© 2024 Peter R. Gerbert
The Quarterly Journal of the Florida Native Plant Society
Changing Florida Forever: The Story of Two Invasive Aquatic Plants Florida Torreya: One of the World’s Most Endangered Conifers Who is Bosc, and How Did he Get to Name the Scrub-Jay? Florida: A Wildlife Artist’s Paradise
Article by Dr. Jason Ferrell and Christine Krebs UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants
Changing Florida Forever: The Story of Two Invasive Aquatic Plants Article and photos by Roger L. Hammer
As members of the Florida Native Plant Society, you’ve probably heard the word “invasive” a lot. This is because there are a variety of invasive plants that have changed Florida forever. You are very aware of silktree or mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) with those eye-catching flowers and coral ardisia (Ardisia crenata) with bright red berries. But what about plants that float on our waterways and thrive below the surface? There are several aquatic plants that have had a tremendous impact on our precious waterways. We’d like to share two examples, water hyacinth and hydrilla. Neither of these plants are new and both will continue to plague our state for years to come. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) In 1884, New Orleans hosted the World Cotton Centennial Exposition with exhibits highlighting the advancements in
commerce, mechanics, agriculture, and horticulture. This was a multi-year, worldwide showcase of all that America was and hoped to be. Exhibition halls and indoor arboretums covered 300 acres and were built to showcase new foods, new agricultural technology, and new plants. One of the new plants was a spectacular, dark green floating plant with a striking purple flower. This native of South America flowers almost yearround and soon became a public favorite. Fortunately for the arboretum manager, this plant grew extremely fast and had few pests, even when grown in greenhouse conditions. The water hyacinth display was easy to maintain, except for the need to constantly thin the plants to reduce the overgrowth. This new, showy, and easy to grow plant was sure to be all the rage for amateur gardeners. Attendees were encouraged to take the left over plants home for their personal water gardens, and people were happy to be the first to introduce it to their community. This is how water hyacinth found its way to Palatka, Florida. Unfortunately, this plant soon found its way into the St. Johns River and by 1893 had become a crushing problem. Water hyacinth was now covering hundreds of miles of river and constantly moved north with the flow. Well, they were moving CONTINUED ON PAGE 4
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Article by Dr. Jason Ferrell and Christine Krebs Article by Lilly Anderson-Messec
Article by Dr. Eliane Norman
Article and original artwork by Peter R. Gerbert
https://instagram.com/floridanativeplantsociety/ https://linkedin.com/company/8016136 ¡ https://twitter.com/fl_native_plant
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until they got caught on the Florida East Coast Bridge. This engineering marvel that opened the state to rail commerce was not designed with water hyacinth in mind. Sections of the bridge were low to the water, low enough that the plants began to collect and not wash under. A plant jam measuring several miles long and weighing hundreds of thousands of tons eventually broke a 65-foot section off the bridge. Meanwhile, water hyacinth escaped the St. Johns and began infesting canals and lakes throughout the state. With no natural predators to keep growth in check, it proliferated and covered vast stretches of water. This surface cover, coupled with a near constant shedding of leaves, caused fish to suffer as dissolved oxygen fell, and goopy muck from rotting vegetation soon built up and covered the bottoms of lakes and rivers. Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) Unlike water hyacinth that floats on top, hydrilla is rooted in the sediment. This plant is native to the far east, or Africa, or maybe Australia – we can’t tell. But it was brought to Florida in the 1950s as part of the aquarium trade and soon took off. It is very easy to propagate from cut stem pieces, it can help clarify the water, and it just has a super-cool look. Store owners were soon unable to keep up with demand and needed a
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larger space to grow more plants. To solve the supply problem, fragments were planted in canals around Miami and Tampa. Not knowing that they had just introduced one of the most rapidly growing and invasive plants in the world, things were going great. The plants were growing fast, stores had all the material they could sell, and production cost was almost zero. But soon the tide turned and whole canals were choked with hydrilla. It was rooted in the sediment but completely covered the water surface in a tangled mat of leaves and stems. Fish were the first to leave, but the real trouble came when flood water couldn’t flow because the canals were choked with plants. Unfortunately, these issues did not stay localized, as hydrilla spread to lakes and rivers all over Florida, then the southeast, and then further up the coast to the mid-Atlantic states. Within just 30 years of introduction, entire lakes were covered from bank to bank with nothing but hydrilla – effectively ending