Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
What is special about scrub?
• Xeric, low nutrient soils• Fire dependent• Gaps are important
• Threatened habitat,plants and animals
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Rosemary Scrub
Different kinds of scrub
Sand Pine ScrubCoastal Scrub
Weirdness – Asclepias curtissii
• Unique flower structure limits pollinator types
• Unusual pollination syndrome
• Seeds dispersed by wind
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Asclepias curtissii – Pollination
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Tiny Plants – Look Closely
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Stipulicida setacea Polygala smallii
Allelopathy – Ceratiola ericoides
• Allelopathic. Releases chemicals into the soil to prevent competition
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Aromatic. Volatile oils in foliage may inhibit herbivory
Parasitic Plants – Cassytha filiformis
• Grows from seed, then forms haustoria andis parasitic on host
• Lauraceae family
• Mats may contribute to gaps in scrub
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Plants & Animals – Opuntia
• Flowers attract fumbly bugs • Cochineal insects
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Plants & Animals – Asimina tetramera
• Federally endangered
• Larval food plant forzebra swallowtail butterfly
• Edible fruits – yummy food for gopher tortoises and Florida mouse
• Pungent
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Rare Plants – Asimina tetramera
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Fire adapted. Needs a nurse plant when young. Long lived
Rare Plants – Harrissia fragrans
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Not fire adapted. Needs a nurse plant when young
Rare Plants – Dicerandra immaculata
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Pesticide spraying may limit pollinators
• Mint family
• Flower has no spots
• Limited seeddispersal
• Small range, rare and critically imperiled
Not Plants – Lichens
• Composite organisms –a fungus plus a photosynthetic partner
• Can survive extremeconditions
• Bare sand areas may create refugia during fire
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Lichens have traveled to space!
Not Plants – Cladonia perforata
• Yellowish-green color with round holes
• Unusual disjunctdistribution
• Lives on xeric, whitesand. In sand pine scrub, rosemary balds
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Federally endangered
Credits
Thanks to the following
Dr. Anne Cox; US Fish and Wildlife Service; Florida Natural Areas Inventory; Florida Department of Environmental Protection; Environmental Resources Management, Palm Beach County; University of South Florida Herbarium; Florida Native Plant Society
Photography by: Shirley Denton, Anne Cox, Ann Malatesta, Paul Rebmann, Betty Wargo, Michael Jenkins, Marjorie Shropshireand others.
Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub
Design by Shark River Creative, Inc., Jensen Beach, Florida
Top Related