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PLANTS  ENDEMIC
TO COCKPIT COUNTRY

 Parrot

In 2009, Keron Campbell (Botanist, Natural History Museum of Jamaica, Institute of Jamaica) gave a presentation on the 71 plant species whose global ranges are restricted entirely to Cockpit Country.  A final checklist (updating George Proctor's list of 65 species published in 1986) has not yet been published.   The checklist presented here is incomplete:   one species is missing from this list and, as you can see, a few are still being described by experts.

The extraordinary number of endemic plants contributes to Cockpit Country being recognised as the #1 Biodiversity Hotspot in the Caribbean. The downside of this recognition is that it doesn't merely recognise the number of range-restricted species:   Cockpit Country is #1 because so many species are threatened with extinction 😢

To learn more about expeditions which have been undertaken to check on the status of Cockpit Country's endemic flora, we recommend the blogs of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's (FTBG) The Lost Plant Species of Cockpit Country, Jamaica" series.   Three cheers for Gladys-the-donkey!

And special thanks to Dr. Lauren Raz for letting us extract information from her PowerPoint presentation.

Last updated: 22-January-2015

Taxon # of species
resident on Jamaica		 # endemic
to Jamaica		 # Jamaican endemics
in Cockpit Country		 # endemic
to Cockpit Country
Ferns ~ 600 82 (14%) 15 (18%) 2
Vascular plants 3,304 923 (28%) 281 (30%) 71

PTERIDOPHYTA
Polypodiaceae  
Tillandsia adamsii
(c) FTBG
  Adiantum pumilum  
  Thelypteris trelawniensis 
MONOCOTYLEDONAE 
Araceae 
  Anthurium mancuniense 
  Anthurium sp. nov. ined. 
  S. sp. nov. ined. 
Bromeliaceae 
  Hohenbergia abbreviata 
  Hohenbergia gnetacea 
  Tillandsia adamsii 
  Tillandsia calcicola 
  Tillandsia trelawniensis 
Orchidaceae 
  Lepanthes brownii 
  Lepanthes convexa 
  Lepanthes lanceolata 
  Lepanthes multiflora 
  Lepanthes simplex 
  Lepanthes unguicularis 
  Lepanthes woodiana 
DICOTYLEDONAE 
Cinnamondendron grantii
(c) FTBG
Acanthaceae 
  Drejerella blechoides 
Anacardiaceae 
  Comocladia cordata Vulnerable
Boraginaceae 
  Cordia harrisii Vulnerable
Burseraceae 
  Bursera aromatica Vulnerable
Buxaceae 
  Buxus arborea Vulnerable
Canellaceae 
  Cinnamondendron grantii 
Cactaceae 
  Mammillaria jamaicensis Prob. extinct in wild
Compositae (Asteraceae) 
  Bidens trelawniensis 
  Eupatorium rigidum 
  Verbesina karsticola 
  Vernonia verticillata 
Convolvulaceae 
  Ipomoea carmesina 
Euphorbiaceae 
  Bernardia trelawniensis 
  Grimmeodendron jamaicense 
  Phyllanthus axillaris Endangered
Columnea hispida in 1974
(c) Institute of Jamaica
  Sebastiana howardiana 
Gesneriaceae 
  Columnia hispida 
  Columnia jamaicensis 
  Columnia subcordata 
  Gesneria jamaicensis 
  Gesneria sphaerosperma 
  Rytidophyllum grande var. laevigatum 
Subfam. Faboideae 
  Lonchocarpus patens 
  Sophora saxicola 
Malpighiaceae 
  Malpighia obtusifolia Vulnerable
Melastomataceae 
  Clidemia crossosepala 
Myrsinaceae 
  Ardisia urbanii 
Myrtaceae 
  Calyptranthes proctorii 
  Eugenia karsticola 
Columnea hispida in 2006!
(c) FTBG
  Eugenia sachetae Endangered
  Mitranthes macrophylla Critically Endangered
  Pimenta obscura Vulnerable
Oleaceae 
  Chionanthus sp. indet. 
Rhizophoraceae 
  Cassipouria brittoniana Endangered
Rubiaceae 
  Acrosynanthus jamaicensis 
  Antirhea tomentosa 
  Exostema orbiculatum Critically Endangered
  Portlandia sp. nov. 
  Psychotria siphonophora Endangered
  Rondeletia amplexicaulis Endangered
  Rondeletia cymulosa 
  Scolosanthus howardii Endangered
Rutaceae 
  Spathelia coccinea Critically Endangered
Pilea sp. nov.
(c) WRC
Sapotaceae 
  Manilkara excise Endangered
Simaroubaceae 
  Alvaradoa lewsii Vulnerable
Sterculiaceae 
  Ayenia laevigata 
Theaceae 
  Ternstroemia glomerata 
Theophrastaceae 
  Jacquinia macrantha var. macrantha 
Urticaceae 
  Pilea diffusa 
  Pilea rufescens 
  Pilea saxicola 
  Pilea sp. nov. 

REFERENCES

Adams, C.D. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica. University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica.

Anadón Irizarry, V., D.C. Wege, A. Upgren, R. Young, B. Boom, Y.M. León, Y. Arias, K. Koenig, A.L. Morales, W. Burke, A. Pérez-Leroux, C. Levy, S. Koenig, L. Gape, and P. Moore. 2012. Sites for priority biodiversity conservation in the Caribbean Islands Biodiversity Hotspot. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4: 2733-2844.

Gordon, J.,K. Cambell, S. Koenig, L. Nelson & P. Lewis. 2006. A turning point for Jamaica's Cockpit Country. Oryx 40: 383-384.

IUCN 2015. 2015 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. . Downloaded on 22 January 2015.

Kelly, D.L. 1988. The threatened flowering plants of Jamaica. Biological Conservation 46: 201-216.

Proctor, G.R. (1986). Cockpit Country and its vegetation. Pp. 43-48. In: D.A. Thompson, P.K. Bretting, and M. Humphreys (eds.) Forests of Jamaica. Jamaican Society of Scientists and Technologists, Kingston, Jamaica.

Maunder, M., M. Abdo, R. Berazain, C. Clubbe, F. Jiménez, Á. Leiva, E. Santiago-Valentín, B. Jestrow and J. Francisco-Ortega. 2011. The plants of the Caribbean Islands: a review of the biogeography, diversity and conservation of a storm-battered biodiversity hot-spot. Pp.154-178 In: D. Bramwell, J. Caujape-Castells (eds.). The Biology of Island Floras. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.