Conradina brevifolia is a rare species of shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

 in the mint family

Lamiaceae

The mints, taxonomically known as Lamiaceae or Labiatae, are a family of flowering plants. They have traditionally been considered closely related to Verbenaceae, but in the 1990s, phylogenetic studies suggested that many genera classified in Verbenaceae belong instead in Lamiaceae...

 known by the common name short-leaved false rosemary. It is endemic to Central

Central Florida

Central Florida is a regional designation for the area surrounding Orlando in east central Florida, United States. The area represents the third largest population concentration in Florida, after the South Florida and Tampa Bay regions, respectively....

 Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, where it is known only from the Lake Wales Ridge

Lake Wales Ridge

The Lake Wales Ridge is a low ridge running for about 150 miles south to north in Central Florida. The greater part of the ridge is in Highlands County and Polk County, but it extends north into Osceola, Orange and Lake Counties. It is named for the city of Lake Wales, roughly at the mid point of...

. There are perhaps 36 occurrences of the plant remaining, and 10 of these are likely to be destroyed as their habitat is fragmented

Habitat fragmentation

Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...

 in the coming years. About 15% of the Lake Wales Ridge, the only home territory of the plant, remains today, the rest having been cleared for development and citrus groves

Citrus

Citrus is a common term and genus of flowering plants in the rue family, Rutaceae. Citrus is believed to have originated in the part of Southeast Asia bordered by Northeastern India, Myanmar and the Yunnan province of China...

. Few of the extant populations have more than 25 plants. This is a federally listed endangered species

Endangered species

An endangered species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters...

 of the United States.

Characteristics

This is an aromatic shrub growing up to about a meter tall. The small, fleshy, glandular leaves are linear in shape and under a centimeter long. Lavender flowers occur in the leaf axils. This species was once included in Conradina canescens, but the two are now treated as separate species.

Habitat

This plant grows in Florida scrub

Florida scrub

Florida scrub is an endangered temperate coniferous forest ecoregion of the state of Florida in the United States. It is found on coastal and inland sand ridges and is characterized by a xeromorphic plant community dominated by shrubs and dwarf oaks. Scrub soils, a type of entisol, are derived...

 habitat on white sand substrates among sand pines and oak

Oak

An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...

s.

Endangered status

This shrub is long-lived. Though its populations are quite fragmented today, many of the individuals still living grew up before the habitat was fragmented, and so have mixed their genes with other populations, making the species more genetically diverse

Genetic diversity

Genetic diversity, the level of biodiversity, refers to the total number of genetic characteristics in the genetic makeup of a species. It is distinguished from genetic variability, which describes the tendency of genetic characteristics to vary....

. Such gene flow

Gene flow

In population genetics, gene flow is the transfer of alleles of genes from one population to another.Migration into or out of a population may be responsible for a marked change in allele frequencies...

 is less likely today because the populations are more separated. Other threats to the species include collection by plant enthusiasts, mowing

Mower

A mower is a machine for cutting grass or other plants that grow on the ground. Usually mowing is distinguished from reaping, which uses similar implements, but is the traditional term for harvesting grain crops, e.g...

, off-road vehicle

Off-road vehicle

An off-road vehicle is considered to be any type of vehicle which is capable of driving on and off paved or gravel surface. It is generally characterized by having large tires with deep, open treads, a flexible suspension, or even caterpillar tracks...

s, and fire suppression. Like many smaller Florida scrub plant species, this shrub is adapted

Adaptation

An adaptation in biology is a trait with a current functional role in the life history of an organism that is maintained and evolved by means of natural selection. An adaptation refers to both the current state of being adapted and to the dynamic evolutionary process that leads to the adaptation....

 to periodic wildfire

Wildfire

A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...

 which clears overgrown brush and tall woody vegetation so that the understory

Understory

Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...

 plants receive sunlight. These fires are prevented and extinguished today to prevent damage to property. Part of the land management

Habitat conservation

Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...

 plan for the species includes controlled burn

Controlled burn

Controlled or prescribed burning, also known as hazard reduction burning or Swailing is a technique sometimes used in forest management, farming, prairie restoration or greenhouse gas abatement. Fire is a natural part of both forest and grassland ecology and controlled fire can be a tool for...

s.

Some populations occur in Lake Arbuckle State Forest

Lake Wales Ridge State Forest

The Lake Wales Ridge State Forest is in the U.S. state of Florida. The forest is located on the Lake Wales Ridge in Central Florida, near Frostproof.-References and external links:*...

, where they are protected. Most populations are not protected, however, including many that grow on private property.

Little is known about the life history

Life history

In sociological and anthropological research, a life history is the overall picture of the informant's or interviewee's life. The purpose of the interview is to be able to describe what it is like to be this particular person, that is, the one being interviewed.-Background:The method was first...

 of this plant, including its ecology

Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...

; more research is needed.