used by Amerindians in ritual purification ceremonies. I also need to stress that biochemical analysis of yaupon foliage shows that it is no more emetic than coffee, tea, or any other caffeinated beverage. I suspect but cannot prove that this nomenclatural affront resulted from a well-placed bribe to a prominent Scottish plant taxonomist by unscrupulous Ceylon tea merchants in England who wanted to crush competition from this Native American product.
Early English chroniclers of life in our region were apparently more fascinated by ritual vomiting than about the sterling qualities of yaupon as beverage. Perhaps I reveal my Celtic roots, but I suspect those rich Anglo-Saxons were a prim bunch. There were indeed special occasions when Timucuan and later Seminole warriors vomited after drinking huge quantities of an especially strong brew of yaupon, referred to as “black drink,” but that was only after fasting for days and many nights of singing, dancing, and generally carrying on –Koolaid would have had the same effect. And what’s the big deal about vomiting? As a child, the mere mention of Sunday school or lima bean ingestion could induce that response. A few minutes after my performance, I would be ready to go out to play baseball or eat ice cream, options seldom granted by my not-so-easily-fooled parents. I should add that ritualistic vomiting is practiced in cultures all over the world – even dogs recognize the benefits of an occasional purge.
The people first encountered by Spaniards in Florida exuded good health and towered over the Europeans. The Timucuans of North Central Florida, in particular, impressed those goldcrazed, pox-laden, Inquisition-fleeing, and otherwise tormented newcomers by their size and grace. Timucuans did enjoy more protein than the Old World city-bred bread-eaters, but a heretofore unrecognized advantage of the Timucuans and many of their trading partners all over eastern North America was daily consumption of antioxidant packed yaupon tea.
Much of what we know about the chemistry of yaupon tea
is based on the research of Matt Palumbo, a UF graduate student who worked in the lab of Professor Steve Talcott in UF’s Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition. With Steve’s Waters 2695 Alliance HPLC System with a Supercosil LC-18 Column and PDA Detector (an elaborate chromatographic machine that works in what are to me mysterious ways to generate data that are interpretable only by biochemists), Matt discovered that in addition to caffeine, theobromine, and other alkaloids, yaupon contains high concentrations of antioxidants including various isomers of chlorogenic acid, coumaric acid, and a cocktail of flavonoids. Concentrations of these compounds are highest in plants grown in full sun whereas psychoactive alkaloid concentrations are especially high in young leaves from female plants fertilized with nitrogen. Females can be distinguished by their stamen-lacking flowers and later by the presence of little, round, red, and juicy fruits favored by brown thrashers and bluebirds. Matt also found that leaves of the “pendula” variety contain higher concentrations of caffeine than “nana,” but that nitrogen fertilization boosts caffeine several fold in both wild types and cultivars. Steve Talcott, now at Texas A&M University, has continued to explore the chemistry of yaupon, especially its exceptionally high concentrations of antioxidants. In a recent study from his lab, for example, yaupon extracts were shown to have anti-inflammatory and various other chemo-preventive effects. As pointed out by C.M. Hudson in his classic (and recently re-printed) book Black Drink, yaupon tea was widely marketed through the 18th and into the 19th Centuries in the Carolinas as “cassina,” in England as “Carolina tea,” and in France as “Appalachina.” Use of that vernacular name “cassina” caused some confusion about the tea source because Ilex cassine (dahoon holly), which was the only local species recognized initially by Linneaus, also grows on the southeastern coastal plain. That confusion was cleared up by research in the lab of botanist Brad Bennett at Florida International University. Based on its high caffeine concentration and high caffeine: theobromine ratio, the researchers concluded that Ilex vomitoria was the likely source of the tea that enjoyed such widespread favor. Those vibrant local and international markets for yaupon crashed after the Civil War at least partially due to its association with indigenous people and the poor. The scientific name conferred on yaupon in 1789 by Scottish botanist William Aiton certainly did not help its reputation.
