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Plant Profile

Serpentine Hill Raintree (Brunfelsia densifolia)

This is a full shot of the Serpentine Hill rain tree, a hardy shrub with simple lanceolate leaves, tubular yellow flowers and orange fruits. Photo Credit: Jennifer Possley

Global Rank: G1 - Critically Imperiled
Legal Status: N/A
Family: Solanaceae
State: PR
Nature Serve ID: 155612
Lifeform: Tree, Shrub
Date Inducted in National Collection: 03/08/1989

Description:

Brunfelsia densifolia, commonly known as Serpentine hill rain tree, is a shrub known from only one area in Puerto Rico (Pence 1990). It is being successfully used as an ornamental shrub in South Florida. It is hardy in nature, requires little care, and produces beautiful tubular, yellow flowers (Fairchild Tropical Garden 2002) Habitat loss through agricultural development is the primary reason for its endangered status.

Where is Serpentine Hill Raintree (Brunfelsia densifolia) located in the wild?

Habitat:

It can be found on dry areas with serpentine soil that contains high amounts of magnesium, nickel, iron and chromium and lesser amounts of calcium and nitrogen (Fairchild Tropical Garden 2002) In cultivation, it prefers partial shade when it is young (Fairchild Tropical Garden 2002)

Distribution:

B. densifolia is known from one area in Puerto Rico.

States & Provinces:

Serpentine Hill Raintree can be found in Puerto Rico

Which CPC Partners conserve Serpentine Hill Raintree (Brunfelsia densifolia)?

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned 06/09/17

Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

Not Sponsored

Assigned 08/09/17

The Huntington

Not Sponsored

Assigned 10/30/23

CPC's Plant Sponsorship Program provides long term stewardship of rare plants in our National Collection. We are so grateful for all our donors who have made the Plant Sponsorship Program so successful. We are in the process of acknowledging all our wonderful plant sponsorship donors on our website. This is a work in progress and will be updated regularly.

Conservation Actions

Nature Serve Biotics

05/02/2017

01/01/2010

Primary threat is habitat destruction for agriculture.

01/01/2010

Number of remaining individuals is unknown.

01/01/2010

None known.

01/01/2010

There is no formal management plan.

01/01/2010

The primary management need is habitat protection. All aspects of this species ecology would be useful in conservation efforts.

01/01/2010

""Leaf pieces from a tree growing at the Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Florida, were cultured on a Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium with 1mg/1benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.1mg/1 naphthlene acetic acid (NAA) and formed a green nodular callus which gave rise to shoots. Suspension cultures were initiated from this callus using an MS medium with 1mg of BAP and NAA. These were cryoprotected using a solution of 0.5 M glycerol, 0.5 M dimethylsulfoxide and 1M sucrose and frozen in 2ml cryovials at a rate of 1 degree Celcius/min to -35 degrees C and then transferred to liquid nitrogen overnight. Upon thawing in a 40 degree C water bath and cultivated on solid medium, the tissues grew into shoot-forming calli"" (Pence 1990).