I am a lifelong resident of Key Biscayne, FL (greater Miami area), and I’ve been thinking about a plant AND animal that represent Key Biscayne, in other words, when you see X animal or X plant, you immediately think of Key Biscayne.
Considering Key Biscayne is a small place, I would be open to hearing thoughts from others about animals or plants they see that remind them instantly of Miami.
Some that come to mind initially for me are Gumbo Limbo, Osprey, Frigates, and Sea Grapes
mosquito
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Mangrove cuckoo and mangrove trees
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My very niche answer is Tantilla oolitica, the rim rock crowned snake: a rare, endangered, poorly known species of small snake endemic to the rim rock formations/oolitic limestone formations in Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
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Species endemic to the pine rocklands or other localized areas would truly be the most appropriate and unique answer, like Cicindela floridana Buenoa marki
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seconding pine rockland endemics!
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This seems like a question also worth asking some of the folks you regularly interact with on iNat in Miami Dade County since not everyone is registered/active on the forum and may not be familiar with local flora and fauna.
From an outside perspective, just looking at top species for the county with some national notoriety:
- Iguana iguana - Known for falling out of trees during cold weather
- Alligator mississippiensis - Lots of observations and there’s something called Gator Park(?)
- Trichechus manatus - Well known conservation effort
- Sabal palmetto - Is this the one that’s used for stuffing olives?
Also, there might be a Homo sapiens who might fit the question: an iNatter who is so prolific and identifying a specific plant genus that you can’t help but associate one with the other.
On the forum such species would be Euphorbia and Penstemon for example.
Edit:
Totally botched it with Sabal palmetto, I mistook it for pimiento. I was thinking about some kind of plant associated with Florida that people tend to really like or strongly dislike, sorry!
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I’ll skip all my snark (as a former resident of Homestead, so much snark) and just go with Smooth-billed Ani.
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noooooo not them theyre awful!
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Are they frightening to look at or is there something else about their behavior or reputation that makes them so?
They are invasive and strip a lot of foliage off trees. Beyond that, I’m not sure there is anything “wrong” with them.
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As someone severely underqualified to have any thought on this; palm tree and anole? Two organisms found in nature and urban areas.
Interesting discussion here, I had planned a trip to the Everglades and Florida Keys a few years back that got cancelled and I’m thinking about going again over winter. Definitely adding pine rockland/rim rock habitats to my list of things to research and figure out places to check them out!
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yeah they are invasive. they massively devour plants and ransack burrowing owl nests, and theyre moving north!
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