Trees And Plants Indigenous To Miami? (Pembroke Pines, Homestead: environment, landscaping, apartment complex)

[noland123]

What are your favorite plants and trees that are common to Miami and South Florida? I love the Australian Pines,even though they utilize a lot of water are prettier than the pines that are seen mostly in North Florida.

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by noland123

What are your favorite plants and trees that are common to Miami and South Florida? I love the Australian Pines,even though they utilize a lot of water are prettier than the pines that are seen mostly in North Florida.

Australian pines have been declared illegal to plant, though. The native pines are the same all over the state. I always happened to like the Dade County pine or slash pine and the sand pines that were once common in coastal Broward and Palm Beach counties.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by tallrick

I always happened to like the Dade County pine or slash pine and the sand pines that were once common in coastal Broward and Palm Beach counties.

You still see some left in PBC, but in Broward, the last place you can find them is in a small pocket near Palm Aire . You won't see any natural Slash Pines/Bald Cypress anymore except for in Parkland.

I like the Florida Royal Palm myself. Very stately tree although it provides little shade and it's overused (well, the Cuban Royal is). As Tallrick mentioned Australian Pines are invasive and drown out natural environments like Sawgrass and mentioned slash pines. They are invasive in tropics all around the world.

[PBCboy]

There used to be a large lot of nothing but pine trees near me. It was like a forest. However, they cut down all of them because they said they sucked up too much water. Now it's just an empty lot. Better than a new apartment complex, I guess...

[jbravo]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

I like the Florida Royal Palm myself. Very stately tree although it provides little shade and it's overused (well, the Cuban Royal is). As Tallrick mentioned Australian Pines are invasive and drown out natural environments like Sawgrass and mentioned slash pines. They are invasive in tropics all around the world.

The Florida Royal Palm (Roystonea elata) is native to the cypress swamps of south Florida. It is disappearing from the wild but nice stands can still be seen at the Royal Palm Visitors Center near Homestead, Florida in the Everglades National Park. The Cuban Royal Palm (Roystonea regia) is native to Cuba(!)
Personally, I've never seen the Fl variety except in pictures.

[LAPalms]

I agree with compelled, the FL Royal palm. Also the Bald Cypress, The Mangrove.

[compelled to reply]

Have any of you guys ever seen the FL Royal Palm in it's natural habitat? They are getting very rare, but if you go out to Big Cypress you can still find a few left growing naturally.
Florida Royal Palm (Flat trunk)

Cuban Royal Palm (rounded trunk)


They might as well call the Cuban Royal the "Pembroke Pines Royal Palm" because they are the most overused suburban parking lot tree down here. But for good reason; it's a beautiful tree.

[nicsma2002]

Yep, the Australian Pines are very aggressive and state and local governments are expending tremendous resources to control this invasive tree.

Here's a link you might find interesting:

Florida Friendly Landscaping, Florida Plants, Florida Gardening, Lawn Care Check out the Florida-Friendly Plant Database.

While we're on the subject, I'll just throw this out there, since water restrictions just started last week:

University of Florida / Miami-Dade County Extension Programs: Florida Yards and Neighborhoods: Publications
Some good info here on lawn watering.

[noland123]

I love the Coconut Palm Trees,a tree that can take the brunt of strong winds because they are flexible and I love how they sway. I read or saw on T.V. quite a few years ago where a lot of these trees had contracted lethal yellowing,but could be saved by an injection of some substance in to the tree.

[noland123]

I believe Miami is the" Palm Tree' capital of the lower 48 states, I have never seen so many and many different types of palms,they are not shady but a beautiful tree otherwise. I like the Banyan trees but they take a long time to grow and their roots are very apparent and don't weather storms very well.