Collecting wild plants in Fla

We're driving to Fla for our vacation From 3/13-3/20/05. Any hints on collecting in the wild would be appreciated. I;'m interested in Tropicals (plants, seeds, Mosquito Fish, Green tree frogs). Thanks.

While I don't think it's a good idea to collect any kind of animal, especially wild animals, collecting plants and seed could be fun.

I'm not sure how safe it would be but I bet the everglades would yeild some great plants, carnivorous, orchid, etc.

Buttoneer, where will you be in Florida?

Micha, the Everglades are protected as are all of our native epiphyte orchids and most, if not all, carnivorous plants. The only people that can legally take from the swamps of southern Florida are the Miccosukee Indians. http://jrscience.wcp.muohio.edu/FieldCourses99/MarineEcologyArticles/TheMiccosukeeIndiansandthA.html It's a hefty fine to collect an endangered plant.

That said, there are TONS of tropicals to be had down here! Mid March will be a pretty time to be here.

I don't recommend collecting wildlife either. You may really cause problems where you live if, for example, you collected a green tree frog who got loose and wreaked havoc on the ecosystem in PA where it may not have any natural predators, such as gators, to keep the population down. Don't you know that's why there's alligators in the New York City sewers? (I'm kidding. That's an urban legend, although that's exactly how real life exotic, wild animals end up living where they're not supposed to. South Florida is full of exotic tropical birds that people bought as pets and then let 'em loose outside.)

Do not try to collect on state or federal land, such as in state parks. Your best bet would be to attempt to find private property and get permission from the owner. It may also behoove you to check into Florida law regarding not only protected species (such as sea oats, orchids, bromeliads, etc.) but also exotic, invasive pests that you DO NOT want to spread to PA (such as mimosa, maleleuca, chinese tallow, kudzu, wisteria, nandina, asiatic jasmine, and so on). I also hope you have a really good field guide or bring someone who is very knowledgable about identification.

Trying to collect plants in the Everglades would also not be recommended unless you hire a knowledgeable guide to navigate around for you. Most, if not all, of the glades are state park/state-owned and protected land. The ecosystem is so delicate and so easily disrupted there, I really wish you'd find some other swamp to collect in if it means that much to you. It's also rather dangerous and difficult without an airboat and an airboat driver who knows the area. Tides shift, landmarks move around... I wouldn't try it on my own. I wouldn't canoe there and I would NEVER attempt moving around in the glades on foot. Seems like a good way to lose a foot from a gator nibble.

I think your best bet is to contact garden clubs and native plant societies in the city (cities) you'll be visiting and time your visit around their seed and plant exchanges. Frankly, unless you're a native (And I mean Seminole or Miccosukee indian), none of us has any business trotting around any swamp in Florida unescorted.

Also, please, for all Floridians, do not remove LIVE sea shells from Florida beaches. They'll end up in the trash at some rest stop on I-95 somewhere unless you know how to process them correctly (which you do not if you are a PA native and do not live here) before you go home. And again, you could be removing protected species. Not sure if it's live? Flip it over. Look inside. If you see hermit crab feet or there's some big slug-looking thing in there, that shell is providing a home for a critter. Put the shell back in the water and move on, please.

I'm really uncomfortable with the idea of anyone doing this. I don't go to Pennsylvania and bring your wildlife back to Florida. Why do you feel the need to take our wildlife out of its natural habitat and bring it to your house? Couldn't you just bring a camera and take pictures home with you? Why is it necessary to collect specimens?

There's enough damage to the natural resources in this state from tourists and tourism as it is... I wish you'll think about what I've written here and reconsider adding any more of your own damage.

First of all, let me explain. I have no intention of collecting anything whatsoever (except photos) in the Everglades. I know it is protected. I also know not to collect in State Parks for the Same reason. I have collected down there in the past, so I am not "green" (sorry for the tongue-in cheek, LOL). I do plan to collect, and live seashells do not interest me, only the empty ones. I have no intention of creating any damage to the state. Heterandria formosa, the least killifish is rampant in Fla and can be found everywhere. I only plan to take a few home with me to add to my stock to mix up the gene pool. I have a greenhouse and have successfully raised green tree frogs there in the past. Anything that is inadvertently released up here in PA will die when everything freezes over in winter, so we don't have the same problems you folks in Fla have with kudzu, water hyacinth, etc. I have collected in Texas, Delaware, PA, Nassau (seeds), Turks & Caicos (Seeds), etc. I appreciate your concern but this is my vacation & we will be doing some collecting in places that are not protected. I have done the WDW and Universal Studios thing & am tired of that. I do plan to attend the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens rare plant sale & buy there to bring home. Also plan to buy plants at Webster Farmers Market, so please don't be too harsh on me. My tourist dollars help Fla. LOL. Thanks for the input.

p.s. how many gallons of kudzu & water hyacinth would you like me to rid the state of? Just kidding.

I feel really dumb but I didn't know that! I should have though. I imagine you could become knowledgable about the species and purchase or trade for the ones you like.

