Those of us in my little corner of the native plant world were a bit shocked and dismayed at this news....but the blanket flower is so useful here on the coastal plain, we kind of blurred our eyes and said "eff it, we'll call it an honorary native," lolz.
You know, I've always looked down my nose at Florida. It's a terrible thing to admit, but it's all because of my father's weird obsession with Disney. He was a Depression kid--oldest child, single mother, got his first job at 9--and taking every single kid in the family to Disneyland or Disney World has been a 50-year obsession of his. He has not one but TWO time shares in Kissimmee, and those weird manufactured golf course landscapes that they've converted all the old orange groves to are the epitome of his idea of beauty. IKR. But more recently I've seen some really stunning native plants landscapes around Jacksonville--I think I'm going to have to stop being a snob about Florida and investigate further...
When FNPS and the Florida Wildflower Assn made news of this a couple years ago it was a big deal and I was a little disappointed but you know, it makes a lot of sense.
Another interesting bit of research, and I'll have to dig around on the Florida Flora and Ecosystematics Facebook group for it, was that there was some research found that water lettuce was actually native to Florida! So, things change with new insights!
Those of us in my little corner of the native plant world were a bit shocked and dismayed at this news....but the blanket flower is so useful here on the coastal plain, we kind of blurred our eyes and said "eff it, we'll call it an honorary native," lolz.
Hi, Jenks! I wonder if the “Dr. Weekly” in this story is actually Alan Weakley of the UNC Herbarium here in Chapel Hill?
Could be! Ill check in with Marc.
I bet you're right. Good thinking.
This is fascinating. I'd love a tour of his garden.
You know, I've always looked down my nose at Florida. It's a terrible thing to admit, but it's all because of my father's weird obsession with Disney. He was a Depression kid--oldest child, single mother, got his first job at 9--and taking every single kid in the family to Disneyland or Disney World has been a 50-year obsession of his. He has not one but TWO time shares in Kissimmee, and those weird manufactured golf course landscapes that they've converted all the old orange groves to are the epitome of his idea of beauty. IKR. But more recently I've seen some really stunning native plants landscapes around Jacksonville--I think I'm going to have to stop being a snob about Florida and investigate further...
Jenks, you are my “Mark”. Thanks for teaching me so much and I look forward to learning much more from you.
When FNPS and the Florida Wildflower Assn made news of this a couple years ago it was a big deal and I was a little disappointed but you know, it makes a lot of sense.
Another interesting bit of research, and I'll have to dig around on the Florida Flora and Ecosystematics Facebook group for it, was that there was some research found that water lettuce was actually native to Florida! So, things change with new insights!
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=nhcVuhSrIRY
Here’s a 2024 talk he gave on the subject of defining nativeness. The first 20 min have been excellent.
BTW, finally ordered myself a copy of Funky Little Flower Farm. It’s an absolute pleasure to read!