fishing, swimming, and many other water-loving activities. Fast forward to today and water hyacinth and hydrilla are still highly problematic fixtures within Florida’s aquatic ecosystems. Fortunately, our tools and ability to manage these plants have improved dramatically as well. Over the years, many unique insects have been released that eat these and other invasive plants. These highly specific weevils, beetles, moths, and mites are the result of decades of work to find a natural solution to these unrelenting weeds. The hungry little bugs eat non-stop and slow plant growth, but they still need help, so harvesting machines are employed each year to clear plant jams, open up canals, and remove plants before they form more muck in lakes. Herbicide technology has also experienced a technological transformation. The current herbicide toolbox is full of materials that have undergone many years of EPA evaluation and approval. They can reliably remove problematic plants while not harming fish or other valuable aquatic creatures. While over $15 million is spent in
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Florida alone each year, this investment allows resource managers to partner insects, machines, and chemicals, managing these plants at reasonable levels and keeping our aquatic resources operating as they should. Having a plan for your plants The aquarium trade is constantly bringing in ever more impressive species for us to enjoy. Every year we see plants at local nurseries that we have never heard of. They look amazing, and we, as much as the next person, want to be the first to take these species home to enjoy, while having friends and neighbors admire our awesome finds. But, with these purchases comes responsibility. What if water hyacinth was originally confined to the water garden and was never allowed to enter the St. Johns River? While we will never know the answer to this question, we can ask ourselves if we have a plan for all the new plants we purchase. First, do we know if these plants have invasive tendencies? The IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants and the Plant This - Not That publication can help. Second, if the plant is aggressive, do we have a plan to monitor the growth and reproduction to make sure it doesnʼt get out of hand? Third, if the plant doesn’t perform as desired, do we have a plan to dispose of it responsibly? The story of water hyacinth and hydrilla are fascinating examples of when invasive plants are released in new environments. Unfortunately, similar stories have played themselves out several times over the years. Hopefully we have learned from the past while also learning to love our Florida natives. Buker, G. E. “Engineers vs Florida’s Green Menace.” The Florida Historical Quarterly 60, no. 4 (1982): 413–27. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30149850. Penfound, W. and Earle, T. T. “The Biology of Water Hyacinth.” Ecological Monographs, 18, 4(1948): 447-472. https://doi.org/10.2307/1948585. Schmitz, D. C. “The Historical Introductions of Waterhyacinth and Hydrilla into the United States.” Aquatics Magazine, Spring 2016, 25-29.
IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants. Online at https://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu Plant This – Not That. By Tina McIntyre, Rachel Gutner, Sandra Wilson, and Morgan Pinkerton. http://ifasbooks.ifas.ufl.edu/p-1658-plant-this-not-that.aspx
Dr. Jason “Jay” Ferrell is the director of the UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants (CAIP). With degrees from the University of Kentucky and University of Georgia, Jay started at the University of Florida in 2004 and focused on plant management and plant response to herbicides. Since 2017, Dr. Ferrell has led a multidisciplinary group of faculty and staff whose mission is to develop and disseminate strategies for addressing the impact of invasive plants. Christine Krebs is the communications manager at the UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants (CAIP). She's currently a PhD student studying agricultural communication. She holds a bachelor's degree in wildlife ecology and conservation, as well as a master's degree in agricultural education and communication from the University of Florida.
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Learn more about invasive plants by listening to the Working in the Weeds Podcast on Apple or Spotify. Green Menace | Part 1: How Water Hyacinth Invaded Florida: The story of how water hyacinth started as a pleasant plant for water gardens but quickly turned into a menace that overwhelmed the St. Johns River. Green Menace | Part 2: Is Water Hyacinth Here to Stay? A continuation of the impacts water hyacinth had, what efforts have been made to control it throughout the years and how this plant impacts our waters and landscapes today. Water Hyacinth Deep Dive: In this episode, we take a deep dive into the fascinating physiology and research efforts behind water hyacinth. Hydrilla Deep Dive | Part 1: In this episode, we talk about how hydrilla’s structure and growth habits make it invasive, as well as the pros and cons of having the plant present in aquatic systems. Hydrilla Deep Dive | Part 2: We share a conversation with FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute Section Leader, Jason Dotson, about the social side of science when it comes to hydrilla management in Florida.