A lot of invasives found in Fla can survive PA winters. Better sorry than safe.

Actually I have seen kudzu as far north as West Virginia!

Anyway, my apologies if I was too harsh on you. It sounds like you'll be one of the few thoughtful tourists down here and THAT is welcome!

I'm not familiar with the Sarasota area or I'd have more tips for you.

We can load you up with Water Hyacinths, Air Potatoes and best of all...Cuban Tree Frogs!!! Maybe we'll even toss in some Brazilian Pepper and Stink Vine! LOL. Yep we can send ya home with a carload!

Here's a wonderful native plant nursery...they have a good selection and pretty good prices. Way better than some others around here. Knowledgable and friendly folks

Florida Native Plants Inc.
730 Myakka Rd
Sarasota
941.322.1915
e-mail: FNPLANTS@aol.com

To all, thank you so much for understanding. I do appreciate your trying to save native plants & endangered species from over-collecting because I have seen it with orchids time & time again. I will definitely look up this nursery. I would rather buy from a nursery than collect. We are bluegrass addicts and plan to attend the Bluegrass clogging & BBQ festival in Auburndale, we are also planning to take that ecosafari all-day tour of the everglades, armed with credit cards & cameras, maybe Arabian nights for supper one night, go to Webster Farmers Mkt, attend the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens rare plant sale and visit friends & relatives. I have a full schedule for the 6 or 7 days we will be vacationing down there. I guess you gather that we don't rest much on vacation because there is too much to see or do. In 3 years, when I get 3 weeks vacation, I plan to spend 2 weeks down there. I don't know if I can stand the wait until March gets here. Maybe if I leaf through seed catalogs. Hmmmmm??

Floridian. Will I have to take a pepcid or Beano for that stinkweed vine? LOL

Buttoneer: try www.floridata.com.

That ought to help scratch your itch! Happy browsing!

Gosh, I hate to miss a chance to "share" some of our invasive, er, exotic fauna with a visitor. How 'bout some nice sandspurs?? heh heh heh

Well, you can keep your palmetto bugs, huge grasshoppers, fire ants & mosquitos. We have our own critters up here to contend with. BTW, one year, we vacationed in Myrtle Beach, SC and those were the biggest mosquitos I have ever seen in all me born days. On the truck, they were sitting on the shady side of the truck and not the sunny side. At night, when we took our doggies outside, they bit right through our bluejeans. We had to cover ourselves with insect repellant before we went out, when we ran back in the camper, we had to kill the ones on the ceiling with a fly swatter. I think grenades would have worked better. Are your skeeters in Fla like that? I'd be interested to hear about your "critters." The last time we drove to Fla, I noticed quite a few armadillos that were run over by cars and even an alligator, all on rt I-95. I also found interesting that drainage ditch on the right side coming down I-95 that had Beaucoups water hyacinths growing in it up to a point, until they had installed a break and after that no water hyacinths.

Dogzilla, thanks so much for that link to Floridata. I have looked through all the plants listed, printed out the nurseries that carry them & will look into several of them while we are down thee. Would also like to get Oeceoclades maculata, but it was not listed. I guess I can ask the nurseries when I get down there. One thing that really was cool was the amount of cheaply priced tropical plants that your walmarts had when I was down there 10 years ago. I take it that it's still the same. I know we can buy plants at Farmers Markets, too. Oh, one question, 10 years ago, we stopped at a nursery near Plant City & I bought a hanging basket with a rick rack cactus in it but to date, that plant has never bloomed, only grew & grew. Wonder why it never bloomed? Every thing else I have in the GH blooms at least once. This plant never had a nametag, either. I guess I could scan it tomorrow & post the picture in the ID forum. Thanks again for your help.

Buttoneer you say that, "Anything that is inadvertently released up here in PA will die when everything freezes over in winter, so we don't have the same problems you folks in Fla have with kudzu, water hyacinth, etc."
That may be true but seed is produced and spread regardless. Plants do adapt over time.
Glad you are willing to investigate some of the species you want thu catalogs instead!!!

Well, I checked out a couple nurseries at that link and it appears that these are wholesale nurseries. Am I correct? If so, it won't help me a bit because I'm not a wholesaler.

Buttoneer
Check this site: http://www.afnn.org/
about the middle of the page there are pulldown lists for area and the retail nursery
There is some crossover between the wholesalers list and the retailers so you might be able to use the plant pulldown list as well

Buttoneer! Welcome to my home state. I'm a fifth generation Floridian...the only one you'll ever hear from. (All four grandparents in FL before statehood.) Sounds like you're going to the West Coast, and if so, go straight to Corkscrew Hammock near Naples/Ft. Myers. It's an Aububon Center, and the probably the best natural area in the state, for visitors. And take a few minutes away from plants and visit the Thomas Edison home in Ft. Myers, one of our very best attractions. It's his house, lab, all his inventions, and also has a huge, heart-stopping botanical garden planted by Mr. Edison himself.

