Park Joins In Agreement To Save Endangered Palms

Resource managers in national parks have to make big decisions when it comes to rare plant conservation.  There are only eleven individual adult Sargent palm plants (Pseudophoenix sargentii) existing in the United States, and they are all found in Biscayne National Park.  A few wild seedlings and some out-crossed specimens also exist. 

In order to decide the best conservation strategy for breeding these state-listed palms, the park and Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens have entered into an agreement, with the gardens conducting genetic diversity studies and summarizing those studies into a conservation recommendation report. Park resource staff recently toured the gardens and genetic lab and look forward to a continuing collaboration on science-based management of imperiled plants. 

After all, what would a Florida island be without palms…