Questions or comments can be sent to the UF/IFAS CAIP communications manager at caip@ifas.ufl.edu. Follow UF/IFAS CAIP on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ufifascaip/ Find the UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants online: https://plants.ifas.ufl.edu
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Article by Lilly Anderson-Messec FNPS Director of North Florida Programs
Florida Torreya: One of the World’s Most Endangered Conifers
I hike across the sandhill bluff, my backpack heavy as longleaf pine needles shimmer above me, and the dense, spiky wiregrass brushes against my legs. The sun warms my cheeks as I peer across the open vista and kick off a small pricklypear pad stuck to my boot. From the tall bluff, I can spot a glimpse of blue in the distance – the mighty Apalachicola River. As I continue on my path, the land begins to slope gently, and a canopy of the gnarled branches of sand live oak twists above me. Suddenly, I come to the edge, a steep and sharp drop of 50-80 feet into the ravine. The sand gives beneath my feet as I begin to slide into another world, a dense hardwood slope forest with a lush understory of mosses and ferns that creep among a cool, clear stream. Nestled in these unique steephead ravines, an evergreen tree found nowhere else in the world teeters on the brink of extinction: the Florida Torreya. Since European colonization, Torreya taxifolia has been known by many names: Florida Torreya, stinking cedar, Florida nutmeg, polecat wood, fetid yew, and gopherwood. Many of ●
these names refer to the tree’s pungent odor when the leaves are bruised, or the wood is cut. The scent is reminiscent of tomato plants but much more concentrated. Its Latin name honors New York botanist John Torrey, who first acknowledged it as a new species in 1833. At that time, Florida Torreya was a standard component of the lush and biologically rich steephead ravines found mainly on the eastern side of the Apalachicola River in the Florida Panhandle, one of six biodiversity hot spots in the United States (Stein et al. 2000). They wind miles inland from the river, eroding slowly over millions of years from the mountainous ancient dunes that remain from the prehistoric coastline. The ravines north of the prehistoric coastline remained above sea level during the Pleistocene, providing a safe refuge for northern species that moved southward with the flowing river during interglacial periods. They are exceptionally steep and deep, an unexpected sight in Florida. A nearly vertical drop of 80 feet is typical. Slide down the sandy slopes, and the soil becomes ●
loamy, with seeping limestone outcrops, culminating in crisp, clear, sandy-bottom streams that flow year-round. This cool microclimate, formed by the cold water and lush canopy, harbors other relictual species of flora and fauna that, like the Florida Torreya, are not found anywhere else in the world. Species such as these, restricted to a particular place, are known as “endemics,” and these ravines are rich with them. Because they have such a narrow natural range, many endemics, including the Florida Torreya, are also endangered. Torreya are conifers – evergreen trees with needle-like leaves that bear their seed in cones – and Torreya taxifolia is one of the most endangered conifers in the world. Although its range has historically been narrow, it was once so common in these ravines that its lightweight, durable, rot-resistant, and robust wood was regularly harvested for various uses. However, by the late 1950s, their health began to decline suddenly. By the mid 1960s, virtually every mature Florida Torreya had died, leaving only resprouts from the surviving root systems. Just a small percentage of wild Florida Torreya remain today, and those that do are a shadow of their former selves. Once growing to mature heights of 30 to 60 feet tall, the few remaining trees rarely reach above 10 feet. The majority grow only two to five feet tall before dying back to their roots again and hopefully resprouting. Torreya taxifolia is now considered functionally extinct, as the remaining trees rarely reach sexual maturity before dying back again and, therefore, have no sustained reproduction in the wild. What is killing the Florida Torreya? The reasons for its decline have been hotly debated, though habitat degradation due to development, silviculture, climate change, fire suppression, alteration of hydrology, and other human causes have all contributed. The trees are also susceptible to trunk damage by deer rubbing and uprooting caused by invasive feral hogs. Over the years, many hypotheses have been proposed for the disappearance of Torreya taxifolia. However, the primary culprit of the sudden death and decline was recently pinpointed: Fusarium torreyae. This fungal pathogen was unknown to science until 2011, when it was described and named by Dr. Jason Smith at the University of Florida’s Forest Pathology Lab (Smith et al. 2011). The novel fungus seems to have evolved in Asia, as it belongs to a basal clade of Fusaria with only a few other members, all of which are endemic to China. It was most likely introduced by importing non-native species for horticultural uses, though it is difficult to know for sure. This is just one example of how we “roll the dice” ecologically when we import and plant non-native plants. The non-native plants you add to your yard, and the bacteria, fungi and insects that come with them, can have devastating effects on ecosystems. The process of the tree’s decline has been very similar to that of the American chestnut. All Torreya taxifolia remaining in both the wild and in cultivation are presumed to be infected ●
