NCC seeks to protect endangered wild herb

(CNS): The National Conservation Council is about to begin a public consultation on a conservation plan for Cayman sage (Salvia caymanensis) to restore a self-sustaining population in the wild and to help with cultivating the plant to protect its genetic diversity. This critically endangered species was believed to be extinct until 2007, when it was rediscovered along the Queen’s Highway. The goal now is to ensure the survival of the short-lived perennial plant, which is unique to Grand Cayman.

According to the proposed conservation plan, seeds collected from the rediscovered plants have been cultivated by the QEII Botanic Park, where multiple generations have been grown and planted. But the herb has a short life span, rarely surviving more than a few years. Even though the plants flower and seed profusely, populations do not seem to regenerate in one place, and experts do not know for sure what triggers the seed to germinate or how long it can remain dormant.

“Very little is understood about the ecology of this plant as a species in the wild, or about any specific threats,” the NCC draft plan states. “This lack of knowledge impedes planning for restoration to the wild.”

But given that propagation generated thousands of specimens, originating from very large numbers of seeds from the Queen’s Highway population, it seems unlikely that current stock is threatened so there will be no need to track individual plants or pollination. The objective of the conservation plan is to restore a self-sustaining population in the wild and encourage cultivation to protect genetic diversity.

Therefore, the plan aims to continue to allow the Botanic Park to sell Cayman sage plants to the public on Grand Cayman and encourage planting in gardens in diverse habitats throughout the island. It will also provide for cultivated Cayman Sage plants to be planted in selected coastal sand habitats on land already under some level of protection or by agreement with landowners.

The plan also calls for research partnerships with academic institutes to study the biology and ecology of this species in detail to better inform conservation strategies. The NCC also proposes a public outreach and education campaign to publicise restoration plantings and plant sales. Attempts to restore Cayman sage to locations in the wild will be conducted in partnership between the Department of Environment and the QE II Botanic Park.

This plan does not require the government to acquire any specific land, as the herb can be restored in any suitable protected area. The ideal habitat for the species is not yet known with any certainty, and the viability of restoration strategies still has to be developed and tested, the DoE experts said.

While the public will be encouraged to plant and grow the herb, it will be fully protected where it is growing in the wild, and those plants may not be taken or used as a source for cultivation or disturbed in any way without a permit under the NCA. The public will be encouraged to acquire the plant from the Botanic Park which will be classed as cultivated stock.

“Members of the public on Grand Cayman can hold, propagate, plant, buy and sell specimens of cultivated Cayman Sage, but specimens may not be transferred to ownership outside of Grand Cayman. This is intended to retain Cayman Sage’s natural distribution as a plant unique to that one island.”

See the conservation plan on the NCC agenda here.