Euphorbia garberi
Encyclopedia
Euphorbia garberi is a rare species of flowering plant in the euphorb family
known by the common name Garber's spurge. It is endemic to Florida
, where there are 17 known occurrences, fourteen of which are located on fourteen separate islands of the Florida Keys
. The populations vary in size, with four containing fewer than 20 plants each and one containing over one million. The plant has been reduced to a small portion of its former distribution and remaining populations are threatened by a number of processes. This is a federally listed threatened species
of the United States.
This short-lived plant has a prostrate form, its fuzzy-haired branches sprawling across the ground. The leaves have hairy oval blades under one centimeter in length. The inflorescence
is a cyathium
with very small appendages, the petal-like structures around the center of the inflorescence, if any.USFWS. Multi-Species Recovery Plan for South Florida. Accessed 2011-02-03
The species has been eliminated from probably about half of the islands it once inhabited in the Florida Keys. It was also more abundant in Miami-Dade County
, where two populations remain today. The smallest population is on Cudjoe Key
, where only one plant remains. Most of the species' native habitat has been consumed for development or degraded to some degree. This is a member of the pine rocklands
flora, which is fire-adapted; the ecosystem
depends on periodic wildfire
for its stability. In the few fragmented
sections of pine rocklands habitat that remain, fire suppression efforts have caused dense woody vegetation and introduced plant species
to overgrow the area and shade out smaller herbs in the understory
. One exception is Long Pine Key in the Everglades
, where the natural fire regime
is in place. This plant can also be found on dune
s on the Keys and the open outer edges of hammocks
on the mainland. Some populations are located on highly disturbed habitat such as roadsides, but these are generally short-lived.
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae, the Spurge family are a large family of flowering plants with 300 genera and around 7,500 species. Most are herbs, but some, especially in the tropics, are also shrubs or trees. Some are succulent and resemble cacti....
known by the common name Garber's spurge. It is endemic to Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, where there are 17 known occurrences, fourteen of which are located on fourteen separate islands of the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
. The populations vary in size, with four containing fewer than 20 plants each and one containing over one million. The plant has been reduced to a small portion of its former distribution and remaining populations are threatened by a number of processes. This is a federally listed threatened species
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
of the United States.
This short-lived plant has a prostrate form, its fuzzy-haired branches sprawling across the ground. The leaves have hairy oval blades under one centimeter in length. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a cyathium
Cyathium
A cyathium is one of the specialised pseudanthia forming the inflorescence of plants in the genus Euphorbia . A cyathium consists of:...
with very small appendages, the petal-like structures around the center of the inflorescence, if any.USFWS. Multi-Species Recovery Plan for South Florida. Accessed 2011-02-03
The species has been eliminated from probably about half of the islands it once inhabited in the Florida Keys. It was also more abundant in Miami-Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
, where two populations remain today. The smallest population is on Cudjoe Key
Cudjoe Key, Florida
Cudjoe Key is a census-designated place in Monroe County, Florida, on an island of the same name in the lower Florida Keys. As of the 2000 census, the CDP had a total population of 1,695.It was originally called Littleton Island....
, where only one plant remains. Most of the species' native habitat has been consumed for development or degraded to some degree. This is a member of the pine rocklands
South Florida rocklands
The South Florida rocklands ecoregion, in the Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests Biome, occurring in southern Florida and the Florida Keys in the United States, where they would naturally cover an area of . These forests form on limestone outcroppings with very thin soil; the higher...
flora, which is fire-adapted; the ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
depends on periodic wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
for its stability. In the few fragmented
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat fragmentation as the name implies, describes the emergence of discontinuities in an organism's preferred environment , causing population fragmentation...
sections of pine rocklands habitat that remain, fire suppression efforts have caused dense woody vegetation and introduced plant species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to overgrow the area and shade out smaller herbs in the understory
Understory
Understory is the term for the area of a forest which grows at the lowest height level below the forest canopy. Plants in the understory consist of a mixture of seedlings and saplings of canopy trees together with understory shrubs and herbs...
. One exception is Long Pine Key in the Everglades
Everglades National Park
Everglades National Park is a national park in the U.S. state of Florida that protects the southern 25 percent of the original Everglades. It is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States, and is visited on average by one million people each year. It is the third-largest...
, where the natural fire regime
Fire regime
A fire regime is the pattern, frequency and intensity of the bushfires and wildfires that prevails in an area. It is an integral part of fire ecology, and renewal for certain types of ecosystems. If fires are too frequent, plants may be killed before they have matured, or before they have set...
is in place. This plant can also be found on dune
Dune
In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by wind. Dunes occur in different forms and sizes, formed by interaction with the wind. Most kinds of dunes are longer on the windward side where the sand is pushed up the dune and have a shorter "slip face" in the lee of the wind...
s on the Keys and the open outer edges of hammocks
Tropical hardwood hammock
Tropical hardwood hammocks are closed canopy forests, dominated by a diverse assemblage of evergreen and semi-deciduous tree and shrub species, mostly of West Indian origin...
on the mainland. Some populations are located on highly disturbed habitat such as roadsides, but these are generally short-lived.