at this point, as the fungus is systemic and its spores are airborne – even trees grown from seed are infected. Although infected, resprouts or seedlings may live for many years without showing any signs of disease until they are stressed. This can be very misleading for homeowners or budding conservationists who plant the tree, as any tree in cultivation will inherently experience less stress than wild populations and will likely appear healthy for much longer. Without outward signs of infection, it’s easy to assume the tree is healthy and uninfected. However, even cultivated trees will eventually experience stress, and once they do, the fungus erupts. The first outward signs are leaf blight and stem cankers. If further stress is not endured, they can persist in this state for
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many years. Less robust individuals or individuals experiencing compounding stress begin to exhibit yellowing of their needles, and suddenly, the entire trunk or tree dies back to the roots, sometimes killing the plant entirely. If the roots survive, the tree may resprout but remain infected and, thus, will repeat this process. All of the trees remaining in the wild are resprouts, and it is unknown how many times these root systems can resprout. All hope for the survival of this species in its native range is not lost, however. The Florida Native Plant Society’s TorreyaKeepers Project and the Atlanta Botanical Garden (ABG) are collaborating to monitor and search for existing populations of Torreya taxifolia in its native range. Our TorreyaKeepers surveys of privately owned lands have been very fruitful – almost 400 new trees have been located on our surveys, and over 100 known trees have been confirmed to still be alive. With so few trees remaining in the wild, these additions have a massive impact and contribution to the genetic diversity of ex-situ conservation collections. Torreya taxifolia is now the most well-represented endangered species in southeastern ex-situ conservation collections. Over 500 genetically unique individuals are now growing in ABG’s conservation nursery, so even if the tree disappears in the wild, its genetic diversity is conserved and ready for a potential reintroduction. Finding a treatment for the fungal pathogen will be key to the survival of this species. The Atlanta Botanical Garden ●
has begun a study to determine the effectiveness of various fungicides on Fusarium torreyae. Finding a treatment is hopeful, as many other Fusarium species in agricultural crops have been successfully managed with fungicides. However, since Fusaria are genetically diverse in form and function, and this particular species is novel to science, experiments will be necessary to find an effective treatment. Florida Torreya’s listing as an Endangered Species by the federal government has aided funding for all of this work, a testament to the success and importance of the Endangered Species Act. Continuing to advocate for and advance policy initiatives and funding in conservation is critical to the future of Florida Torreya and other rare species. At a time when we are losing biodiversity at an alarming rate, I would argue that funding the conservation of land, habitat restoration, and land management, as well as ecological education in our public schools, is of critical importance. The plight of endangered species can feel overwhelming, heartbreaking, and futile. Despite this, I have found hope in witnessing the collaboration of organizations, agencies, and individuals led by evidence-based science. Collectively, we have the power to conserve and protect the life-giving biodiversity of the Southeast. Donate to the Florida Native Plant Society’s TorreyaKeepers project at https://torreyakeepers.fnps.org/support/
Atlas of Florida Plants. 2024. “Torreya taxifolia – Species Details.” https://florida.plantatlas.usf. edu/Plant.aspx?id=2330 Marinelli, J. 2018. Yale E360. “For Endangered Florida Tree, How Far to Go to Save a Species?” https://e360.yale.edu/features/for-endangered-florida-tree-how-far-to-go-to-save-a-species-torreya Smith, J. A., O'Donnell, K., Mount, L. L., Shin, K., Peacock, K., Trulock, A., Spector, T., Cruse-Sanders, J. and Determan, R. 2011. A Novel Fusarium Species Causes a Canker Disease of the Critically Endangered Conifer, Torreya taxifolia. Plant Disease. 95. 633-639. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-10-0703 Stein, B. A., Kutner, L. S., and Adams, J. S. 2000. Precious Heritage: The Status of Biodiversity in the United States. New York: Oxford University Press. TorreyaKeepers: Florida Native Plant Society. 2024. https://torreyakeepers.fnps.org/ U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 2020. “Florida Torreya (Torreya taxifolia) 5-Year Review. https://www.fws.gov/node/261452
Lilly Anderson-Messec is a North Florida native botanist and ecologist who began working for the Florida Native Plant Society as the TorreyaKeepers Project Director in 2019. She is currently the FNPS Director of North Florida Programs.