But most importantly, get yourself over to the other coast where you must visit Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden, the best tropical plant collection in the US, maybe the world. World's largest palm collection. Orchids. Cycads. Flowering vines. And while you're here, the best food in the US....my hometown of Miami is now famous for crime and crazies, but it's a more and more fascinating place. My northeastern friends all way, "Gee, it's like visiting a foreign country." And we say, "Yeah, I know. Isn't it great?" It is Caracas in the US. More restaurants per capita than any city in the US. And some of the greatest, most interesting people in the country. No, you won't get shot. You'll love it. Come to Miami.
A native.

Also check out Target's garden centers while you're here. I get a lot of dirt cheap plants there

I stayed in the Everglades until it got dark..... and the mosquitos came out. They're HUGE! Egh, they look like the big mosquito looking bugs that we call mosquito eaters around here. I don't know if anyone know what bug I'm talking about.

But yes, they're bigger than the SC ones! I wonder how the natives deal?

I'll check out Target, Home Depot, Lowes, etc. Well, I have a choice of going back to Lakeland via the West Coast & see Edison (we saw it 10 years ago) or going up the E. Coast and visiting Fairchild. Wonder if Fairchild is similar to Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square only bigger. Well, I think we'll save Fairchild for 3 y ears down the road when I have 2 weeks vacation to spend in Fla. Would rather drive back up the w. Coast & See Edison again. It was totally cool. BTW, we have an Edison player that plays the cylinders. I kept it when I closed my TV shop down. It is in working condition & we have the cylinders. Through the museum, we got a contact, who still sells the styluses for the player. I would love to go back & see that again as Edison had all kinds of neat plants there.

We natives deal by not hanging around in swamps after dusk! LOL!

I use a really strong bug spray for trotting around in the woods. It's 100% DEET and I found it at the Army/Navy surplus store. Keeps ticks and chiggers away too, which is what I really have a problem with.

Mud works too. If you're out of bug spray. Rub mud all over your exposed skin. Yes, I'm a swamp monger, muhaha. (avoid the slimy stuff) :-))

If I do the "mud" thing, they might think I'm one of the native indians who live down there. Or they might think I'm a refugee from S. America. Ho Ho Ho.

No, people will look at you and think, "now why did that tourist cover himself with mud instead of using Off?"

:>)

LOL!!!!

Hey y'all, let's go Snipe Hunting! :-D

Smiles...

And I've got this bridge for sale...

Muhahaha-

Feels "caught' now, LOL! :-O

The mud does work though. :-D
Dang, no wonder we don't get many visitors, I'm insane. :-))

Hey, crimsontsavo, you know what I always say, "It ain't the heat... it's the stupidity."

Where is Fountain? And why do you think you are in Zone 7b? No place in Florida is Zone 7 -- it's all 8 and higher.

hehe- I think that zone was in Crossville Tennessee- I just forgot to change it back to florida LOL. Thanks for reminding me!

"Scratches head"-- "der` aint no stoopid peple in fountain" LOL!

I was going to say... nevermind, I looked it up. We're practically neighbors! I'm in your neck of the woods somewhat frequently, as my favorite place on the entire planet is Mexico Beach. (I should have known where Fountain was but I'm rarely on Rt. 231.)

Anyway, you're either 8b or 9a depending on which resource you care to look at. I'd suggest 9a based on what I know of the weather and flora in your neighborhood.

LOL. Like I said, It ain't the heat... :>)

(And, hey this is Florida. Everybody knows we have trouble with numbers down here.)

LOL!!!!

K, changed my zone!
Yes... very very close to me...your flowers...oh so close.... Buhahahhahaha!
I'm innocent I tell ya!
You should come down and visit me, ginger_h and weeds sometime!

I'll holler next time I'm headed that way, which will be as soon as it's warm enough for the beach but too hot for digging in the dirt. (around May-June sometime...)

Although I'm going to need some sort of external corroboration to assure me that you aren't a whacko ax murderer! Ted Bundy was a nice guy, ya know... :>P

Scouts honor- I'm nearly sane and only a little homicidal. :-D lol

Well, we're supposed to get anywhere from 7-14 inches of snow tomorrow. Anybody down there in Fla need to cool off, let me know & I'll bring some down in that tractor trailer I'm driving down with the chain saw in March. LOL

Snow?

What's that?

:>P

Keep it! I'm already sick dagnabbit. LOL Well, maybe you can bring one snowball- hehe
Stay warm!

As for the Kudzu, we have that growing here in Kansas City - it ANY place too cold for it? It is such a beauty when it blooms, that I wish I had room for it.

Floridian, why don't you tell them of OUR 'seed/plant' gathering excursions! LOL People, don't go gathering with this lady - she takes you into the swamp water just so SHE can take a picture! As you stand nearby, waiting for her to get 'just the right shot', critters are slithering around your feet!

The plants from which I wanted seeds or cuttings were 40' up a tree or in water. I came back to KC with a HUGE suitcase full, and had mailed two boxes from Stacey's office. I had an absolute blast! When can we go again, Stacer???