Varronia bellonis

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Varronia bellonis, the serpentine manjack, is an endangered shrub found only in Puerto Rico. It was first discovered in Susúa in 1992, when a small group of five plants was found. By 1997, about 99 wild plants remained, and numbers kept falling, prompting conservation and reintroduction efforts.

This plant lives on serpentine soils, which are common on Puerto Rico’s western side. It grows on sunny roadside banks, in thickets, in gaps between limestone hills, and in ravines or along intermittent streams, usually between 150 and 875 meters in elevation. Serpentine soils there contain minerals like antigorite, lizardite, and chrysotile. The shrub reaches about 1–2 meters tall and has slender twigs with short hairs. Its leaves are alternate, oblong, 2–6 cm long.

V. bellonis has white, axillary flowers and is unisexual, so individual plants are male or female. The fruit is a small pointed drupe about 5 mm long that turns red when ripe, typically developing from November to February.

Threats come mainly from habitat destruction due to road building and forest management, which has drastically reduced its numbers. In Río Abajo, 82% of known plants were removed for a highway in 1994, and 20 more were cleared in 1995. Although it is protected as endangered, more action is needed. Conservation success depends on seed sources, storage, propagation methods, and how many plants to reintroduce.

Possible reintroduction sites include areas around Maricao, Río Abajo, Susúa, and Ciales, which lie within the plant’s original range. Some experts think upgrading its status to critically endangered could help accelerate recovery plans.