While ceremonial uses of the “Black Drink” are described ad nauseam in even the scientific literature, milder brews of yaupon were widely consumed as a daily beverage by settlers and Amerindians alike. I suspect strongly that during the Seminole Indian Wars, the effectiveness of native warriors was enhanced by yaupon consumption. Note that the “asi” in “cassina” is the Muskogee name for I. vomitoria. “Asi Yahola,” which means “Black Drink Singer,” comes to us as the familiar name “Osceola,” the famous Seminole leader. Hundreds of Yaupon
years before those bloody wars and hundreds of miles north of the species’ natural range, other Amerindians were enjoying yaupon tea. This evidence for an extensive trade network in North America more than 500 years before the European onslaught was only recently discovered by a team of chemically savvy archeologists excavating in Greater Cahokia, the massive pre-Columbian ruins near current day St. Louis.
After various failed attempts over the past century to revive the yaupon market, a new day has dawned for this delicious and healthful local beverage. Not less than four companies are now marketing yaupon products, all easily found through the wonders of the world-wide-web. You can now purchase either green or black yaupon tea, concentrates, and blends. You can also go out in the yard, grab some leaves, and make your own.
To make a quick cup of yaupon tea, pan roast a handful of fresh leaves until they are mostly black. Crunch up the crispy leaves and brew them as you would any other tea. If you have more time, air dry the leaves for a few days and then dry them thoroughly in a warm oven. Timucuans reportedly boiled their teas for hours, but I suspect that this procedure was used only for occasional ritual cleansing with “black drink.” For daily consumption, they apparently preferred “white drink,” a weaker brew with a froth raised by blowing into it through a hollow reed –Timucuan cappuccino. Paraguayans cool smoke their yerba mate leaves before crushing and brewing.
Unfortunately, given the ritual captured by yaupon’s scientific name, I worry that the species will continue to be used primarily as an ornamental shrub in suburban gardens and sprayed with herbicides in pine plantations where it grows wild. Although Alisha’s study showed that on the basis of taste, even yerba mate drinkers preferred yaupon, she also found that knowledge of yaupon’s scientific name would keep many people from purchasing it. In other words, the Shakespearean quote with which this article commenced apparently does not apply to beverages. This finding is unfortunate given that for millions of people who live within its native range, yaupon could provide a local, caffeinated, antioxidant-rich, and otherwise healthful alternative to imported tea, coffee, and other caffeine crops. Let’s hope that the fledgling yaupon industries flourish and prove the Bard correct.
But what if yaupon becomes an overnight market sensation? Will exponential rise in demand for yaupon tea result in excessive resource mining followed by domination of the trade by agribusiness? Will consumers purchase yaupon tea made from genetically engineered clones grown in noxious chemical slurries of inorganic nutrients? I am actually not too worried. Given the ease with which yaupon is cultivated as a hedge, I envision neighbors joining together to grow their own leaves in the shade of restored pine savannas. And rather than roller chopping and herbiciding yaupon, plantation foresters might begin to treat it as a valuable non-timber forest product, which will have numerous environmental and financial benefits.
References and Further Reading
Crown, P.L., T.E. Emerson, J. Gu, W.J. Hurst, T.R. Pauketat, and T. Ward. 2012. Ritual black drink consumption at Cahokia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 109: 13944-13949.
Edwards, A.L. and B.C. Bennett. 2005. Diversity of methylxanthine content in Ilex cassine L. and Ilex vomitoria Ait.: Assessing sources of the North American stimulant cassina. Economic Botany 59:275–285.
Hudson, C.M. (Editor). 1979. Black Drink - A Native American Tea. The University of Georgia Press, Athens.
Noratto, G.D., Y. Kim, S.T. Talcott, and S.U. Mertens-Talcott. 2011. Flavonol-rich fractions of yaupon holly leaves (Ilex vomitoria, Aquifoliaceae) induce microRNA146a and have anti-inflammatory and chemopreventive effects in intestinal myofribroblast CCD-18Co cells. Fitoterapia 82:557–569.
O’Brien, T.G. and M.F. Kinnaird. 2003. Caffeine and conservation. Science 300: 587.
Palumbo, M.J., S.T. Talcott, and F.E. Putz. 2007. Nitrogen fertilizer and gender effects on the secondary metabolism of yaupon, a caffeine-containing North American holly. Oecologia 151:1–9.
