Statia Morning Glory (Ipomoea Sphenophylla)
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Statia Morning Glory (Ipomoea sphenophylla) A study on the growing conditions, distribution and propagation of Ipomoea sphenophylla on Sint Eustatius Sheila de Leeuw, National Park Intern (Feb 2014 – Jun 2014) On behalf of Sint Eustatius National Parks (STENAPA) 25 September 2014 Contents Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 3 1. Factsheet Statia Morning Glory (Ipomoea sphenophylla) ................................................................... 4 1.1 Distribution .................................................................................................................................... 4 1.2 History ........................................................................................................................................... 4 1.3 Previous propagation experiments ............................................................................................... 4 1.3.1 Hortus Botanicus Leiden ......................................................................................................... 4 1.3.2 Greenhouse botanical garden Sint Eustatius ......................................................................... 5 2. Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Growing conditions ....................................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Distribution .................................................................................................................................... 6 2.3 Germination .................................................................................................................................. 6 3. Results ................................................................................................................................................. 7 3.1 Growing conditions ....................................................................................................................... 7 3.1.1 Elevation ................................................................................................................................. 7 3.1.2 Slope orientation .................................................................................................................... 7 3.1.3 Slope percentage .................................................................................................................... 8 3.1.4 Height ..................................................................................................................................... 8 3.1.5 Vegetation cover .................................................................................................................... 9 3.1.6 Trees/Shrubs SMG grows on .................................................................................................. 9 3.1.7 Soil pH ................................................................................................................................... 10 3.2 Distribution map .......................................................................................................................... 11 3.3 Propagation ................................................................................................................................. 12 4. Conclusion & discussion .................................................................................................................... 13 5. Recommendation .............................................................................................................................. 14 Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................... 15 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................ 16 A: Statia morning Glory location coordinates (Location 2014) ......................................................... 16 B: Statia morning Glory location coordinates (Location previous inventories) ................................ 17 C: Datasheet fieldwork ...................................................................................................................... 18 Introduction Statia Morning Glory (Ipomoea sphenophylla) is one of two endemic species found on the island of Sint Eustatius. The plant is currently found in the northern hills of Sint Eustatius, in a dry evergreen forest. It also grows at lower elevations, one (cultivated) plant is found on Mr. Ishmael Berkel’s property next to the Seventh Day Adventist school, Lynch plantation. This indicates that the plant can possibly grow in other environments on the island than the Northern hills. Since Statia Morning Glory (SMG) is an endemic plant, it is of great importance to protect this rare species. At the moment the plant is not endangered, however the geographical range of the plant is very small and this makes the plant more vulnerable to becoming endangered or, in the worst case, extinct. In the past, different experiments were conducted relating to the propagation of SMG. In Leiden in the Netherlands, two plants have been successfully grown in a greenhouse environment by Dr. Andre van Proosdij, whereas in the Miriam C. Schmidt Botanical Garden in Sint Eustatius all the germinated plants died after a couple of months (Proosdij, 2014; Blair, 2014, pers. comm.). In addition, research was conducted about the taxonomy and the pollinators of this plant by Dr. Stephen Bush and Hannah Madden (Bush & Madden, 2012). However, much is still unknown about the plant’s preferred growing conditions. Therefore, the goal of this research was to study the growing conditions of Statia Morning Glory to collect more information and investigate how to widen the geographical range of the plant. A distribution map was made to identify the Statia Morning Glory plants found on the island. Seed material was also collected in order to propagate Statia Morning Glory, study the plant’s germination, and for further experiments. The results of this study can be used by STENAPA and other interested parties to protect and propagate Statia Morning Glory on Sint Eustatius. 1. Factsheet Statia Morning Glory(Ipomoea sphenophylla) Fig. 1: Flower, buds and seeds of Statia Morning Glory (Ipomoea sphenophylla) Family: Convolvulaceae Genus: Ipomoea Species: Ipomoea sphenophylla Urb Pollinators: hawkmoths, hummingbirds and butterflies. Flowering: from December to April. 1.1 Distribution Statia Morning Glory can be found in the northern hills of the island. The largest population is located on the North-eastern boundary of the oil storage terminal, NuStar Terminals NV. Currently known populations include plants on Mary's Glory, Signal Hill, Road to Gilboa Hill, Gilboa Hill, Bergje and Boven (figure 2). 1.2 History SMG was first described in 1884 by Dutch botanist F. W. R. Suringar. Plant material was collected at Signal hill. The original description was written by Urban in 1908, who based his description on the specimen collected by Suringar. In preparing The Flora of the Lesser Antilles in 1989, several unsuccessful efforts were done to find SMG on the island. It was thought that the SMG was extinct, however in 1994 a few individuals were re-discovered around the property of the oil terminal (Bush & Madden, 2012). 1.3 Previous propagation experiments 1.3.1 Hortus Botanicus Leiden In the greenhouse at Hortus Botanicus, Leiden, two Statia Morning Glory plants are growing successfully. The environmental conditions in which the plants grow are listed below: Drainage good drainage(20-40% gravel in soil mix) Sun radiation High (roots are shaded)* pH 5.5-7 Humidity >60%** Temperature 20-30°C * Plants are dying when they receive direct sunlight on their roots. **When the humidity drops to 30-40% the plants get spider mite infections. (Proosdij, 2014) 1.3.2 Greenhouse botanical garden Sint Eustatius In the past, a number of SMG plants were propagated in the greenhouse of the botanical garden in Sint Eustatius. Germination was successful, however after a couple of months the plants died. The plants were growing in the greenhouse only. The environmental conditions at the greenhouse during germination and propagation are unknown (Blair, 2014). 2. Methodology 2.1 Growing conditions To measure the growing conditions of Statia Morning Glory, different circumstances in the environment of each plant were measured. Not all conditions could be measured due to a lack of equipment, time and knowledge. Therefore, the results contained within this report are only a rough estimation of the growing conditions. The following factors were measured: - Elevation (using a Garmin GPSmap 62sc GPS device) - Slope orientation (using a compass) - Slope (using a clinometer) - Tree/shrub species on which SMG is growing (where known) - Vegetation cover (the vegetation cover in a radius of 5 meters was measured. The different vegetation covers distinguished were: tree, shrub, herb, litter, rock and bare soil cover) - Height of plant - pH of the soil (soil samples were collected from the different sites in which SMG was found. Those soil samples were tested with a pH measuring kit.) 2.2 Distribution All the locations where the SMG is found were marked to form a distribution map. The coordinates of each plant were taken