Preliminary Observations of A Population Augmentation of Warea amplexifolia (Brassicaceae) in Lake Wales, FL

Philip Gonsiska, Whitney Costner, Cheryl Peterson, Bok Tower Gardens

Warea amplexifolia (Clasping Warea) (Brassicaceae) is an annual endemic to sandhill habitat in the northern third of the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida. It typically germinates between February and early May and flowers from August through October. The main threats to W. amplexifolia are development and lack of land management. In 2000, there were fewer than 20 populations; only ten small populations may still exist. The Rare Plant Conservation Program at Bok Tower Gardens monitors seven reintroduction/augmentation sites for this species. One of these is in a natural area that is part of Mountain Lake, a gated community immediately adjacent to the Gardens. Mountain Lake is the site of a naturally-occurring population, seeds from which have been used in five subsequent outplantings there between 2011 and 2017. The site received little management until 2016, when trees and brush were cleared, and part of the site was burned. In spring of 2017, 418 W. amplexifolia plants were added, along with plants of several other native associated species. Although this project is ongoing, preliminary qualitative comparisons with an introduction at Lake Louisa State Park suggest that W. amplexifolia is more successful when introduced into habitats that already have established canopy and groundcover. If these observations are supported by the data, this information will be used to guide future introduction efforts.