The vascular flora of the John J. Pescatello Torchwood Hammock Preserve, Little Torch Key, Florida

The John J. Pescatello Torchwood Hammock Preserve, comprising 97 ha, is located on Little Torch Key, 24 39” N Latitude, 81 23” Longitude. The preserve was surveyed for vascular plant species in February, 2012, and again in July, 2013. The vascular flora of the preserve consists of 126 species within 86 genera and 45 families. The largest families in the flora were the Poaceae (18), Fabaceae (10), Asteraceae (7), and Rubiaceae (6). The largest genera were Borrichia, Solanum, and Tillandsia, each with three species. Six endangered species and seven threatened species compose 10% of the flora. Five non-native species were identified within the preserve. With little anthropogenic disturbance except at the roadside right-of-way border, the flora here was stable, though hurricane damage might provide fertile habitat for invasive Schinus terebinthefolius and Casurina spp. in the future. The present floristic study of the Pescatello Preserve provides a vascular plant inventory that can be compared with future floristic studies at this site.