South Florida Association of Environmental Professionals
Native Plants
Native Plants
Go Native in South Florida
Check out the information and video below!
Challenge
In subtropical South Florida just about anything you stick in the ground has a good chance of growing, which is why so many plants classified variously as non-native, invasive, or exotic can thrive. Such plants may have been introduced intentionally.
Value
Native plants have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife over thousands of years, and therefore offer the most sustainable habitat. A plant is considered native if it has occurred naturally in a particular region, ecosystem, or habitat without human introduction.
Exotic plants that evolved in other parts of the world or were cultivated by humans into forms that don’t exist in nature do not support wildlife as well as native plants. Occasionally, they can even escape into the wild and become invasive exotics that destroy natural habitat.
Native plants help the environment the most when planted in places that match their growing requirements. They will thrive in the soils, moisture and weather of your region. That means less supplemental watering, which can be wasteful, and pest problems that require toxic chemicals. Native plants also assist in managing rain water runoff and maintain healthy soil as their root systems are deep and keep soil from being compacted.
If you want to download the Native Vegetation list for your County, please just click on the link below.
Other SFAEP Projects
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Submerged Tire Removal Project and Community Coral Nursery Program
ButtonDuzaway Houseboat Reef - This is the reef we are planning adopt, to remove and properly upland dispose the submerged tires, and rescue the attached corals and bring them into our upland coral nursery.
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