The breeding system of Ziziphus celata Judd and D.W. Hall (Rhamnaceae), a rare endemic plant of the Lake Wales Ridge, Florida, USA: implications for recovery Original Research Article

Although the rarity of an endangered plant species can seldom be ascribed to its breeding system, knowledge of its breeding system may be critical to its recovery. The federally listed endangered Ziziphus celata (Florida ziziphus), a woody clonal shrub narrowly endemic to xeric upland habitats of the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida, USA, is known from only five populations, four of which are sterile and perhaps uniclonal. Altogether only 11 genotypes of Florida ziziphus have been identified by allozyme electrophoresis. We studied the breeding system of Florida ziziphus and found that it is an obligate outcrosser and that some genotypes are cross-incompatible. We have been able to demonstrate the cross-compatibility of only 11 of the 44 test crosses performed to date (25%), as measured by fruit yield. Cross-incompatibility is most likely due to shared self-incompatibility (S) alleles among the few remaining genotypes of these fragmented populations. The identification and translocation of compatible mating types to create reproductively viable populations is essential for the recovery of Florida ziziphus.