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Who is Bosc, and How Did he Get to Name the Scrub-Jay?
Article by Dr. Eliane Norman l Photos by Dr. Peter May
The Florida scrub-jay is the only endemic bird in Florida. It is found nowhere else but in the Sunshine State, and many aspects of its biology have already been studied because of the bird’s uniqueness.
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Scrub-jays form family groupings, in which the mating pairs remain together. The fledglings stay with the parents as helpers for several years. The species is omnivorous and consume insects, especially caterpillars, crickets, grasshoppers, and roaches; reptiles and frogs as well as small mice and snakes are also part of their animal diet (Woolfenden and Fitzpatrick 1984). Acorns are their most important plant food. In the summer and fall each scrub-jay may gather and cache as many as 8,000 acorns. These are buried in open areas of sand and retrieved and eaten later (FWS 1990). The red oak species myrtle oak (Quercus myrtifolia) appears to be the most fruitful (Abrahamson and Layne 2003). I have seen no reference to the preference of scrub-jays for white oak acorns which are sweeter, over those of red oaks, which contain more tannins. The scrub-jay thrives only in open sand scrub areas, habitats that are rapidly vanishing. Because of loss of habitat and their decreasing numbers, the federal government has listed it as a threatened species (FWS 1990). My main interest lies in the scrub-jay’s history. William Bartram appears to have been the first to describe it. In his Travels in the southeastern states, published in 1791, he referred to it as “Pica glandularia coerulea non cristata” as well as “Corvus floridanus.” The naturalist found this bird
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between Rodman and Deep Creek, in Putnam County, in 1774 (Bartram 1958). In general, the first person who discovers a new species and gives it a scientific name, becomes the authority for that species. However, Bartram’s names are considered invalid, because he did not consistently use binomial nomenclature. This means a name must consist of a genus name followed by a specific epithet (AOU Opinion 447, 1957). The agreed upon authority of the scrub-jay is a French scientist, Louis Bosc, who named it Corvus coerulescens (Bosc 1795). Later it was transferred to the genus Aphelocoma (i.e. without crest), and came to be known as A. coerulescens Bosc. Nothing in the description explains its provenance. The original specimen is no longer extant at the Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, and the curator indicated that they have virtually no bird specimens collected before 1800. Bartram is a well-known naturalist, but few have heard of Bosc, except for the pear variety. I would like to remedy this by telling something about his life, and attempt to indicate how he probably came to describe the scrub-jay. Louis Augustin Guillaume Bosc d’Antic was born in Paris in 1759. His mother died shortly after his birth; his father was a physician. For the first decade of his life, he lived in the countryside with an aunt. He then attended a Jesuit College in Dijon until he was 18. During the last two years, he had the opportunity to follow courses in botany at the Dijon Academy of Sciences (Dolan 2020). His father brought his son back to Paris and helped him find a position with the post office. His abilities were immediately recognized, and before long, he was appointed secretary to the director. He also squeezed in classes at the Jardin du Roi in chemistry, botany, zoology and mineralogy and met the eminent botanists, A. L. de Jussieu and P. M. A. Broussonet. Among the students, he developed friendships with M. and Mme Roland. The former was inspector of manufacture and later became an important politician during the French Revolution. André Michaux also became a close friend. Apart from all his occupations, Bosc found time to do research on his own and to publish a new species of insect in 1785, when he was only twenty five. He was a founding member of the Linnean Society and later the Natural History Society. In his lifetime he managed to publish 69 new species that are considered valid today, including 18 during the French Revolution. His versatility was amazing as he described new insects, spiders, birds, reptiles, marine invertebrates, plants and mushrooms. During the period of the Revolution known as “The Terror,” he was able to save several friends by hiding them in an old priory he had purchased on the outskirts of Paris. Sadly he was not able to save Mme. Roland from the guillotine. Her husband committed suicide two days after he learned of her death. Louis had been asked to look after their teenage ●
