2027 Founding Conservation Project

Central Florida Scrub & Sandhill Conservation Pilot

Florida Seed Bank's founding pilot focuses on conserving native plant diversity characteristic of Central Florida scrub and sandhill habitats through carefully documented seed research, preservation and future restoration.

Preserving a Community, Not Just a Collection

Florida Seed Bank's first conservation pilot is built around one ecosystem rather than a collection of unrelated species.

The Central Florida Scrub & Sandhill Conservation Pilot brings together native wildflowers, pollinator plants, shrubs and trees characteristic of Central Florida scrub and sandhill environments, with species identification and provenance assessed before field work.

This approach allows the project to test the full conservation process while preserving ecological relationships that matter for future habitat restoration.

Florida Seed Bank is preparing for formal incorporation as a Florida nonprofit in January 2027, and the Scrub & Sandhill Pilot serves as the organization’s founding conservation project. Field collection proceeds only as suitable sites, permissions, permits, seed maturity, and conservation conditions allow.

Illustrative Central Florida scrub habitat landscape

Why Preserve an Ecosystem?

A functioning native landscape depends on relationships among many plants. The founding pilot is intended to reflect those relationships instead of preserving fifteen species simply because they are individually interesting.

Structural Diversity

Trees, grasses, wildflowers, vines, and low-growing plants occupy different layers of the ecosystem and create different forms of habitat.

Pollinator Resources

Different flowering species provide nectar and pollen across seasons and support native bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds, and other wildlife.

Wildlife Relationships

Host plants, seeds, acorns, vegetation, and shelter connect native plant conservation directly to the broader sandhill food web.

Restoration Value

Preserving a representative group of species helps Florida Seed Bank develop methods that can eventually support more complete native habitat restoration.

Illustrative native seed conservation habitat, not a site inventory

Restoration Requires More Than Rare Species

A functioning scrub ecosystem cannot be rebuilt from endangered plants alone. Restoration also depends on grasses, canopy trees, legumes, host plants, pollinator plants, shrubs, and other common native species that create the structure and ecological relationships of the community.

Florida Seed Bank conserves those foundation species alongside rare and declining plants because today’s common species can become tomorrow’s restoration bottlenecks. This is one reason our statewide mission extends across Florida’s roughly 3,200 native plant species.

Why Central Florida Scrub & Sandhill?

Sandhill is one of Florida's distinctive upland ecosystems. These communities developed on dry, well-drained sandy soils and historically depended on recurring fire to maintain their open structure and diverse groundcover.

Central Florida scrub and sandhill support distinct but neighboring communities adapted to sandy soils, seasonal drought and periodic fire. Protecting their native plants can help sustain local biodiversity and the genetic resources needed for future ecological restoration.

Development, habitat fragmentation, altered fire regimes, and other pressures have reduced or changed many remaining sandhill communities. The ecosystem therefore provides an ideal foundation for demonstrating Florida Seed Bank's larger mission: preserve native plant genetics in a form that can remain useful for future conservation and restoration.

Central Florida Scrub & Sandhill Conservation Pilot Plants

These 24 native plant selections represent the diversity of Central Florida scrub and sandhill habitats, from rare wildflowers and pollinator plants to characteristic shrubs and trees. The proposed collection will be refined through botanical identification, local provenance assessment, seed biology research, site access and applicable permits before any field collection.

Species 01

Scrub Lupine

Lupinus aridorum Endangered flagship

A rare, federally endangered Central Florida scrub lupine. Conservation work requires verified provenance, appropriate site access and applicable permits.

Species 02

Fetterbush

Lyonia spp. (species unverified) Scrub shrub

Native fetterbush contributes flowers and woody habitat in suitable Florida plant communities. Exact species identification will be confirmed before collection; the photo illustrates Lyonia lucida.

Species 03

Rusty Lyonia

Lyonia ferruginea Native woody shrub

A characteristic Florida scrub shrub that contributes evergreen structure and seasonal flowers.

Species 04

Goldenrod

Solidago spp. (species unverified) Pollinator wildflower

Native goldenrods provide seasonal nectar and pollen for insects. The precise species will be identified before collection; the photo shows a representative Florida goldenrod.

Species 05

Blazing Star

Liatris spp. (species unverified) Pollinator wildflower

Native blazing stars provide late-season pollinator resources. The precise species will be identified before collection; the photo is representative.

Species 06

Coastalplain Honeycombhead

Balduina angustifolia Pollinator wildflower

A yellow-flowered native specifically photographed and described along the park's scrub trail.

Species 07

Hog Plum

Ximenia americana Fruiting native shrub

A native fruiting shrub of sandy Florida habitats, providing wildlife food and diversity in the shrub layer.

Species 08

Silk Bay

Persea borbonia var. humilis Native evergreen shrub

Silk bay is described in the park's scrub vegetation. Taxonomic treatment and local plant identification should be reconfirmed during field survey.

Species 09

Sand Pine

Pinus clausa Documented park tree

A characteristic tree of Florida sand pine scrub, contributing canopy cover and habitat structure.

Species 10

Florida Rosemary

Ceratiola ericoides Documented park shrub

A characteristic evergreen shrub of dry, nutrient-poor Florida scrub, especially rosemary scrub communities.

