Vibrant wildflowers, delicate bromeliads, and ancient trees are some of the floral gems travelers to Florida can discover year-round. The travel guidebook Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders: A Guide to Ancient Trees, Unique Flora, and Wildflower Walks written by award-winning travel and outdoor writer Sandra Friend highlights 250 of Florida’s most interesting sites.
A Look Inside Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders
Florida is home to eighty-one distinct biological communities and more than 4,200 plant species. Unfortunately, botanical habitats are threatened due to a variety of reasons including land development and invasive, non-native plant and animal specials. Fortunately, there are state parks, national forests, and public gardens protecting some of these habitats.
This book is currently the most comprehensive travel guide on Florida’s botanicals. The diverse selection of included botanical sites will appeal to everyone from casual flower observers to botanical aficionados. The book is segmented by geographic region and lists sites ranging from Florida’s Panhandle to the Florida Keys.
A map at the beginning of each chapter indicates where each botanical site, whether a public garden or state park, is located. Black and white images are sprinkled throughout the book with color photographs in the guide’s center. A key indicates why the site is significant. Examples include unique flora like carnivorous plants or big trees such as Florida or National Champion trees.
Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders with Sandra Friend
Each chapter introduction is like peeking into Sandra Friend’s travel journal. She shares personal experiences for each region ranging from slogging through Southwest Florida’s Fakahatchee Strand on the search for ghost orchids to measuring a cypress tree at Rice Creek Swamp near Palatka in Northwest Florida. Following each chapter introduction are brief yet descriptive paragraphs about various botanical sites.
Friend spent a decade exploring the Sunshine State to complete Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders and personally visited almost every included site. The travel book’s accompanying website, Botanical Florida, offers a comprehensive list of flora sites including those not listed in the book. What’s not included in the guide or website are fragile habitats in order to protect them from potential over visitation.
Walking Shoes, Sunscreen, and Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders
This guidebook is a true gem. Florida travelers looking to commune with nature and discover why the Spanish conquistador Juan Ponce de Leon named the area La Florida, land of flowers in 1513, need to include the travel book on their packing list to discover where to stop and smell the flowers. Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders is part of the Wild Florida series of books edited by Timothy O’Keefe which embraces the authentic Florida experience.
Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders: A Guide to Ancient Trees, Unique Flora, and Wildflower Walks, by Sandra Friend, $24.95
Published in 2009 by University Press of Florida
Soft Cover: 160 pages
Language: English
ISBN 978-0-8130-3411-9
In addition to Exploring Florida’s Botanical Wonders, walkers will appreciate 50 Great Walks in Florida by Lucy Beebe Tobias and those who appreciate landmarks will enjoy A Brief Guide to Florida’s Monuments and Memorials by Roberta Sandler.
Jennifer Huber - A 20-year veteran of the tourism industry, Jennifer's career path began during college when she followed the hiking path in Yellowstone ...
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