The first chapter of Lauren’s master’s thesis has officially been published! This is the first of a multi-part work on the imperiled Pine Rockland ecosystem of south Florida. Lauren built a community phylogeny for all the plants in this ecosystem and examined the biogeographic origins of the flora.

  • Trotta L, B Baiser, J Possley, D Li, J Lange, S Martin, and EB Sessa. Community phylogeny of the globally critically imperiled pine rockland ecosystem. American Journal of Botany 105(10): 1735–1747. doi: 10.1002/ajb2.1168 PDF
FIGURE 1. (A) Map of the historical range and remaining fragments of pine rockland habitat in South Florida (Miami-Dade County). The largest extant, contiguous parcel of pine rockland is in Everglades National Park. (B) Photograph of a typical pine rockland with slash pine (Pinus elliottii Engelmann var. densa Little & K. W. Dorman, J. Forest [=P. elliottii Engelm]) overstory and understory of various palms, shrubs, and forbs. (C) Photograph of a recently burned pine rockland. The oolitic limestone substrate is visible in the foreground. Soil is shallow to nonexistent in this fire-dependent habitat.
FIGURE 2. Photographs of representative pine rockland plant species: (A) Ipomoea microdactyla Griseb. (Convolvulaceae); (B) Passiflora suberosa L. (Passifloraceae); (C) Centrosema virginianum (L.)Benth. (Fabaceae); (D) Euphorbia cyathophora Murray (Euphorbiaceae); (E) Clematis baldwinii Torr. & A.Gray (Ranunculaceae); (F) Opuntia humifusa (Raf.)Raf. (Cactaceae); (G) Bletia purpurea (Lam.)DC. (Orchidaceae); (H) Liatris tenuifolia Nutt. (Asteracae); (I) Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi (Anacardiaceae); (J) Pteris bahamensis (J.Agardh) Fée (Pteridaceae); (K) Abrus precatorius L. (Fabaceae); (L) Euphorbia deltoidea Engelm. ex Chapm. subsp. deltoidea (Euphorbiaceae); (M) Miconia bicolor (Mill.) Triana (Melastomataceae); (N) Agalinis fasciculata (Elliott)Raf. (Orobanchaceae); (O) Mosiera longipes (O.Berg)Small (Myrtaceae); (P) Asclepias viridis Walter (Apocynaceae).