📭 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

Thank you for supporting our work to protect our native plants and habitats. With your support and responsiveness to action alerts we have: 💮 successfully advocated for routing a toll road around the habitat of the endangered Blushing Scrub Balm (Dicerandra modesta),

You may have heard of Giving Tuesday, but do you know about Giving Twosday? Chip in $2 to support two of our conservation projects: TorreyaKeepers 🌿 and Two Endangered Mints in the Genus Dicerandra 💮. Both of these projects were federally funded and were cut this year.

Announcing the Peggy Lantz Writing Contest! We’re excited to launch our writing contest celebrating creative voices inspired by Florida’s wild flora, in honor of Peggy Lantz, an esteemed nature writer and tireless advocate for Florida’s native plants. Learn more at fnps.org/writingcontest.

Our presenter for tomorrow, Owen Schneider, had a family emergency so he's flying back home to be with his parents tomorrow and won't be presenting. We're working on rescheduling Owen so keep an eye out for that.

This month's Lunch and Learn is with Temple University ecologist Owen Schneider is going to be lit! 🔥 He will be presenting his research on plant flammability in Long Pine Key in Everglades National Park. 🕛 Friday, 11/21, 12pm EST ✏️ Registration: buff.ly/apdmsL5

There are still tickets available to the state's longest running native plant landscape tour on Sunday! Our Conradina Chapter has arranged for a 20% discount to a local nursery on Sunday, plein air painters at some of the stops, & a free native plant to all attendees. brevardlandscapetour.org

Join the @flspringscouncil.bsky.social for a deep dive into Florida's Legislative Session and lobbying for springs 🏛️ PART 5 OF THE SPRINGS ADVOCACY 101 SERIES 💦 🗓️ Wednesday, November 19 at 6:30 p.m. buff.ly/Bx7C590

🔥 Experience a prescribed burn and explore the role of fire in Florida’s ecosystems this Saturday at the Lake Wales Ridge Fire Fest, a day of learning, demonstrations, and community engagement. The festival is free with the $6 entrance fee to Highlands Hammock SP. visitsebring.com/event/fire-f...

Huge thanks to the @flspringscouncil.bsky.social for hosting our President, Eugene Kelly, for a deep dive on conservation land protection last night. Ryan Smart, Gene, and Ryan Worthington's excellent discussion is on YouTube and runs 1h16. Watch it here: buff.ly/hPfjhd2

🌀 We're very excited to have Nicole Zampieri as our L&L presenter this week. She is an incoming professor in the Department of Biology at UCF & will discuss her research into the hurricane ecology of longleaf pine savannas. Registration: buff.ly/w7PRd3q

Online Exhibit 🌿 Rare, Beautiful & Fascinating Feature: Florida Yew (Taxus floridana) This critically endangered native Florida plant produces Taxol, an anticancer drug. Florida yew is not harvested commercially due to its rarity. 🎧 With Kent Perkins: www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/100-years/ob...

We're looking forward to Giving Tuesday, which is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving every year. We have just come off of a relatively successful year in conservation advocacy, having taken the lead on stopping the Withlacoochee State Forest land swap

🦋 Research just out from UF IFAS shows that while many Floridians are aware of the potential benefits of supporting native plants as pollinator habitat on roadsides, a large subset of the population isn't even thinking about how roadsides could support pollinators.

FNPS is proud to be sponsoring this year's Groundcover Restoration and Enhancement Workshop. The past two workshops have been incredibly informative with excellent networking among native plant folks & this year's workshop should be similarly excellent. Register here: web.cvent.com/event/5a792b...

Today as part of our conference sponsor appreciation series, we’re highlighting Young Bear Environmental Consulting, an environmentally conscious firm dedicated to protecting Florida’s natural resources. Learn more about their impactful work at ybeconsulting.com. 🌿💧

Last Tuesday (9/30) the Florida Governor and Cabinet voted to spend $83m of money earmarked for protecting land for conservation to buy four acres in Destin completely outside of any existing conservation land purchasing project area.

Tell Governor DeSantis & CFO Blaise Ingoglia to vote NO tomorrow on the purchase of the Pointe Mezzanine property! Governor DeSantis (850)717-9337 [email protected] CFO Blaise Ingoglia (850)413-3100 [email protected] More info: buff.ly/ITgSyUR

We are a proud member of the Reunite the Rivers Coalition. After >50 years, it’s time to breach the obsolete dam & allow the Ocklawaha River to be free-flowing & connected to Silver Springs & the St. Johns again. Pledge to support Ocklawaha restoration. IT'S ABOUT DAM TIME! buff.ly/gmQyXdc

Don't miss this week's Lunch and Learn with Susan Carr, land conservationist extraordinaire! Susan will be presenting on the recent history of conservation land in Florida, focusing on local, state, federal, and private funding mechanisms. Register here: buff.ly/hPL9aWG

Shoutout to our Pawpaw Chapter, serving Volusia & Flagler for 35 years! From monthly programs & field trips to public gardens & their annual Native Plant Sale & Expo, they’re making a huge impact—and helped make our 2025 FNPS Conference a success.

There's still time! Submit your photos by midnight at fnps.org/photocontest. 📸: Valerie Anderson

Whether you’re photographing plants or the plant people who love them, make sure to get outside this weekend - the FNPS Photo Contest ends on Monday! Find more details and apply at www.fnps.org/photocontest.

