Things to do / Travel Guide
Environmentally, what typifies northeastern Florida and the Panhandle is the meeting of the southern tropical climate and the more temperate northern climate. This means that, in terms of the region's flora and fauna, you'll be seeing some things you'd only expect farther north, and others you'd expect only farther south.
Flora in Northeast Florida and the Panhandle
On the Nature Coast you can find cabbage palms and laurel oaks towering over cherry laurels, saw palmettos, wild olives, prickly pears, red cedars, and Spanish bayonets. There are also intermittent mangrove swamps. This is the more tropical of the ecosystems of the region. Around Osceola you'll find cypress-gum trees. Near Apalachicola, more typically “Southern” than farther south, there are pine forests with ground cover including dwarf huckleberry and large gallberry, among other flora. Tallahassee is known for its Spanish moss, so well-known from the Deep South. Spanish moss, you may be interested to know, is not a moss at all, but belongs to the pineapple family.
The region also boasts a wonderful assortment of wildflowers, such as Elliot's aster, the fringed bluestar, Leavenworth's coreopsis, and the purple love grass. Northeast Florida and the Panhandle also happens to be an orchid haven. Enthusiasts can check out the spiral of small flowers on the spiranthes orchid.
Fauna in Northeast Florida and the Panhandle
Birds can be found flying everywhere in the region, and, for the experienced eye, an optical feast awaits. Many birds, such as the wood storks and ospreys, can be found building their nests and raising their young around bodies of water. Other birds use the region for only parts of the year, when the north is too cold, such as the common loon, purple martins, purple finches, and gold finches. The iconic wild turkeys and bald eagles can also be found in the region, enjoying comebacks from their near extinction.
Three gentle sea animals that make appearances in the region are the dolphin, the sea turtle, and the manatee. The graceful and oft-friendly dolphin can be found in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Coast. The sea turtle, the largest land reptile, can be spotted in several areas along the Emerald Coast. A special resident of the inland waters of the Nature Coast is the manatee, a large, clumsy-looking sea mammal, also known as a “sea cow.” Back in the early days of European exploration, the manatee's nose, which flits up out of the water and then sinks down again, was thought to be the sign of a mermaid's presence.
Living in some bodies of freshwater all around northeast Florida and the Panhandle is one of the state's dangerous animals, the alligator. Another dangerous animal is the black bear, of which only about 3,000 remain in the state. They live in four areas within the region: around the St. Johns River, around Osceola in the northeast, around Apalachicola, and around Eglin near Pensacola. Finally, not so threatening is the white-tailed deer, which can be found throughout the region.
Nature Spots in Jacksonville, Destin, Daytona Beach, Pensacola, St. Augustine, Northeast Florida
Nature-Wildlife
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