Bok Tower Gardens > Conservation > Endangered Plants > Educational Activities

Educational Activities

In March 2008 the Conservation Program donated sixty rare plants to Cedar Point Nature Center in Englewood for an educational Endangered Plant Garden for their visitors. Staff and volunteers planted the rare plants, which encompassed ten different species from north and central Florida. The plants continue to thrive at the Nature Center, and many have flowered. Additional off-site locations of Endangered Plant Gardens by Bok Tower Gardens include the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville and St. Thomas University in Miami.

Florida Jujube (Ziziphus celata): Florida Jujube was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1984. Recognizing that the lack of genetic diversity in wild populations is impacting the species ability to reproduce and survive, our goal is to propagate all existing genotypes and preserve them in the National Collection. The species cannot be propagated from stem cuttings, so we have been propagating plants from root shoot cuttings and collected seed. Current germination trials include a seed viability test of seed of varying ages, and a propagation study of seeds collected from a new site on privately owned land. We are also continuing to collect root shoot cuttings from several privately owned sites.