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 Different kinds of scrub

Rosemary Scrub Coastal Scrub Sand Pine Scrub

Unique Plants of the Coastal 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

Stipulicida setacea Polygala smallii Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub Allelopathy – Ceratiola ericoides

• Allelopathic. Releases chemicals into the soil to prevent competition

Aromatic. Volatile oils in foliage may inhibit herbivory

Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub Parasitic Plants – Cassytha filiformis

• Grows from seed, then forms haustoria and is 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 for zebra swallowtail butterfly • Edible fruits – yummy food for gopher tortoises and Florida mouse • Pungent Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub Rare Plants – Asimina tetramera

Fire adapted. Needs a nurse plant when young. Long lived

Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub Rare Plants – Harrissia fragrans

Not fire adapted. Needs a nurse plant when young Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub Rare Plants – Dicerandra immaculata

• Mint family • Flower has no spots • Limited seed dispersal • Small range, rare and critically imperiled

Pesticide spraying may limit pollinators

Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub Not Plants – Lichens

• Composite organisms – a fungus plus a photosynthetic partner

• Can survive extreme conditions

• Bare sand areas may create refugia during fire

Lichens have traveled to space! Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub Not Plants – Cladonia perforata

• Yellowish-green color with round holes

• Unusual disjunct distribution

• Lives on xeric, white sand. In sand pine scrub, rosemary balds

Federally endangered

Unique Plants of the Coastal Scrub 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 Shropshire and others.

Design by Shark River Creative, Inc., Jensen Beach, Florida