Florida Native Plant Society

Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary's prolific 'super' ghost orchid fails to bloom for once Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary's "super" ghost orchid has not only bloomed every year except last since it was discovered, it's bloomed multiple times some years. And over the years, it bloomed during all ...

For the first time since the "super" ghost orchid was discovered at Audubon #Florida's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary nearly 20 years ago, the plant failed to flower at all. www.wusf.org/environment/... via @wusf.org

Happy Valentine's Day to everyone who loves and cares about Florida's native plants. We love and appreciate you so we made you a few Valentine's Day cards to send to your loved ones.

💚 Peggy Lantz has left us all one final valentine. 💚
She thanked you, the membership, for “the fine organization you have made of FNPS” and encouraged us to “Keep going!” What a beautiful reminder that FNPS has been built by its members. Today, we honor her love for FNPS and we will keep going.

Your voice matters - this particular comment period ends tonight, so don't delay in dashing out a quick note supporting the 'NO BUILD' option.

Use the blue comment button in the right-hand column of this webpage: buff.ly/rr5ChCj

📢 A new toll road through Hardee County and the heart of the Florida Wildlife Corridor in south central Florida is being proposed that would harm rare plants and their natural communities as well well-established collaborative conservation planning efforts.

(772) 510-0120 | John.Snyder@myfloridahouse.gov

buff.ly/4goSa9k

Today we sent an email urging Martin County's State Representative John Snyder to support full funding of Florida Forever. We encourage all Floridians, but particularly Martin County residents, to call and email Rep. Snyder to express their support for Florida Forever funding.

L&L: Groundcover Restoration Research @ FWC FWRI with Dr. Johanna Freeman YouTube video by Florida Native Plant Society

Miss our livestream last week? No worries, it's available now on our YouTube Channel 📺
Johanna Freeman discussed her research on keystone pollinator plants of sandhills and how this might inform priorities for producers trying to bring new groundcover restoration species into commercial production

SB 718 (McClain) "Water Management" - Prohibits local governments from enacting water quality or quantity protections, pollution prevention, or wetlands protections.

For more details about each bill and for links to easily find your senator/rep check out: buff.ly/8tbn17h

SB 686 (McClain) / HB 691 (Botana) "Agricultural Enclaves" - any piece of ag land of a certain size (>1,280 acres) that's bordered by development (75%) is automatically developable.

SB 354 (McClain) / HB 299 (Melo) "Blue Ribbon Projects" - Zoning / land use / and comprehensive planning regulations all DO NOT APPLY to any development project larger than 10,000 acres (> 15 square miles) as long as 60% is reserved for agriculture, recreation, and/or utilities development.

There are three sprawl-enabling bills making their way through the legislature right now that your representatives need to hear from you about:

Johanna has 20 years of experience in studying the ecology and conservation of Florida's terrestrial ecosystems and has brought it to bear on this fascinating research project focusing on plant/pollinator interactions in Florida's sandhills.

Join us this Friday for a compelling presentation on pollinator conservation by Johanna Freeman, PhD of the FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute.

Register here: buff.ly/WVDS7Sg

We're thrilled to see this bills filed and will be supporting their progression through the legislature. Make sure you're on our action alerts list (buff.ly/97fhA33 ) to join us in calling for restoration of the Ocklawaha River!

🎣 outdoor recreation opportunities for fishermen, boaters, paddlers, hikers, and more
🐾 reconnecting the Florida Wildlife Corridor between the Ocala and Osceola NFs and reopening critical habitat for manatees and other wildlife

🚣🏾♂️ restoration of the Ocklawaha River, recovering the 20 "lost springs," and reuniting the Great Florida Riverway (Silver, Ocklawaha, and St. Johns)
🤝 economic development of surrounding counties from job creation to business investment

📣 OCKLAWAHA RIVER RESTORATION BILLS FILED - SB 1066 (Senator Brodeur) / HB 981 (Rep. Duggan): Tributaries of St. Johns River
These companion bills are a good approach to restoration, focusing on conservation while providing for recreation & community development. SB 1066 and HB 981 focus on:

We’re thrilled to announce Cherice’s promotion to Director of Operations. 💚 Thank you, Cherice, for your leadership, care, and countless hours of behind-the-scenes work that help FNPS run stronger every day. 🌿

Thank you to the Native Plant Horticulture Foundation for their support and dedication to growing the future of native plant horticulture.

Learn more at www.nativeplanthort.org🌱

Looking for a meaningful holiday gift for the teachers in your life?

Buy a League of Environmental Educators of Florida (LEEF) membership with a school email and get a Florida Native Plant Society membership FREE!

Visit www.leef-florida.org or email leef.florida@gmail.com for more info.

Join us for our Lunch and Learn today at noon with Alexa Heilman - youtube.com/live/CS2IEyG...

THANK YOU! We're thrilled to share that together we raised over $8,000 on Giving Tuesday in support of rare plant conservation!

Thank you for supporting our mission of championing native plants and their habitats. Learn more about what we do at www.fnps.org/what-we-do.

Register for the presentation here: buff.ly/GsC2EIT

Our Lunch and Learn this month on Friday 12/12 at noon will be a review of the history, practice and applications of Horticultural Therapy and guidance for how native plants can be used in an Horticultural Therapy practice from a practical, metaphorical and therapeutic/clinical perspective.

📷 cover: Phaon crescent (Phycoides phaon) on turkey tangle fogfruit (Phyla nodiflora). Photo by Paul Rebmann.

Read it all here: buff.ly/CeFMYKD

📭 The latest Palmetto is hitting inboxes and mailboxes as we speak!

In this issue:
🐛 Beyond Milkweed: Host Plants for the Other Butterflies by Leslie Nixon
🏆 Celebrating the 2025 FNPS Landscape Awards by Natalia Manrique
🍃 Carex of Central Florida by Linda W. Curtis

To keep this momentum going into 2025, please consider donating $2 today for Giving TWOSDAY ✌️

We're honored to be the voice of Florida's native plants in Tallahassee and with your support we will keep working hard to protect and advocate for the Florida that you love.

Donate: buff.ly/t5s6ljU