Pine trees in SoFLo (Miami, Kendall: homes, tile, fence)

[Lo Maximo]

Originally Posted by StarfishKey

There are a ton of invasive Australian Pine all over the Keys, but they're not actually true pines despite their appearance. I don't know which we're talking about here, pines, or palms.

I find the Australian Pines to be ugly, they are all over the place; and they seem to be ecological dead zones.

[carterstamp]

Originally Posted by The561bro

I have been noticing that there have been less pine trees in South Florida. The only place that still has some left in NW palm beach county. What happened to all of them in dade and broward?

2 things, unfettered construction and maleluca trees.

[tallrick]

The native pines of Florida, Pinus eliotti can only live in acidic soil. The ground in the Miami area varies from slightly acidic sand in the northern parts, to highly alkaline coral rock soils whhich cannot support pines....except- The pine rocklands developed with the pines growing symbiotically with a fungus, a mycorrihizal fungus thet feeds on the sugars from pine roots and makes the root zone acidic, similar to how yogurt makes milk acidic. The pines only grow on land that rarely fllods, so they were present on the highest, most developable land. The settlers who started developing the Miami area saw the pine rocklands as a wasteland and cut them down for lumber, and cleared the land for farms. By the 1950's more than 3/4 of the pinelands had been cut and/or cleared. Drug fueled development since the 1980's finished off what was left on most private land. In the 1960's attitudes had changed among some custom estate home builders, so you can see a few yards with this unique habitat. Hurricane Andrew stripped the remaining public land tracts and they still have not fully recovered. You do see roadside plantings of the pines, but without the correct soil preperation and the fungus, they yellow and die. Development stress has caused the pine bark beetles to explode in population, which remains a threat today.

[Cubanchic]

Hey Tallrick that little spot on 87 ave and miller on the corner is that native or planted? They use to have Christmas tree tent there long time ago but now it is just a small patch of pine trees and you can't touch it. I remember other patches of native pine trees but all have disappeared except this one. Do you know anything about it?

[perry335654]

Originally Posted by Cubanchic

Hey Tallrick that little spot on 87 ave and miller on the corner is that native or planted? They use to have Christmas tree tent there long time ago but now it is just a small patch of pine trees and you can't touch it. I remember other patches of native pine trees but all have disappeared except this one. Do you know anything about it?

Here is the area I believe you are referring:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mi...!6m1!1e1?hl=en

[southernnaturelover]

Originally Posted by Coconut1

I have to say I don't mind the pines all being cut down and replaced by palms. There's so many places in the US you can see pine, but not very many where you can see the types of palms growing in SoFla.

South Florida has been so overplanted with palm trees to the point that it has become tacky.

[valicky]

There's a very dense patch on 120th ST west of 137th Ave. Around Boystown Camp Matecumbe. It goes all the way up to Lourdes church. I saw a fox run in there once. There's still a few by MDC Kendall campus and there's some on borrowed time by the zoo. I love the pines. I like palm trees too, but it's nice to have variety.

[valicky]

Originally Posted by perry335654

Here is the area I believe you are referring:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mi...!6m1!1e1?hl=en

I pass that corner all the time on the way to my in-law and love to see those pines. I still can't believe that corner is undeveloped but it makes me happy to see a spot that hasn't succumbed to the dreaded developers.

[Clark Park]

Originally Posted by carterstamp

2 things, unfettered construction and maleluca trees.

... but you gotta admit - the botanical name: Melaleuca Leucadendron is sheer poetry. But they are the worst invasive and destructive living thing in South Florida

[tallrick]

Originally Posted by Cubanchic

Hey Tallrick that little spot on 87 ave and miller on the corner is that native or planted? They use to have Christmas tree tent there long time ago but now it is just a small patch of pine trees and you can't touch it. I remember other patches of native pine trees but all have disappeared except this one. Do you know anything about it?

That lot was known to my dad since the early 60's when my dad told me it was for sale for 800.00 at the time due to a recession. That lot shot up in value and was sold for over 100 thousand in the late 70's to someone presumably a drug dealer, only to be sold again sometime in the early 80's. I was told that the lot has been transferred around the family since and I too am amazed it has not been built on. There is nothing preventing it from it being developed and I am sure it will be soon if the Fed keeps pumping the real estate bubble in Miami. That whole area was a second growth pine rockland that was cleared of its palmettoes and developed with nice 1 acre estate homes. Unlike today's developments, the entire square mile remains extremely desireable and always will, long after the zero-lot "luxury" homes are abandoned to the possums. That lot is among the highest elevations in Miami-Dade county. When the original developer sold lots in "Sunkist Estates" they left the biggest pines to add to the appeal of the lots. At one time almost every home there had pines, Years of lawn maintenance and construction damage have caused pine beetles to kill most of the pines except on that corner lot that was not maintained, More native pines were along the 874 expressway but MDX destroyed them to make "improvements". You used to be able to see palmettoes and coonties along the railroad but there are a few homes including a friend's in that area that still have native pine rockland habitat.