Lechea lakelae Wilbur (1974:481)
Lakela’s pinweed
Taxonomy & Nomenclature
Conservation Status
Missing (Flora of the Southeastern United States; Gann et al., 2002:151-152) or Extinct (Gann et al., 2001-2023 fide Possiley et al., 2024; Knapp et al., 2021; Albani Rocchetti et al., 2022; NatureServe, 2024; POWO, 2024; Christenhusz & Govaerts, 2025)
Last record: 11 April 1987 (Gann et al., 2001-2025 [as 1987]; Gann et al., 2002:151,152,925 [as 1987]; Knapp et al., 2021 [as 1987]; Christenhusz & Govaerts, 2025 [as 1987]; Wunderlin et al., 2025)
The species was only ever collected four times: 27 September 1964, 7 August 1967, 30 July 1968 and 11 April 1987 (Atlas of Florida Plants). A non-fruiting specimen was collected in 2001, but a positive ID was not possible (NatureServe, 2024).
Distribution & Habitat
Marco Island, Collier County, Florida, USA
Biology & Ecology
Hypodigm
Media
References
Original scientific description:
Wilbur, R. L. (1974). A new species of Lechea (Cistaceae) from peninsular Florida. Rhodora 76: 478-483.
Other references:
Albani Rocchetti, Giulia, Carta, Angelino, Mondoni, Andrea, Godefroid, Sandrine, Davis, Charles C., Caneva, Giulia, Albrecht, Matthew A., Alvarado, Karla, Bijmoer, Roxali, Borosova, Renata, Bräuchler, Christian, Breman, Elinor, Briggs, Marie, Buord, Stephane, Cave, Lynette H., Da Silva, Nílber Gonçalves, Davey, Alexandra H., Davies, Rachael M., Dickie, John B., Fabillo, Melodina, Fleischmann, Andreas, Franks, Andrew, Hall, Geoffrey, Kantvilas, Gintaras, Klak, Cornelia, Liu, Udayangani, Medina, Leopoldo, Reinhammar, Lars Gunnar, Sebola, Ramagwai J., Schönberger, Ines, Sweeney, Patrick, Voglmayr, Hermann, White, Adam, Wieringa, Jan J., Zippel, Elke Zippel and Abeli, Thomas. (2022). Selecting the best candidates for resurrecting extinct-in-the-wild plants from herbaria. Nature Plants 8: 1385-1393. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-022-01296-7 [Supplementary Tables S1-S6]
Avery, G. N., and Loope, L. L. (1980). Endemic taxa in the flora of South Florida. South Florida Research Center Report T-558. Homestead: Everglades National Park.
Christenhusz, Maarten J. M. and Govaerts, Rafaël. (2023). Uitgestorven. Op plantenjacht rond de wereld: 1-511. Sterck & De Vreese.
Christenhusz, Maarten J. M. and Govaerts, Rafaël. (2025). Plant extinction in the Anthropocene. Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 207(3): 183-196. https://doi.org/10.1093/botlinnean/boae045 [Appendix S1]
Coile, N. C. (2000). Notes on Florida's endangered and threatened plants. Gainesville: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services: Division of Plant Industry.
Gann, George D., Bradley, Keith A. and Woodmansee, Steven W. (2002). Rare Plants of South Florida: Their History, Conservation, and Restoration. Miami, Florida: The Institute for Regional Conservation. xiv + 1056 pp.
Gann, George D., Trotta, L. B., and Collaborators. (2001-2023). Floristic Inventory of South Florida Database [web application]. The Institute for Regional Conservation. Delray Beach, FL, U.S.A. Available at: www.regionalconservation.org/ircs/database/Database.asp [Accessed by Possley et al., 2024 in May 2023]
Gann, George D., Trotta, L. B., and Collaborators. (2001-2025). Lechea lakelae Wilbur: Lakela’s pinweed. In: Floristic Inventory of South Florida Database Online. The Institute for Regional Conservation. Delray Beach, Florida. Available at: https://www.regionalconservation.org/ircs/database/database.asp [Accessed 21 August 2026]
Kartesz, J. T. (1994). A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. 2nd edition. 2 vols. Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Knapp, Wesley M., Frances, Anne, Noss, Reed, Naczi, Robert F. C., Weakley, Alan, Gann, George D., Baldwin, Bruce G., Miller, James, McIntyre, Patrick, Mishler, Brent D., Moore, Gerry, Olmstead, Richard G., Strong, Anna, Kennedy, Kathryn, Heidel, Bonnie and Gluesenkamp, Daniel. (2021). Vascular plant extinction in the continental United States and Canada. Conservation Biology 35(1): 360-368. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13621 [Supporting Information (Appendix S1)]
Kral, R. (1983). A report on some rare, threatened, or endangered forest-related vascular plants of the South. U.S. Dept. of Agriculture Forest Service Technical Publication R8-TP2, Athens, GA. 1305 pp.
Lemke, D. E. (2015). Lechea, pp. 389-397 [392]. In: Flora of North America North of Mexico. Vol. 6. Magnoliophyta: Cucurbitaceae to Droserceae. Oxford University Press, New York. 496 pp + xxiv.
NatureServe. (2024). Lechea lakelae: Lakela's Pinweed. NatureServe Network Biodiversity Location Data accessed through NatureServe Explorer [web application]. NatureServe, Arlington, Virginia. Available at: https://explorer.natureserve.org/ [Accessed on 19 June 2014]
Possley, J., Lange, J. J., Franck, A. R., Gann, G. D., Wilson, T., Kolterman, S., Duquesnel, J., and J. O’Brien. (2024). First US vascular plant extirpation linked to sea level rise? Pilosocereus millspaughii (Cactaceae) in the Florida Keys, USA. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 18(1): 211-223. https://doi.org/10.17348/jbrit.v18.i1.1350
POWO. (2024). Plants of the World Online (online resource). Facilitated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, United Kingdom. Available at: https://powo.science.kew.org/ [Accessed 19 June 2024]
Wilder and Roche. (2019). A floristic inventory of Marco Island (Collier County), Florida. Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas 3(2): 873-899.
Wunderlin, R. P. (1982). Guide to the vascular plants of central Florida. Univ. Presses Florida, Gainesville. 472 pp.
Wunderlin, R. P. (1998). Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida.
Wunderland, R. P. and Hansen, B. F. (2003). Guide to the vascular plants of Florida, second edition. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
Wunderlin, R. P., Hansen, B. F., Franck, A. R. and Essig, F. B. (2025). Atlas of Florida Plants. [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa. Online. Available at: https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ [Accessed on 21 August 2026]
https://fsus.ncbg.unc.edu/show-taxon-detail.php?taxonid=7650
https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/plant.aspx?id=1101