daughter, Eudora, with whom he soon fell in love. For more about Bosc’s interesting life, refer to Dolan’s article, available online at https://perma.cc/JB3N-3T2D. In 1796 Bosc traveled to America to botanize with his friend Michaux, and hopefully be appointed as consul in a major U.S. city. Neither of these events occurred, as Michaux had already left for France, and the quasi-war between the U.S. and France precluded such an appointment (Beale 1978). He never went to Florida. How then did he come to describe the scrub-jay? His friend, André Michaux was sent by Louis XVI in 1785 to North America to collect, grow, and ship trees to reforest France. He was accompanied by his fifteen-yearold son, François André. Michaux established two nurseries and gardens, the main one was outside Charleston, South Carolina. During his eleven years in North America, he explored a great deal of the eastern United States and Canada. Michaux left a diary of his American travels which indicates in a terse manner where and when he traveled, whom he met, and some of the biota that he discovered and collected. Michaux and his son arrived in St. Augustine, Florida by ship from Charleston on February 28,1788, and soon obtained permission to explore the Spanish territory (Taylor and Norman 2002). They made two botanical journeys in Florida, ●
both with the assistance of a canoe and locals. During the first, which lasted five weeks, the Michauxs went south from St. Augustine to past Cape Canaveral (28º 25’ according to a letter to his supervisor) exploring the land bordering the rivers and lagoons near the Atlantic seaboard. The second voyage, lasting only two weeks, began on horseback from St. Augustine to near Palatka on the St. Johns River. From there they went south by canoe to just north of Lake Monroe. We know they were collecting birds as well as plants on their journeys as Michaux mentions in the entry for April 1 that his son shot a dozen aquatic birds, a dozen miles south of New Smyrna Beach, beyond Turtle Mound. Nothing is said about scrub-jays in Michaux’s diary. Did the plants that he mentioned and collected in Florida, or described in his Flora (Michaux 1803) indicate that they traveled through low scrub habitat where they might have found this bird? The scrub-jay habitat comprises the following key species: white oaks – Chapman’s oak (Quercus chapmanii) and sand live oak (Quercus geminata); red oaks – myrtle oak (Quercus myrtifolia) and scrub oak (Quercus inopina), found on the Lake Wales Ridge; rusty lyonia (Lyonia ferruginea); Florida rosemary (Ceratiola ericoides); saw palmetto (Serenoa repens); and sand pine (Pinus clausa) (FWS 1990, Myers 1990). There is no mention of any scrub oak species in Michaux’s diary or Flora. He saw the rusty lyonia, on the outskirts of St. Augustine. The Florida rosemary is not found in his diary, but is described in his Flora, and Michaux is the authority for this species. The label on his collection at the museum in Paris indicates only “dry sands in Florida and Georgia”, but no specific location. The saw palmetto is not useful as an indicator as is not limited to scrub. He saw a sand pine, near the coast and the Tomoka River. Michaux notes some arid areas through which he traveled on his first trip. “I saw the most arid countryside in Florida during this walk (between the Matanzas Inlet and a few miles north of the Tomoka River), with the exception of plantation that had belonged to Governor Moultrie (Rosetta).” No scrub plant is listed for either location. The bigflower pawpaw (Asimina obovata), a scrub shrub, is mentioned near Haulover Canal, in northern