Palumbo, M.J., S.T. Talcott, and F.E. Putz. 2009. Ilex vomitoria Ait. (yaupon): A native North American source of a caffeinated and antioxidant-rich tea. Economic Botany 63:130–137.
Wainwright, A.E. and F.E. Putz. 2014. A misleading name reduces marketability of a healthful and stimulating natural product: A comparative taste test of infusions of a native Florida holly (Ilex vomitoria) and yerba mate (I. paraguariensis). Economic Botany 68: 350-354.
About the Author
Francis E. “Jack” Putz is a professor of biology and forestry at the University of Florida. His collection of essays about local natural history, some of which will be familiar to readers of the Palmetto, was recently published on Kindle and is available through Amazon: Finding Home in the Sandy Lands of the South: A Naturalist’s Journey.
Apply for an FNPS Research or Conservation Grant
FNPS Endowment Research Grants
fund research on native plants. Grants ($1500 or less), are awarded for a 1-year period, and support research that forwards the mission of the Florida Native Plant Society.
FNPS Conservation Grants support applied native plant conservation projects in Florida. Grants ($5000 or less) are awarded for a 1-year period. Projects must promote the preservation, conservation, or restoration of rare or imperiled native plant taxa and rare or imperiled native plant communities. Proposed projects must be sponsored by an FNPS Chapter.
Application guidelines and details are online at www.fnps.org – click on ‘Participate/Grants and Awards’. Questions about grant programs should be sent to info@fnps.org.
Application deadline is March 6, 2015. Awards will be announced at the 2015 Annual Conference in Tallahassee. Awardees do not have to be present at the Conference to receive an award.
The Origin of Florida Scrub Plant Diversity
John J. Schenk
Onecannot help but to be amazed by the biological diversity of the Florida scrub habitats. These striking ecosystems host many species of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world and contribute to the biological importance of Florida.
Given the region’s unique diversity and the constant threat of habitat loss, we need to understand how these communities formed, what species call these habitats home, and how they can be preserved for future generations. Because much has been written on preserving and managing these habitats (for example, Weekley 2006), here I discuss more fundamental questions regarding the origins of Florida scrub plant diversity, such as how did the scrub habitats form, why are they so different than the surrounding areas, and where did the unique assemblage of plant species come from?
Geological events have shaped the Florida scrub habitat over millions of years. The sandy soils that define these habitats have their origins in the eroding southern Appalachian Mountains and southeastern coastal plains, where sedimentation moved southward over m illions of years and ultimately covered the Florida Platform (Scott 1997). Sea levels have also fluctuated over time, shaping and reshaping Florida’s coastline (Scott 1997). As climates changed and prehistoric ice sheets melted, sea levels rose as high as 20 meters above our present level, covering most but not all of modern day Florida. It was during this time that the current sand ridges began forming as the seas carved ridges and sand washed ashore to form dunes (Schmidt 1997). At the sea’s highest level, the central inland ridges (for example, the Lake Wales Ridge) formed – these are the highest and oldest sand ridges in Florida (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1999). When the seas were at their highest, this area formed island chains that were likely a refuge for species that inhabited Florida before the seas rose and available habitats disappeared. As the sea level lowered, additional north-south orientated sand ridges were later formed outward from the central ridge by the same process. This process continues today, where the coastal dunes are reminiscent of the early inland dunes.
One feature that makes the Florida scrub so interesting is that despite it being located in a subtropical region, it really is a xerophytic (= species adapted to desert-like environments) flora that is dominated by dwarfed oaks and conifers. The sandy soils
that are common to these habitats are low-nutrient soils that hold little water due to a lack of clay and organic compounds. Despite substantial rainfall within this region, it is the soil properties that are responsible for the xerophytic vegetation, creating a habitat that favors species adapted to being water-stressed. Florida scrub plant species often have thick leathery leaves that are narrow and can be covered in hairs or a thick waxy coating. These morphological traits are common adaptations to prevent water loss from evaporation and are found in xerophytic plants worldwide. It is the scrub plant species that give this habitat its unique appearance (Figure 1), where the evergreen scrub species contrast vibrantly against the white sands. Species that are common to Florida scrub and make up a large percentage of the biomass include oaks ( Quercus geminata, Q. myrtifolia, Q. inopina, and Q. chapmanii), sand pine (Pinus clausa), scrub rosemary (Ceratiola ericoides), palmettos (Sabal etonia and Serenoa repens), and a host of more rare herbaceous and shrubby species (see Weekley [2006] for a detailed account of these species). Over 40 species of plants are considered endemic to these habitats, and about half of these species are threatened or endangered. Scrub habitats
Figure 1: Scrub and sandhill communities in Florida. A. Atlantic coastal scrub
B. sand pine scrub C. oak scrub D. sandhill habitat of the Brooksville Ridge. Note the lack of a continuous tree canopy and continuous ground cover that defines scrub habitat and that all of these habitats have been fire-suppressed.