Species 11

Scrub Morning Glory

Bonamia grandiflora Occurrence unverified

A threatened native wildflower of Florida scrub and sandy habitats proposed for conservation assessment, subject to habitat suitability, provenance and permits.

Species 12

Curtiss' Milkweed

Asclepias curtissii Occurrence unverified

A rare Florida endemic milkweed of deep sandy soils proposed for conservation assessment, subject to botanical verification and applicable permissions.

Species 13

Sand Live Oak

Quercus geminataScrub Anchor Oak

A characteristic evergreen scrub oak that provides shelter, structural diversity and acorns.

Species 14

Myrtle Oak

Quercus myrtifoliaScrub Anchor Oak

A defining evergreen oak of Florida scrub that forms low woody cover and supports wildlife.

Species 15

Saw Palmetto

Serenoa repensNative Scrub Palm

A hardy native palm that forms dense understory cover, supports wildlife and contributes to the structural diversity of scrub and sandhill habitats.

Species 16

Longleaf Pine

Pinus palustrisCanopy Tree

A defining tall canopy tree of longleaf pine sandhills.

Species 17

Turkey Oak

Quercus laevisWoodland Tree

A characteristic sandhill oak contributing a woody midstory and wildlife food.

Species 18

Wiregrass

Aristida beyrichianaFoundation Grass

A key bunchgrass of peninsular Florida sandhills and their fire-adapted groundcover.

Species 19

Little Bluestem

Schizachyrium scoparium var. scopariumNative Grass

A warm-season bunchgrass adding groundcover diversity to suitable native uplands.

Species 20

Sandhill Milkweed

Asclepias humistrataHost Plant

A native milkweed of sandy uplands and a host plant for monarch caterpillars.

Species 21

Silkgrass

Pityopsis graminifoliaPollinator Wildflower

A native yellow-flowering wildflower that supports pollinators.

Species 22

Slender Blazing Star

Liatris gracilisPollinator Wildflower

A named species of blazing star that contributes late-season blooms.

Species 23

Butterfly Pea

Centrosema virginianumNative Legume & Vine

A flowering native legume vine that adds another growth form.

Species 24

Virginia Tephrosia

Tephrosia virginianaNative Legume

A native legume associated with open sandy pine habitats.

Restoration planning note: The 24 species shown above are candidates for seed conservation, research, and potential future restoration—not a prescribed planting list or a representation of what would be planted together at any single restoration site. Species selection for each restoration project will depend on the site's natural plant community, soil and hydrology, local genetic provenance, ecological goals, and applicable permissions and permits. Our goal is to establish a realistic founding conservation framework that combines endangered-plant preservation with practical habitat restoration.

What the Pilot Is Designed to Teach Us

The founding project is intended to build the operational and scientific foundation needed for much larger statewide conservation work.

Collection & Documentation

Develop a consistent system for documenting wild populations, collection conditions, ecological provenance, photographs, permissions, and other information that gives preserved seed long-term scientific value.

Seed Biology & Storage

Learn how species with different seed types respond to cleaning, handling, germination testing, short-term storage, long-term storage, and other conservation approaches.

Genetic Representation

Develop practical methods for preserving diversity within native populations rather than relying on a small or unrepresentative number of individual plants.

Restoration Use

Build a system in which preserved material can ultimately be traced into propagation or restoration projects while maintaining the provenance information needed to understand its origin.

Project Path

The project moves deliberately through collection, documentation, conservation, testing, seed amplification, and restoration.

Program Foundation

Protocol, Data & Partnership Development

Maintain and refine collection, documentation, seed handling, viability, conservation, and data protocols while building the scientific, landowner, restoration, and land-management relationships needed for responsible field work.

January 2027

Florida Seed Bank Prepares to Launch

Florida Seed Bank is preparing for formal incorporation as a Florida nonprofit in January 2027 and the completion of its initial governance and organizational setup. The organization is building the protocols, partnerships, and conservation capacity needed to preserve Florida's native plant biodiversity and support a long-term statewide seed conservation program.

2027

Founding Collections

Begin appropriately authorized and scientifically documented collections from verified and appropriately authorized native populations as sites, permissions, permits, seed availability, and conservation conditions allow.

Following Collection

Processing, Testing & Preservation

Process collections, establish appropriate preservation methods, conduct baseline testing where suitable, and build geographically separate backup holdings when practical.

Propagation & Restoration

Use appropriately selected material to demonstrate that a conservation accession can remain traceable from its wild source through preservation and ultimately into meaningful restoration or research use.

Our Founding Conservation Project

The Central Florida Scrub & Sandhill Conservation Pilot is Florida Seed Bank's founding conservation project. It establishes and demonstrates a scientifically documented approach to conserving native seed from an ecologically coherent Central Florida scrub plant community.

The species list, scientific methodology, collection locations, partner participation, and project schedule may be refined as Florida Seed Bank receives additional scientific guidance and evaluates land access, seed availability, conservation priorities, and applicable permitting requirements.

As the project moves through field collection, preservation, viability testing, seed amplification, and restoration work, Florida Seed Bank documents its progress and use what is learned from the pilot to help guide the development of a broader statewide native seed conservation program.

Building the Foundation for Statewide Conservation

The Scrub & Sandhill Pilot is the first step toward a statewide genetic resource repository representing Florida's roughly 3,200 native plant species and the ecosystems those plants form together.

How We Preserve Seeds Get Involved