Ziziphus celata
Encyclopedia
Ziziphus celata, commonly known as the Florida ziziphus, is a terrestrial flowering plant
endemic
to central Florida
. Ziziphus celata is very nearly extinct.
that is usually less than 2 meters tall. Clusters of highly fragrant tiny green flowers are borne in winter, and grape-sized, yellow-orange fruit develop in spring.
The first known record of the plant was from a single, mysterious, dried herbarium specimen originally collected in 1948 near the city of Sebring in Highlands County, Florida, U.S.A. Because the precise location of the locality had not been recorded by Ray Garrett, of Avon Park, and because no living plants were known to exist in the wild, the species was presumed extinct. In 1984 the species was described and named posthumously by W.S. Judd & D.W. Hall of the University of Florida. Many botanists later searched for Ziziphus celata, but none were successful until 1987 when the species was rediscovered by Kris R. DeLaney, a Florida botanist also from Avon Park. DeLaney later discovered two additional populations, one consisting of only a single large plant, the other of several dozen scattered over, and persisting in, a large area of improved cattle pasture. Ziziphus celata is very nearly extinct. Of the eight known populations, four are in old pastures, three on degraded sites, and the most recent discovery is in its natural sandhill habitat, found in early April, 2007 by Brett Miley, a Florida ecologist, while photographing other endangered plants.
Ziziphus celata is listed as an endangered species
in the United States
.
Flowering plant
The flowering plants , also known as Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta, are the most diverse group of land plants. Angiosperms are seed-producing plants like the gymnosperms and can be distinguished from the gymnosperms by a series of synapomorphies...
endemic
Endemic (ecology)
Endemism is the ecological state of being unique to a defined geographic location, such as an island, nation or other defined zone, or habitat type; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, all species of lemur are endemic to the...
to central 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...
. Ziziphus celata is very nearly extinct.
Description
It is a small spiny shrubShrub
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...
that is usually less than 2 meters tall. Clusters of highly fragrant tiny green flowers are borne in winter, and grape-sized, yellow-orange fruit develop in spring.
Range
The species is currently restricted to just eight sites which collectively support only a few genetically distinct individuals.The first known record of the plant was from a single, mysterious, dried herbarium specimen originally collected in 1948 near the city of Sebring in Highlands County, Florida, U.S.A. Because the precise location of the locality had not been recorded by Ray Garrett, of Avon Park, and because no living plants were known to exist in the wild, the species was presumed extinct. In 1984 the species was described and named posthumously by W.S. Judd & D.W. Hall of the University of Florida. Many botanists later searched for Ziziphus celata, but none were successful until 1987 when the species was rediscovered by Kris R. DeLaney, a Florida botanist also from Avon Park. DeLaney later discovered two additional populations, one consisting of only a single large plant, the other of several dozen scattered over, and persisting in, a large area of improved cattle pasture. Ziziphus celata is very nearly extinct. Of the eight known populations, four are in old pastures, three on degraded sites, and the most recent discovery is in its natural sandhill habitat, found in early April, 2007 by Brett Miley, a Florida ecologist, while photographing other endangered plants.
Habitat
Very little remains of central Florida's once vast upland ecosystems. Agribusiness and unplanned, sprawling commercial development in central and south Florida, along with inadequate conservation and regulatory programs, have decimated Florida's ecosystems and pushed hundreds of native plant and animals species to the brink of extinction. Florida's ecosystems and vegetative communities have been so completely disrupted, and so much genetic diversity lost, that many formerly widespread and common plants are probably "genetically" extinct, and incapable of adapting and surviving as part of a functioning ecosystem.Ziziphus celata is listed as an 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...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.