also host numerous endemic animal species, such as the Florida scrub jay, many of which share similar evolutionary histories as plant species and are also threatened or endangered due to the same reasons outlined below.
Not all Florida scrub habitats are the same in soil conditions, history, or species composition. Florida scrub has been divided into inland, coastal, and panhandle scrub (Myers 1990), although numerous other regions can and have been subdivided even further (for example, “rosemary scrub” that is dominated by Ceratiola ericoides and “sand pine scrub” that is dominated by Pinus clausa). There is a clear relationship between the Florida scrub habitats and the sandhill habitats, which share many of the same species or relatives, in addition to ecological properties. Indeed, these habitats are remnants of the Gulf Coast corridor, a thorn-scrub and savannah habitat that spanned from western North America to peninsular Florida (Emslie 1998). Some ecologists regard sandhill and scrub habitats as being the same, although contemporary ecological properties and species composition differ among them. Sandhill habitats often include species such as Pinus palustris, Quercus laevis, Q. laurifolia, and Q. geminata. These habitats can also contain species that are close relatives to inland and coastal scrub, suggesting habitat connections are important to species diversity. The genus Paronychia (nailworts; Caryophyllaceae; Figure 2) is a good example of a
group of plants that has close relatives on the interior, coastal, and panhandle scrub, as well as the numerous sandhill ridges that occur throughout the state. The island-like distribution of these ridges appear to be important in Paronychia, and may have been responsible for historically isolating populations of plants that have since evolved to become species.
Some Florida scrub species occur nowhere else in the world, but where did their ancestors come from? Three areas seem the most likely. Species could have come from desert areas in western North America, spreading into Florida along the Gulf Coast corridor during the Pleistocene as glaciers expanded and sea levels lowered. Such a pattern is found with many species of birds and reptiles (Morgan and Emslie 2010). On the other hand, perhaps scrub species originated from eastern North America and have adapted to these habitats from temperate or subtropical ancestors, as is common with many mammal species (Morgan and Emslie 2010). Species could have alternatively
Figure 2: Paronychia diversity in scrub habitats. A. Paronychia chartacea is a Florida scrub endemic that occurs only along the Lake Wales Ridge. Its closest relative, P. chartacea ssp minima, occurs in sandy soils along karst lakes in the Panhandle. B. Paronychia herniarioides occurs in looser sandy soils on the Lake Wales and Mount Dora Ridges.
The Origin of Florida Scrub Plant Diversity (continued from page 13)
dispersed from areas outside of North America, such as from the Caribbean, as is common with tropical birds and bats (Emslie 1998, Morgan and Emslie 2010). To answer this question, we must investigate the genetic and geographic patterns of scrub species and their relatives for clues of how and where these species evolved. Some studies have pointed to scrub species being derived from eastern North American species. We have found that Paronychia, for example, appears to have had its roots in eastern North American soils before colonizing peninsular Florida. Lewton’s polygala (Polygala lewtonii) and scrub holly (Ilex opaca var. arenicola) also evolved onto scrub from eastern progenitors (Germain-Aubrey et al. 2014). Lewton’s polygala was estimated to be in Florida by the Pliocene, supporting the idea that high elevations in central Florida were a refuge for plant lineages as sea levels rose (Germain-Aubrey et al. 2014). The jury is still out on the majority of species that call the Florida scrub home. Species like Ziziphus celata, Eriogonum longifolium var. gnaphalifolium, and Nolina brittoniana, for example, all have close western relatives (Weekley 2006), suggesting some past connections. The biogeographic origin of other species, such as scrub plum (Prunus geniculata) and scrub bay (Persea borbonia var. humilis), were inconclusively identified, although they were determined to have been in Florida before the sea levels rose (Germain-Aubrey et al. 2014). It is likely that scrub species diversity is from an eclectic mix of regions that have diversified into peninsular Florida at different times over millions of years, but we must wait for additional studies to shed light on the origins of other scrub species before we have a complete picture of its complex history.
