The mystery of South Florida’s runaway mangroves
BY JENNY STALETOVICH
[email protected]
Behind the manicured hedges of Coconut Grove and Coral Gables, a bit of a horticultural mystery has taken root, one tied to one of the most famous names in botany: David Fairchild.
During the heady days of botanical gardens, when plant explorers scoured the globe in search of exotic trophies to display back home, Fairchild collected two hardy mangrove trees while traveling in Indonesia. In the 1940s, he planted the trees, radiant specimens of Bruguiera gymnorrhiza with flaming, lipstick red flowers, at his house on Douglas Road, now a little jewel of a botanical garden known as The Kampong. Thirty years later, horticulturists at the more expansive and renowned botanical garden that bears his name off Old Cutler Road planted a second Asian species, Lumnitzera racemosa.
For decades, the trees flourished, showcasing the flowery beauty of exotic mangroves. But at some point, something bad happened. They escaped.
It turns out that not all mangroves — coastal trees Florida wildlife managers have taken great pains to protect — are good.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article32404647.html#storylink=cpy
BY JENNY STALETOVICH
[email protected]
Behind the manicured hedges of Coconut Grove and Coral Gables, a bit of a horticultural mystery has taken root, one tied to one of the most famous names in botany: David Fairchild.
During the heady days of botanical gardens, when plant explorers scoured the globe in search of exotic trophies to display back home, Fairchild collected two hardy mangrove trees while traveling in Indonesia. In the 1940s, he planted the trees, radiant specimens of Bruguiera gymnorrhiza with flaming, lipstick red flowers, at his house on Douglas Road, now a little jewel of a botanical garden known as The Kampong. Thirty years later, horticulturists at the more expansive and renowned botanical garden that bears his name off Old Cutler Road planted a second Asian species, Lumnitzera racemosa.
For decades, the trees flourished, showcasing the flowery beauty of exotic mangroves. But at some point, something bad happened. They escaped.
It turns out that not all mangroves — coastal trees Florida wildlife managers have taken great pains to protect — are good.
Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article32404647.html#storylink=cpy
