Notes on Florida’s Endangered and Threatened Plants1
4th Edition, August 2003
Nancy C. Coile2
updated by Mark A. Garland3
Introduction
The Regulated Plant Index is based on information provided by the Endangered Plant Advisory Council (EPAC), a group of seven individuals who represent academic, industry, and environmental interests:
- Dr. Loran C. Anderson
- Mr. Charles D. Daniel III
- Mr. David M. Drylie, Jr.
- Dr. Gerald F. Guala
- Ms. Eve R. Hannahs
- Mr. Richard L. Moyroud
- Dr. Daniel B. Ward
Rule Chap. 5B-40, Florida Administrative Code,
contains the "Regulated Plant Index" (5B-40.0055) and lists endangered, threatened, and commercially exploited plant species for Florida;
defines the categories; lists instances where permits may be issued; and describes penalties for violations.
Copies of this Rule may be obtained from
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry,
P. O. Box 147100, Gainesville, Fl 32614-7100.
Amended 14 February 2003, the “Regulated Plant Index” contains 421 endangered species, 113 threatened species, and eight commercially exploited species.
Descriptions of these rare species are often difficult to locate. Florida does not have a single manual covering the flora of the entire state. Long and Lakela's manual (1971) focuses on the area south of Glades County; Clewell (1985) is a guide for the Panhandle; and Wunderlin (1998) is a guide for the entire state of Florida but lacks descriptions. Small (1933) is an excellent resource, but must be used with great care since the nomenclature is outdated and frequently disputed. Clewell (1985) and Wunderlin (1998) are guides with keys to the flora, but lack species descriptions.
Distribution maps (Wunderlin and Hansen, 2000) are available over the Internet from the University of South Florida Herbarium. These maps were invaluable for determining county distributions as was information from Florida Natural Areas Inventory.
The following tables were compiled to provide a convenient source of descriptions and other information on the endangered, threatened and commercially exploited plant species on Florida’s “Regulated Plant Index.”
This publication contains five sections:
- endangered species
- threatened species
- commercially exploited species
- family affiliation
- index to common names
In each section, a table provides five columns of information:
- scientific name
- references
- common names
- family
- descriptions
Each table uses the same numbering sequence as that used by the “Regulated Plant Index.”
Acknowledments
Many thanks are given to:
- Penny L. McCurry for help with publishing matters
- Sharon E. Gatlin for help with the index
- and especially to Richard E. Weaver, Jr., and Wayne N. Dixon for their helpful editing
all these are with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services/Division of Plant Industry.
Thanks are given to the following persons who provided information:
- Keith Bradley and George D. Gann, The Institute for Regional Conservation
- Chuck McCartney, orchids
- Gary D. Knight, Linda G. Chafin, Vicki Garland and Barbara Lenczewski, Florida Natural Areas Inventory
- Roger L. Hammer, Metropolitan Dade County Park and Recreation Department, Natural Areas Management
- Loran C. Anderson, Florida State University
- Daniel F. Austin, Florida Atlantic University
- David L. Martin, U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service
- Bruce D. Sutton, DPI, carnivorous plants
- Kathy Craddock Burks, Department of Environmental Protection
- Donald Drapalik, Georgia Southern University, angle-pods
- John D. Tobe, Department of Environmental Protection, magnolias
- Robert R. Haynes, University of Alabama, slender naiad
- Florida Department of Agriclture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Entomology, Nematology, and Plant Pathology - Botany Section, Contribution No. 38, 4th edition (digital version), 2003.
- Botanist Emeritus, FDACS, Division of Plant Industry.
- Botanist, FDACS, Division of Plant Industry, P. O. Box 147100, Gainesville, FL 32614-7100.