''Campanula robinsiae'' is a rare species of flowering plant in the bellflower family known by the common names Brooksville bellflower, Robins' bellflower, and Chinsegut bellflower. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, where it is known from four or five occurrences in Hernando and Hillsborough Counties.USFWS
Brooksville Bellflower: Five-year Review.
May 10, 2010. Its population has fluctuated throughout the years; at one point in the early 1980s it was feared extinct.Clear, M
A rare flower makes botanists think again.
''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' September 24, 2007. Today there are two populations in Hernando County and probably three in

Hillsborough River State Park Hillsborough River State Park is located in the northeast corner of Hillsborough County, Florida near Zephyrhills (which is itself in Pasco County). It is a popular park due to its proximity to the city of Tampa. The park consists of over 3,38 ...

. At the time the plant was listed as an endangered species of the United States in 1989, it was known from three small populations on wet

prairie Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...

s that were threatened by changes in the local

hydrology Hydrology () is the scientific study of the movement, distribution, and management of water on Earth and other planets, including the water cycle, water resources, and environmental watershed sustainability. A practitioner of hydrology is call ...

and by

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

.USFWS
Endangered status for four Florida plants.
''Federal Register'' July 27, 1989. It was also thought to be threatened by

vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term ...

, trampling, and collecting by flower enthusiasts.

Cattle grazing Pastoral farming (also known in some regions as ranching, livestock farming or grazing) is aimed at producing livestock, rather than growing crops. Examples include dairy farming, raising beef cattle, and raising sheep for wool. In contrast, ar ...

and invasion of the habitat by the exotic skunkvine (''Paederia foetida'') also degrade the habitat.The Nature Conservancy
/ref> This is an annual herb with slender, sometimes branching stems reaching 15 centimeters in height. The stems have slight winglike ridges, and the stem nodes may root if they come in contact with moist substrate. Leaves are variable in size and shape. The bell-shaped purple flower is 3 millimeters to one centimeter in length. This plant grows in moist to wet prairie habitat, often near

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

s, or sometimes in seeps in remnant

hardwood forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. These fo ...

stands. More populations of the plant have been discovered since it was first evaluated for the

endangered species list On 29 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 5220 (2754 animals, 1 fungus, 2464 plant, 1 protist) endangered species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations. For IUCN lists of endangered species by kingd ...

, but they are all threatened by destruction and degradation of the habitat. This applies to the four populations that are located on protected, conserved land, as well as one population that is on private property. The latter population will likely be destroyed when the land is cleared for construction of

housing Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether i ...

. The protected areas have undergone several years of

drought A drought is defined as drier than normal conditions.Douville, H., K. Raghavan, J. Renwick, R.P. Allan, P.A. Arias, M. Barlow, R. Cerezo-Mota, A. Cherchi, T.Y. Gan, J. Gergis, D. Jiang, A. Khan, W. Pokam Mba, D. Rosenfeld, J. Tierney, an ...

conditions that have been unfavorable to the plant, which thrives in wet years. Surface runoff has been found to contaminate the local water, sometimes increasing the nutrients such that non-native plant species are likely to increase. A 2010 review indicated that the plant's situation still warrants endangered status for now.

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile
{{Taxonbar, from=Q5027937 robinsiae Endemic flora of Florida