It is quite common to find “for sale” signs posted in front of remnant scrub habitat that is nested among developed or otherwise modified land. We are quickly selling off our scrub habitat, which is why areas that have been set aside for preservation like the Ocala National Forest, Archbold Biological Station, Tiger Creek Preserve, Jonathan Dickinson State Park, and others are so important to the persistence of scrub endemic species. Private, local, state, and federal agencies have taken a community conservation approach, setting aside tracts of land in order to preserve the entire scrub ecosystem. The importance of this endeavor in preserving the many different types of scrub and sandhill habitat cannot be overstated.
Another major threat to scrub communities is fire suppression (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1999, Weekley 2006, Menges 2007). Fire naturally occurs in these communities, helping to shape species composition, which have adapted to the naturally occurring fires every 10 to 100 years (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1999). Fire management has shown great promise in preserving and promoting threatened and endangered scrub species by encouraging seed release, seed germination through the seed bank that amasses in the soil, removing large woody plants, and by opening new areas for plants to grow (Menges 2007). Botanists have also been hard at work studying the genetics
of the plants in order to manage plants in a way to optimize the success of generating offspring by controlled breeding or planting (Gitzendanner et al. 2012). All of these efforts are important and will determine whether future generations will also be able to appreciate the unique and inspiring Florida scrub habitats. Scrub habitats are unique not only at the worldwide scale, but also at the local level. These habitats have formed over millions of years through many different geological and biological events, all of which have contributed to the uniqueness of the flora. Scrub and sandhill habitats coincide with sand ridges, many of which have very different histories and ecological properties, suggesting that we not only need to be concerned with studying and protecting these habitats as a whole, but we also need to be cognizant of the diversity within and among the subregions and recognize the importance of each and every one.
Literature Cited
Emslie, S. 1998. Avian Community, Climate, and Sea-Level Changes in the PlioPleistocene of the Florida Peninsula. Ornithological Monographs 50: 1–113.
Germain-Aubrey, C.C., Soltis, P.S., Neubig, K.M., Thurston, T., Soltis, D.E. & Gitzendanner, M.A. 2014. Using comparative biogeography to retrace the origins of an ecosystem: The case of four plants endemic to the central Florida scrub. International Journal of Plant Sciences 175: 418–431.
Gitzendanner, M.A., Weekley, C.W., Germain-Aubrey, C.C., Soltis, D.E. & Soltis, P.S. 2012. Microsatellite evidence for high clonality and limited genetic diversity in Ziziphus celata (Rhamnaceae), an endangered, self-incompatible shrub endemic to the Lake Wales Ridge, Florida, USA. Conservation Genetics 13: 223–234.
Menges, E.S. 2007. Integrating demography and fire management: An example from Florida scrub. Australian Journal of Botany 55: 261–272.
Morgan, G.S., & Emslie, S.D. 2010. Tropical and western influences in vertebrate faunas from the Pliocene and Pleistocene of Florida. Quaternary International 217: 143–158.
Myers, R.L. 1990. Scrub and high pine. Pages 150–193 in: R.L. Myers and J.L. Ewel, editors. Ecosystems of Florida. University of Central Florida Press, Orlando. Schmidt, W. 1997. Geomorphology and physiography of Florida. Pages 1–12 in The Geology of Florida (A.F. Randazzo, and D.S. Jones, eds.). The University Press of Florida, Gainesville
Scott, T.M. 1997. Miocene to Holocene history of Florida. Pages 57–67 in The Geology of Florida (A.F. Randazzo, and D.S. Jones, eds.). University Press of Florida, Gainesville.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. 1999. South Florida multi-species recovery plan. Atlanta, Georgia. 2172 pp.
