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Winter 2003 - V.18 N.4 Table of Content |
Lakela's Mint | |||||||||
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Species Spotlight Archives Southeastern Beach Mouse Bottlenose Dolphin Roseate Spoonbill The Green Buttonwood The Common Snook Small Tooth Sawfish Sea Rocket |
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Lakela's mint or Dicerandra immaculata is a low growing dome-shaped shrub of the mint family. The plants reach 15 inches in height and bear erect flowers in small clusters at the tips of the stems. The plant's main flowering time is in the fall. Small, roundish, light brown seeds are produced in abundance, but the plant shows little or no tendency toward weediness. Lakela's mint is restricted to coastal sand pine scrub vegetation. The only known surviving habitat for this species on earth is nine colonies found between the cities of Vero Beach and Fort Pierce. Threats to the species include development, invasive
species, sand mining and fungal disease affecting the seeds. MRC is currently working to preserve the habitat of this rare species (See cover article).