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Conserving and restoring
America's native plants |
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CPC National Collection Plant Profile
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Conradina etonia
| Family: |
Lamiaceae (Mint Family) |
| Common Name: |
Etonia rosemary |
| Author: |
Kral & McCartney |
| Growth
Habit: |
Shrub |
| CPC
Number: |
13368 |
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| Primary
custodian for this plant in the CPC National Collection of Endangered
Plants is: |
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| S.K. Maddox and Tammera Race contributed to this Plant Profile. |
Conradina etonia
|
Conradina species are aromatic shrubs with small narrow leaves, similar to the herb rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis). Etonia rosemary (Conradina etonia) is a short-lived woody perennial, with mature plants living several years before declining. This species flowers in the summer, producing pink-lavender lobed flowers with dotted lower petals. These beautiful flowers attract many insect visitors, including bees and butterflies.
Etonia rosemary is the most narrowly distributed species of Conradina. It occurs only in one county in Florida (Putnam) in sand pine scrub in the Etonia Creek region. This plant differs from other woody mints in the area by its strongly bent flower tube and hairy lower leaf surface (FNAI 2000). The region where it is found is of interest because many species more typical of southern scrub (Perea humilis, Ilex cumulicola, Garberia fruticosa for example) are found at their northern limits here. When this species was listed as federally endangered in 1993, it was only found at two sites in the wild, both in Putnam County, Florida. At this time, both sites were on privately owned land that had either been subdivided for residential development, or approved for development.
| Distribution
& Occurrence |
|
State Range
Habitat
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Etoniah rosemary is found in Florida scrub vegetation with sand pine and shrubby evergreen oaks (USFWS 1992). It requires sparse overstory and is seen along road edges and openings in white sand soils (FNAI 2000). |
Distribution
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Conradina etonia is endemic to Putnam County in northern Florida (FNAI 2000). |
Number Left
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There are fewer than 1,000 plants known in the wild, all located in Etoniah Creek State Forest and vicinity. Historic Bok Sanctuary (formerly Bok Tower Gardens), in Lake Wales, Florida has the species in cultivation. |
State/Area
Protection
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State/Area |
Rank |
Status |
Date |
|
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Florida |
S1 |
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4/1/1998 |
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| Conservation,
Ecology & Research |
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Ecological
Relationships
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Seedlings sprout in open areas and gaps between other scrub vegetation. There is also some evidence that Etonia rosemary can spread from root shoots. |
Threats
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Threats include:
• Development for residential housing
• Horticultural collection
• Continued loss of habitat due to invasive species or lack of natural processes, such as fire.
(USFWS 1992) |
Current Research Summary
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Dr. Russel Weigel, at the Florida Institute of Technology, has researched the in vitro propagation of this species (Peterson & Weigel 2002) |
Current Management Summary
Research Management Needs
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• Survey all scrub communities in the vicinity of Etoniah Creek State Forest.
• Conduct studies to determine effects of fire.
• Institute fire plan based on results.
(FNAI 2000). |
Ex Situ Needs
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| Books (Single Authors)
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| Coile, N.C. 2000. Notes on Florida's Regulated Plant Index (Rule 5B-40), Botany Contribution 38. Gainesville, Florida: Florida Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry. |
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| FNAI. 2000. Field Guide to the Rare Plants and Animals of Florida online. Florida Natural Areas Inventory. |
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| Wunderlin, R.P. 1998. Guide to the vascular plants of Florida. Gainesville, Florida: University Press of Florida. 806p. |
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| Books (Sections)
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| Kartesz, J.T. 1999. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the U.S., Canada, and Greenland. In: Kartesz, J.T.; Meacham, C.A., editors. Synthesis of the North American Flora, Version 1.0. North Carolina Botanical Garden. Chapel Hill, NC. |
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| Electronic Sources
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| (2002). Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants. [Web site] University of South Florida Institute for Systematic Botany. http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/isb/default.htm. Accessed: 2008. |
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| Denton, S. (2001). Photo Library of Native and Naturalized Plants of Florida. Biological Research Associates. http://www.biolresearch.com/Plants/index.php?id=C. Accessed: 2002. |
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| NatureServe. (2008). NatureServe Explorer: An online encyclopedia of life [web application]. [Internet].Version 7.0. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. http://www.natureserve.org/explorer. Accessed: (June 17, 2008). |
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| Weigel, R.C. (2002). Research interests Web site. Florida Institute of Technology. http://hyper.fit.edu/biology/Faculty/Weigel.htm. Accessed: 2002. |
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| Journal Articles
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| Peterson, C.L.; Weigel, R.C. 2002. In vitro Propagation of Conradina etonia. Florida Scientist. 65, 3: 201–207. |
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| Race, T.. Etonia Rosemary (Conradina etonia). The Bok Tower Gardens Newsletter. |
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| USFWS. 1992. Proposed endangered status for three Florida plants of the genus Conradina. Federal Register. 57, 98: 21369-21374. |
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| USFWS. 1993. Endangered or threatened status for five Florida plants. Federal Register. 58, 131: 37432-37444. |
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| Reports
|
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| Crook, R.W. 1996. Conradina: Interspecific and Intergeneric Relationships. Tallahassee, Florida: Florida Division of Forestry: Statewide Endangered and Threatened Plant Conservation Program. |
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| Johnson, A.F. 1998. A survey for the Etoniah rosemary (Conradina etonia) on Etoniah Creek State Forest, Putnam County, Florida: an FNAI ecological inventory. Tallahassee, FL: Florida Natural Areas Inventory. p.32303. |
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| Kral, R. 1983. A report on some rare, threatened or endangered forest related vascular plants of the south. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Forest Service. p.718. USFS technical publication R8-TP2, . Vol. 1. |
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| USFWS. 1994. Recovery Plan for Etonia rosemary (Conradina etonia). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. p.11. |
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