Monday, 15 June 2015

Explore The Outdoors With This Florida Trees Identification Guide

By April Briggs


Florida is a haven for trees with more than 300 species indigenous to the southern state. Many other exotic trees and plants have also taken hold in the state. Get to know a few of the species With this Florida trees identification guide.

The state is home to two different varieties of sand pine. The Choctawatchtee version produces non-serotinous cones and grows primarily in the northwest region of the state. The Ocala variety is found in the northeastern and southern regions and has serotinous cones that do not open up unless exposed to extremely high temperatures. The bark of the Ocala variety is reddish-brown but turns gray with age. It has an open crown that can be round or flat.

The white mangrove thrives along the shorelines of bays and estuaries high above the water line. It prefers stagnant wet soil. It differs from other variations of mangroves in that is has no aerial roots. The leaf is light green and elliptical with two glands at the base.

The laurel oak can adapt equally well to both dry and wet habitats. This fast-growing tree is a favorite for residential and commercial landscaping in the state. The trunk can be as much as four feet in diameter. It may grow to more than 60 feet and the crown is typically symmetrically round or oval. During the spring it grows small brown catkins.

The myrtle oak lives on dunes and hammocks along the coast or in sandy soil in scrubland. It may grow up to 40 feet tall or remain short. Its leaves are approximately 1.5 inches long and grow downward along the edges. The leaves are usually yellowish to rusty in color.

The coastplain willow grows throughout Southern Florida. It prefers shorelines along shrub swamps, ponds, rivers, marshes, lakes, and wet forests and grows up to 30 feet tall. This is a deciduous tree with leaves that grow to seven inches long. Each leaf has a finely serrated margin.

The turkey oak gets its name from the shape of its leaves, which feature a maximum of seven lobes and look similar to a turkey foot. The foliage feeds multiple species of wildlife, including turkeys, deer, and black bears. This tree thrives in pine and oak woodlands as well as dry pinelands and on sandy ridges. A mature tree can reach heights of 50 feet or more.

The swamp bay plays an important role in the ecosystem as a host for the larva of Swallowtail butterflies. This evergreen tree has leaves that often have galls and alternate. They are light green with reddish hairs on the underside and shiny on top. The fruit it bears is a slightly elongated drupe that is very dark, almost black in color.

The southern magnolia yields large white or cream-colored flowers up to 8 inches long, which have a strong fragrance. The fruit is cone-like and has red berries hanging from silky threads during the autumn. This evergreen can reach heights of up to 80 feet and grows primarily in Mesic upland woodlands and bottomland forests. This is another popular landscaping tree with Florida property owners.




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