Brevard County. Michaux made no reference to encountering a xeric habitat on his journey along the St. Johns River. Based on present and past distribution data, two areas stand out as the most likely from which the Michaux obtained a specimen of the scrub-jay. On the coastal trip, the area that has the densest population of this rare bird is the Merritt Island/ Cape Canaveral area in northern Brevard County (Breininger 1989). On the second trip, scrub areas in the Ocala National Forest stand out as being rich in scrub-jays (Cox 1984). It was just a few miles north of the Forest that Bartram saw a typical scrub-jay habitat west of Spalding’s Lower Store, now called Stokes Landing, Putnam County (Bartram 1958). Michaux ●
took the same route as Bartram from Palatka, on the west side of St. Johns River. He wrote “May 2, 1788, we embarked and passed by the store established for commerce with the Indians situated 10 miles away. We camped farther away and we had traveled 16 miles on this river”. His journal indicates that Michaux did not penetrate much into the woods beyond the river’s immediate vicinity. His son might well have gone further inland, where he might have encountered the scrub-jay. We will never know. We do know that on their return to the Charleston garden on January 18, 1789, Michaux “prepared a shipment of birds to M. Dantic (part of Bosc’s name before the Revolution) sent to the address of the Baron D’Ogny” (his supervisor at the post office), most likely containing a scrub-jay specimen. He shipped it the following day (Williams, Norman and Taylor 2020). It is therefore likely that Bosc named the scrub-jay based on a specimen sent to him by André Michaux. Abrahamson, W .G. and Layne, J .N. 2003. Long-term patterns of acorn production for five oak species in xeric Florida uplands. Ecology 84: 2476-2492. American Ornithological Union [AOU] 1957. Check-list of North American Birds. Fifth edition. Lawrence. Allen Press. Bartram, W. 1958. Travels of William Bartram. Naturalist Edition. Edited by Francis Harper. New Haven. Yale University Press. Beale, G. R. 1978. Bosc and the Exequatur. Prologue 10: 220-251. Bosc, L. 1795. Description de deux nouvelles espèces d’animaux. Bull. Sci. Soc. Philomatique, Paris 1: 87. Breininger, D. R. 1989. A new population estimate for the Florida Scrub Jay on Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Florida Field Naturalist 17: 169-181. Cox, J. A. 1984. Distribution, Habitat, and Social organization of the Florida Scrub Jay. PhD thesis. University of Florida, Gainesville. Dolan, J. R. 2020. “One must be a citizen before being a naturalist”. The story of Louis Bosc, a Linnean in the time of the French Revolution. Colligo 3: 1-15. Michaux, A. 1803. Flora Boreali-Americana. 2 vols., C. d’Hautel, Paris. Myers, R. L. 1990. Scrub and high pine. Pages 150-193 in R. L. Myers and J. J. Ewel, eds. Ecosystems of Florida. Orlando. University of Central Florida Press. Taylor, W. K., and Norman, E. M. 2002. André Michaux in Florida: An Eighteenth-Century Botanical Journey. Gainesville. University Press of Florida. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). 1990. Recovery plan for the Florida Scrub-Jay. Multi-Species Recovery Plan for South Florida: 4-259- 4-78. FWS, Atlanta. Williams, C., Norman E. M., and Taylor, W. K. 2020. André Michaux in North America: Journals and Letters, 1785-1797. Tuscaloosa. University of Alabama Press. Woolfenden, G. E., and Fitzpatrick, J. W. 1984. The Florida Scrub Jay: Demography of a Cooperative-breeding Bird. Princeton. Princeton University Press.
Dr. Eliane Norman has a PhD in plant sciences from Cornell University and is professor of biology emerita at Stetson University. Eliane's most recent book is André Michaux in North America: Journals and Letters,1785-1797. She is also the author of a monograph on Buddleja, butterfly-bush, published by the New York Botanical Garden. Dr. Peter May is a biologist, birder, photographer, educator, and a lifelong student of all aspects of the natural world. Until recently, Peter taught at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida – he is now professor emeritus. See more of his work at http://volusianaturalist.com/.
