Ziziphus celata

Taxobox
name = "Ziziphus celata"
status = VU
status_system = iucn2.3
regnum = Plantae
divisio = Magnoliophyta
classis = Magnoliopsida
ordo = Rosales
familia = Rhamnaceae
genus = "Ziziphus"
species = "Z. celata"
binomial = "Ziziphus celata"
binomial_authority = Judd & Hall

"Ziziphus celata", commonly known as the Florida ziziphus, is a terrestrial flowering plant endemic to central Florida. The species is currently restricted to just eight sites which collectively support only a few genetically distinct individuals. It is a small spiny shrub that is usually less than 2 meters tall. Clusters of highly fragrant tiny flowers are borne in winter, and yellow-orange fruit develop in spring. The first known record of the plant was from a single, mysterious, dried herbarium specimen originally collected in 1948 near the city of Sebring in Highlands County, Florida, U.S.A. Because the precise location of the locality had not been recorded, and because no living plants were known to exist in the wild, the species was presumed extinct. In 1984 the species was described and named posthumously by W.S. Judd & D.W. Hall of the University of Florida. Many botanists later searched for "Ziziphus celata", but none were successful until 1987 when the species was rediscovered by Kris R. DeLaney, a Florida botanist. The plant is very nearly extinct. Of the eight known populations, 4 are in old pastures, 3 on degraded sites, and only the most recent discovery is in its natural sandhill habitat. It was found in early April, 2007 by Brett Miley, a Florida ecologist, while photographing other endangered plants. Very little remains of central Florida's once vast upland ecosystems. Agribusiness and sprawling commercial development in central and south Florida, along with inadequate and under-funded conservation and regulatory programs, have decimated Florida's ecosystems and pushed hundreds of native plant and animals species to the brink of extinction. "Ziziphus celata" is listed as an endangered species in the United States, and the IUCN list it as vulnerable.

References

* Listed as Vulnerable (VU D1 v2.3)
* [http://www.archbold-station.org/abs/plantspp/zizcelsppacc.htm Archbold Plant Ecology Lab: "Ziziphus celata"]
* [http://www.centerforplantconservation.org/ASP/CPC_ViewProfile.asp?CPCNum=4458 Center for Plant Conservation: "Ziziphus celata"]