Weekley, C. 2006. Jewels of the ridge: 20 imperiled plants of the Lake Wales Ridge. Palmetto 24: 4–7, 11.
Acknowledgements
I thank the Florida Native Plant Society, Tulane University Center for Engaged Learning and Teaching, and the Newcomb Institute for funding our study on the diversification of Paronychia. I thank my collaborators Sophie Kontur and Hannah Wilson, as well as Kenneth Wray and Jon Moore for their many thoughtful comments.
About the Author
John Schenk is the Koch-Richardson Fellow in Plant Ecology and Evolution at Tulane University where he studies the influence of ecology on morphological and species diversity.
Recovering imperiled native plants in the U.S. is a long process. It may take scientists and researchers decades to develop successful methods for seed banking, germination, propagation, and introduction back into the wild. They must consider the life history of each species (lifespan, breeding system, seed dispersal mechanism, etc.) and the conditions that the plants are exposed to in the wild. Longterm seed storage may allow reintroduction of the species if it disappears in the wild. Most seeds are dried to 15%-20% moisture content and then stored at CPC institutions, such as Bok Tower Gardens, or in cryogenic, long-term storage at the National Center for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Literature Cited
What can you do to preserve Florida's vanishing native plant populations?
First, check out the Florida Native Plant Society’s policy and guidance on Conservation, Preservation and Restoration (CPR) on the FNPS website (www.fnps.org) under “Resources > Downloadable Documents > FNPS Policies”.
Here is some advice from the brochure "Plant Conservation for Gardeners" on the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) website.
Bok Tower Gardens. (n.d.) Rare Plant Conservation Program. [Online] Available: http://boktowergardens. org/conservation/national-collection
Center for Plant Conservation. 2006. Plant Conservation Newsletter, Spring 2006, V19, No. 1: Pages 8, 9,11 [Online] Available:http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/News/Newsletter/Spring2006.pdf
Center for Plant Conservation. (n.d.) (Introduction to) Dancing with Extinction, Florida Special Edition Newsletter, Paragraph 1, [Online] Available: http:// www.centerforplantconservation.org/FL%20Special%20Edition/FL%20Special%20Edition.asp
Center for Plant Conservation. (n.d.) "Plant Conservation for Gardeners" [Online] Available: http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/Education/Publications/ Gardener TipSheet.pdf
Center for Plant Conservation. (n.d.) Plants in Peril, Top 5 Questions About Rare Plants, Para 1, [Online] Available:http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/ Hartnett, D.C., Richardson D.R. 1989. Population biology of Bonamia grandiflora (Convovulaceae): effects of fire on plant and seed dynamics. American Journal of Botany 76:361–369. Levin, D. 2002. Hybridization and extinction: in protecting rare species, conservationists should consider the dangers of interbreeding, which
Native plant conservation is important in our state, our country and around the world. Bok Tower Gardens
Rare Plant Conservation Program is part of a global network involved in projects with government agencies, universities, research institutes, conservation organizations and private landowners that dedicate their work to ensuring that our treasured native plants will thrive for many generations to benefit from and enjoy.
compound the more well-known threats to wildlife. American Scientist, v90, i3 p 254(9).
Menges, E.S., McIntyre P.J., Finer M.S., Goss E., Yahr R. 1999. Microhabitat of the narrow Florida scrub endemic Dicerandra christmanii, with comparisons to its congener D. fructescens
Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society 126:24–31
Richardson M.L., Rynear J., Peterson C.L. 2014. Microhabitat of critically endangered Lupinus aridorum (Fabaceae) at wild and introduced locations in Florida scrub. Plant Ecology 215:399–410.
Wittler, G. 2014. Biology Reference. Hybridization, Plant. Biology Encyclopedia [Online]: Available: http://www.biologyreference.com/Ho-La/Hybridization-Plant.html#ixzz3EKOH6S2p
About the Author
Donna Bollenbach is a Florida Master Naturalist, Suncoast Native Plant Society board member, Friends of Kissimmee Prairie Preserve board member and an avid nature photographer and writer. She loves studying and writing about topics important to the preservation and protection of our native flora and fauna.