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Article and original paintings by Peter R. Gerbert
Florida: A Wildlife Artist’s Paradise Inspiration and Ideas for a New Painting The sun shone through the thin layers of clouds as a strong breeze bent the grassy soft rush (Juncus effusus subsp. solutus) into a slow dance and sent endless ripples across the surface of Lake Denham. It created an unusual gray pattern on the softly rolling surface of the lake. A graceful and strikingly white Forsterʼs tern glided effortlessly over the middle of this aquatic realm, watching diligently for small fish, then dive-bombing into the water. A small boat floated nearby, only rocking slightly in the wind. With camera in hand, artist Peter R. Gerbert looked up from the boat at the pastel setting, and thought to himself, “Wow. That’s a painting.” And within days, his inspiration became a design for a new work that took more than a month to finish. Peter’s original acrylic paintings are based on experiences gained by exploring the great outdoors and studying wildlife in remote wilderness areas. He is particular about all aspects of the subject’s environment, including the time of year, animal relationships and indigenous plant species. Each new painting begins with the research material the artist has collected, combined with a vivid imagination. Compositions are worked and reworked until the artist achieves a design that he is sure will be extraordinary. The actual painting is created through a layered process – working with texture, transparent washes, and then thicker layers of acrylics to achieve a lifelike image. The closer you look at his artwork, the more detail you will see. Discovering Paradise Peter’s childhood was spent discovering a wooded area with a stream near his home that he called “Paradise.” Later, he and his high school friends would pack camping gear into canoes and camp on the wild banks of the Withlacoochee, Ocklawaha, and other rivers. Adventures were endless, and his exploration of the
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great outdoors would ultimately become a lifelong fascination. Peter’s love for art found him taking whatever art classes were available, and he learned the tools of the trade studying commercial art for three years. After graduation, he worked in Florida county parks, the United States Forest Service and the Florida Forest Service, where he learned firsthand about Florida’s unique ecosystems. His full-time career in wildlife art began over 30 years ago when he left the Forest Service to
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The Florida Native Plant Society has also benefited from his generosity. In 2023 he donated three signed and numbered prints to the FNPS Conference Silent Auction, and his painting of sandhill cranes appeared on the cover of Palmetto 39-1.
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exhibit and market his uniquely detailed Florida wildlife art. With his research into unspoiled areas of Florida, Peter paints native Florida wildlife and landscapes with accuracy. Working with Wildlife Conservation Groups Peter has collaborated with a variety of Florida wildlife conservation groups, and his art has been featured on magazine covers, in newsletters, and on wildlife note cards. In 2007, he received a Conservation Service Award from the Florida Wildlife Federation for devotion to creating awareness of Florida’s fragile environments. In 2010, he received a Wildlife Artwork of the Year award from Audubon Florida for his painting The Spoonbill Lagoon. This was the first time the Audubon group recognized any artist with this distinction.
Achievements in the Art World In 2020, the Coral Gables Museum instituted a six-monthlong solo exhibition featuring forty-five of Peter R. Gerbert’s original acrylic paintings. The museum coordinated meet the artist events, offering tours for museum members and visitors. Students visiting the museum received a coloring book highlighting detailed line drawings of Peter’s Florida wildlife paintings. A virtual guided tour video of the exhibit can be seen on the artist’s website (www.PeterRGerbert.com) along with other films about his art, including Wildlife Art by Discovery – The Art of Peter R. Gerbert by renowned documentary filmmaker Elam Stoltzfus Although he considers all of Florida his home, when he is not exploring the wilderness, Peter can be found creating original works of art in his expansive studio in Hernando County. Twice a year, he holds Art Studio Open House Weekends. To receive postcard invitations to the open house, email the artist at wildFL@PeterRGerbert.com, and include your mailing address. Encountering a Wild Florida Panther Peter continues to be inspired to create new works by Florida’s beauty. Early one spring morning, while searching
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for wildlife in the Big Cypress National Preserve with Gladesman and former Florida Wildlife Foundation board member Franklin Adams and research colleague, Dr. Forest Redding, Jr., an extraordinary experience occurred when they came face to face with a Florida panther. Lucky to see one in the wild and luckier to have his camera in-hand, Peter was able to take sixty-two consecutive photographs of the animal as it bounded past, and then slowed down before reentering the swamp. He used the photos as a basis for the painting The Pantherʼs Quest, which captures the essence of a Florida panther running freely into the warm embrace of the rising sun. Contact the Artist To see more of Peter’s original artwork and available prints, visit his website at www.PeterRGerbert.com. Email the artist at: wildFL@PeterRGerbert.com.
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