Mitigation banks can’t exactly replicate pre-development ecosystems, even when they achieve state-mandated native plant goals. (Rose Schnabel/WUFT News) Growing native plants and eradicating invasive ...

For 30 years, developers and conservationists fought over the flowered sand banks of Castle Hill in Lake County. As construction crews move in, a driven group of plant experts and retirees races to ...

Forest and wetlands in Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park, Gainesville. (Yunpeng Liu, UF/IFAS Invasion Science Research Institute) ((Yunpeng Liu, UF/IFAS Invasion Science Research Institute)) ...

Florida celebrates Arbor Day earlier than other states, on the third Friday in January. The cooler temperatures make it better for tree planting. Florida first established Arbor Day in 1886, making it ...

While National Arbor Day is always in April, many Floridians do not know that Florida’s Arbor Day is the third Friday in January. In 2025 that date is Friday, January 1. This early date is perfect for ...

What do Japanese magnolias, oranges, and English ivy have in common? None of them are native to Florida. Japanese magnolias and English ivy are obvious, but oranges? They came with the Spanish back in ...

Leafy green with tiny, red fruits, the Brazilian peppertree is a land manager’s enemy. Parts of the plant can be toxic to birds and cause rashes in humans, but that’s not why it raises concern. It’s ...

Julie Becker digs a plant on a hill overlooking a Duke Energy substation and Mattamy Homes subdivision. CLERMONT — On quiet fall mornings, when most of Central Florida buzzes along I-4 and State Road ...