Juliet Rynear is the Rare Plant Specialist at Bok Tower Gardens and the Conservation Committee Chair for FNPS. She has enjoyed a life-long love of plants and our natural world.
● Plant natives, but not endangered plants
While growing endangered plants in your garden may seem like a good idea, plants grown in gardens will not have the same genetic makeup as those growing in the wild. Garden versions of imperiled species might even alter the genetics of a wild population if they are close enough to be cross-pollinated.
● Never collect rare plants
Not only is it illegal to disturb federally endangered plants on public lands, casual collecting of seeds, roots or other plant parts from imperiled plants can dramatically harm populations that already at risk. Instead, buy a similar, non-imperiled plant from a reputable native nursery for your home garden.
● Do not plant invasive exotics
Avoid the introduction of invasive exotic species to your garden. Invasives that escape from private gardens may take over wild habitat and crowd out vulnerable natives.
● Support the CPC Network
Your donation of time or money will help imperiled plants in many ways. When you become a friend or sponsor of CPC, your donation will fund efforts to save the rarest plants in the country. Or, you can volunteer at your local CPC botanical institution to store seeds, monitor plants, locate hidden populations, or work in the greenhouse or office.
● Educate others
Spread the word about the importance of saving our vanishing native plant populations. Educate your community and voice your concerns to your local, state and national leaders about the need to fund native plant conservation.
For more information and tips visit: www.centerforplantconservation.org/ Email: CPC@mobot.org Phone: 314-577-9450
Conradina etonia. Photo by Joel Jackson.
Chapters and Representatives
CHAPTER REPRESENTATIVE E-MAIL
1. Broward Richard Brownscombe richard@brownscombe.net
2. Citrus Vacant citrusnps@gmail.com
3. Coccoloba Martha Grattan marthagrattan@yahoo.com
4. Cocoplum Ellen Broderick elenbee@comcast.net
5. Conradina Martha Steuart mwsteuart@bellsouth.net
6. Cuplet Fern Neta Villalobos-Bell netavb@cfl.rr.com
7. Dade Kurt Birchenough kbirc001@fiu.edu
8. Eugenia David L. Martin bartramixia@comcast.net
9. Heartland Keely Coulter keelyj000@gmail.com
10. Hernando Mikel Renner pinery@wildblue.net
11. Ixia Linda Schneider lrs409@comcast.net
12. Lake Beautyberry Jon Pospisil jsp@isp.com
13. Lakela’s Mint Vacant lakelasmint.fnps@gmail.com
14. Longleaf Pine Amy Hines amy@rustables.com
15. Lyonia Jim Jackson jbjacksondvm@cfl.rr.com
16. Magnolia Scott Davis torreyatrekker@gmail.com
17. Mangrove Al Squires ahsquires@embarqmail.com
18. Marion Big Scrub Taryn Evans terevans@comcast.net
19. Naples Aimee Leteux piejack369@gmail.com
20. Nature Coast Julie Wert aripekajule@verizon.net
21. Palm Beach Brenda Mills nativesun_99@yahoo.com
22. Pawpaw Sonya H. Guidry guidry.sonya@gmail.com
23. Paynes Prairie Sandi Saurers sandisaurers@yahoo.com
24. Pine Lily Vacant info@fnps.org
25. Pinellas Jan Allyn jallyn@tampabay.rr.comt
26. Pineywoods Vacant info@fnps.org
27. Sarracenia Jeannie Brodhead jeannieb9345@gmail.com
28. Sea Oats Eric Powell eric_po@yahoo.com
29. Sea Rocket Greg Hendricks gatorgregh@gmail.com
30. Serenoa Dave Feagles feaglesd@msn.com
31. Sparkleberry Carol Sullivan csullivan12@windstream.net
32. Sumter Steve Gustafson gorightgus@gmail.com
33. Suncoast Janet Bowers jbowers27@yahoo.com
34. Sweet Bay Ina Crawford inacrawford1@gmail.com
35. Tarflower Julie Becker jlbecker@cfl.rr.com
To become a member: Contact your local Chapter Representative, call, write, or e-mail FNPS, or join online at www.fnps.org