Propagating and Reintroducing Rare Species to Restored Bogs in Florida State Parks

Since 2012, the Garden has been working to restore coastal dune lakes and watersheds along Florida’s Coastline, an important, yet degraded transitional habitat between the Gulf of Mexico and upland communities.

Overgrown by hardwood canopy, this project focuses on opening up wetland areas, re-establishing natural plant and animal communities, and improving water quality in the watershed. Approximately 6,485 plants have been outplanted in Florida state parks for this project, including 4,625 at Deer Lake State Park, approximately 551 at Grayton Beach State Park, 454 at Rocky Bayou State Park, and approximately 855 at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park. Restoration species consist of S. rubra ssp. gulfensis, S. purpurea var. burkii, S. leucophylla, S. psittacina, S. flava, Platanthera conspicua, Pinguicula lutea, P. planifolia, Asclepias tuberosa, and A. humistrata.