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Plant Profile

Florida Goldenaster (Chrysopsis floridana)

The Florida golden aster has leaves and stems that appear grey because of the dense hair covering them. Photo Credit: © Billy B. Boothe

Global Rank: G3 - Vulnerable
Legal Status: Federally Endangered
Family: Asteraceae
State: FL
Nature Serve ID: 161684
Lifeform: Forb/herb
Date Inducted in National Collection: 02/10/1987

Description:

Chrysopsis floridana, or Florida golden aster, is a perennial herb that is wooly from the basal rosettes all the way to the top of the stem. The leaves at the woody base are 4 to 10 cm long, 1.5 to 2.0 cm wide, and they are densely short-wooly pubescent. The leaves on the stems are about the same size from the top to the bottom, are entire, and slightly clasping the stem, and they too are densely short-wooly pubescent. The flower heads form a more or less flat-topped cluster of 1 to 25 heads at the top of the stem. The flower head is entirely yellow, with both the central disc and the rays being golden yellow (USFWS 1999). The Florida golden aster is a short-lived perennial, flowering in late November and December and it reproduces by seeds, which are dispersed by the wind (USFWS 1999). This species was listed as federally endangered in June of 1986. It occurs in small areas of ancient dunes with nutrient-poor, well-drained sandy soil on the west-central coast of Florida. Much of this species' habitat has been eliminated due to land development, and the two largest remaining known sites where it is found are vulnerable to residential construction. (USFWS 1986)

Where is Florida Goldenaster (Chrysopsis floridana) located in the wild?

Habitat:

Florida golden aster is associated with the excessively drained soils typically found in the sand pine scrub community. Some of these sand ridges were formed during the late Miocene epoch. Chrysopsis floridana prefers open, sunny areas within the sand pine scrub, as these soils are extremely nutrient-poor and well-drained, and are composed primarily of siliceous sand. C. floridana was know to occur historically in scrub habitat on coastal dunes. The species has been reintroduced to the habitat is Pinellas County (USFWS 1999)

Distribution:

Known from 4 counties on the west-central coast of Florida.

States & Provinces:

Florida Goldenaster can be found in Florida

Which CPC Partners conserve Florida Goldenaster (Chrysopsis floridana)?

Bok Tower Gardens

Conservation Actions

Tina Stanley

05/11/2023

According to a March 2023 extract of the Florida Plant Rescue Database, Bok Tower Gardens holds 143 accessions of Chrysopsis floridana totalling approximately 2183103 seeds representing at least 13 maternal lines.

Tina Stanley

07/28/2022

Florida goldenaster (Chrysopsis floridana) (Small) is a federally endangered herbaceous perennial aster endemic to west-central Florida. C. floridana occurs in fire-maintained scrub habitat on well-drained, nutrient-poor soils, often in areas with a high degree of soil disturbance: trails, fire-lines, and service roads. Fire is an essential natural and frequent disturbance that maintains the low vegetation and open sand gaps characteristic of scrub habitat, and promotes the health of species like the Florida goldenaster, but many of the sites of the remaining populations have been fire-suppressed for prolonged periods.

For the CPC’s IMLS project, Bok Tower Gardens collected seeds from a small natural population of C. floridana in Hillsborough County, the site of a similar collection performed by Gardens’ staff in 1989. Seeds collected in 1989 were stored at -20°C. Seed viability of this ‘new’ collection is being compared to that of the ’original’ collection by the CPC, and should provide important information about the longevity of seeds of this species in cold storage.

Center for Plant Conservation

11/25/2021

Bok Tower Gardens plan to introduce a population onto protected land in Manatee County which is genetically diverse.

Center for Plant Conservation

08/18/2021

In 2021, CPC contracted the Bok Tower Gardens to recollect seed from a population currently held in long term orthodox seed storage as part of an IMLS-funded seed longevity experiment. The National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation will evaluate how germination tested viability and RNA Integrity of seed lots decline over time in storage.

09/03/2020

Dr. Bruce Cochrane at the University of Southern Florida is studying the genetics genus Chrysopsis, in particular Chrysopsis floridana, in order to assess its genetic diversity to help guide preservation efforts. (See Cochrane 2002).

09/03/2020

A successful reintroduction was carried out in Pinellas County. The only limiting factor to more reintroduction efforts is the lack of remaining suitable habitats (USFWS 1999).

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

A very restricted Florida endemic, with only 20 occurrence records in the Florida Natural Areas Inventory's database. Known populations are few and none are adequately protected. Development and conversion of native habitat to agriculture threatens this species.

S.K. Maddox

01/01/2010

Mechanical disturbance. Exclusion of fire in scrub and xeric habitats. Exotic pest plants. Development. (Chafin 2000, USFWS 1999)

S.K. Maddox

01/01/2010

About 20 populations, with almost half on conservation lands (Chafin 2000) Over 1,000,000 individuals on 1 site 17 + recent discoveries in S.E. Hillsborough and Hardee Counties (this species is protected by local regulations)

S.K. Maddox

01/01/2010

At the time of listing in 1986, all known populations were located on private land. Since then, many sites have become protected, and many of those are managed. (USFWS 1999) A successful reintroduction was carried out in Pinellas County. The only limiting factor to more reintroduction efforts is the lack of remaining suitable habitats (USFWS 1999).

S.K. Maddox

01/01/2010

Survey for distribution of Chrysopsis floridana in South Florida, especially in Hardee County. (USFWS 1999)

S.K. Maddox

01/01/2010

Determination of the genetic history of source plants for reintroduction efforts is necessary to insure that the correct plants are being used.