Only one more week to enter the FNPS Photo Contest! Showcase your creativity and love for Florida’s native plants by submitting your best shots. Visit buff.ly/6xVLtUo for more information and to enter! 📸: Lilly Anderson-Messec #FNPSPhotoContest #FloridaNativePlants

August is National Will Month and to celebrate we are highlighting one of our supporters, Bryon White of Yaupon Brothers American Team. "I have been a long time supporter of the Florida Native Plant Society and my local chapter, Pawpaw. There is no other organization that does what FNPS

🌵 Feeling prickly? Join us for August's L&L this Friday (8/29) at noon EST with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's Jimmy Lange. Jimmy will present on his team's experience with cactus conservation in the Florida Keys, including the first documented extirpation of a vascular plant species in the

🌿💚 October is Florida Native Plant Month! 💚🌿 October is the perfect time—flowers are blooming, the weather is cooler, and nature is ready to explore. Join the fun in style with your official Florida Native Plant Month T-shirt! Order today to get yours in time. buff.ly/gsRvW3S

Don't forget to submit your photos to the 2025 Florida Native Plant Society Photo Contest! Deadline to submit is September 15th. Visit www.fnps.org/photocontest for more information and to enter!

Shoutout to Pais Realty, a proud sponsor of the 2025 FNPS Conference! 🌿 Founder David has spent decades leading Florida’s native plant movement -- now bringing that passion to real estate with a focus on conservation & historic properties. #FNPS #FloridaNativePlants

Happy Sunday, plant friends! The Palmetto is here—perfect reading with your morning coffee. Inside you’ll find a celebration of plants, people, and conservation victories across FL. 🌰 Florida Scrub is Nuts (and Drupes) 🌳 Conservation Advocacy Wins 🌸 A New Orchid in Town 👉 Dive in: issuu.com/fnps/

If you have any cryptogamists in your life who are looking to fund their research, then the time has come! Cryptogams are plants—or plant-like organisms—such as ferns, lichens, and liverworts. Instead of flowers & seeds, they reproduce with spores. For more information, reach out to [email protected].

Today is the start of the Great Southeast Pollinator Census! gsepc.org Grab a lemonade and a clipboard and watch a plant for 15 minutes, noting who visits it. Submit your results on a form linked on their website. You can participate today, tomorrow, and Sunday.

August is National Make-a-Will Month. Including FNPS in your will helps ensure Florida’s native plant communities have a voice and continue to thrive for generations. Visit www.fnps.org/support/legacy to create your will for free today.

Today, we’re highlighting our friends at the Martin County Chapter, sponsor of our April 2025 FNPS Annual Conference. For over 40 years, MCFNPS has served Florida’s Treasure Coast through monthly programs, public field trips, restoration workdays, and community education. Learn more: mcfnps.org.

Don’t miss your chance to enter the 2025 FNPS Landscape Awards! Have you entered your Florida-friendly garden, restoration project, or community landscape yet? The final deadline has been extended to August 10, 2025! Visit www.fnps.org/what-we-do/l... for full details and to apply.

Calling all citizen scientists! The Great Southeast Pollinator Census is August 22-23. You only need to count at one plant for 15 minutes to participate. 👀 Get familiar with the counting procedures and how to report your count: gsepc.org 💯 You get a certificate of participation when you're done.

No need to flash back -- this Friday is all about what’s happening now! The newest issue of Palmetto just dropped and is available online, along with all previous issues! Check it out for fresh updates, inspiration, and opportunities to engage with FNPS. Here’s a look at what’s inside:

We're introducing the final juror for the FNPS 2025 Landscape Awards: Adam Saffles! Adam is the Owner of Wildfire Native Nursery in Northeast Florida and a director for the Ixia Chapter of FNPS. And good news -- submissions are now open through August 7! Apply at buff.ly/9t3owwW

🌿 Now Open: The Barbara Grigg Special Research Grant 🌿 A $10,000 grant supporting research on Florida’s bryophytes, pteridophytes (ferns & allies), and lichens—offered outside of our usual cycle in honor of longtime FNPS member and lichenologist, Dr. Barbara Grigg.

Today we're introducing the next juror for the FNPS 2025 Landscape Awards, Douglas Thompson! Douglas is Principal and Lead Landscape Architect of LandscapeDE and brings 11+ years of diverse design experience to his work. Landscape Awards are open until July 31st! Apply today at buff.ly/bpCMHxM

Today for Flashback Friday, we’re revisiting a 2006 feature in The Palmetto by ecologist Dr. Francis E. Putz that kicks off a series on the perils and joys of ecosystem restoration. Read the article in The Palmetto, Volume 23, Issue 3 found here: issuu.com/fnps/docs/pa...

Our longtime editor of the Palmetto magazine and 2024 Landscape Award winner, Peg Lantz, was featured in the Orange Observer www.orangeobserver.com/news/2025/ju...

🌿 This Friday hear from fire ecologist Rae Crandall about Florida's Old-Growth Grasslands - amazing ecosystems at our feet. 📅 7/25 12pm 📍 virtual ✍️ register here: buff.ly/1rgzopB

No need to flash back -- this Friday is all about what’s happening now! The newest issue of Sabal Minor just dropped and is available online, along with all previous issues! Check it out for fresh updates, inspiration, and opportunities to engage with FNPS. 📖 Read it now: issuu.com/fnps/docs/sa...

🙋 Curious about applying for a landscape award but have some questions? 💬 Get your questions answered at our upcoming Q&A session this Friday! 📅 Friday, 7/18 12pm EST 🔑 Register here: buff.ly/1V1IUOk

The inaugural Florida Native Plant Society Photo Contest is NOW OPEN! Visit www.fnps.org/photocontest to enter! 📸: Lilly Anderson-Messec #FNPSPhotoContest #FloridaNativePlants

The next juror for the 2025 Landscape Awards, Fritz Wettstein, is a landscape architect/environmental consultant, with a 40-year career in public service. He's a long-time member of the Magnolia Chapter and volunteers at the Native Plant Arboretum. Apply for the Landscape Awards at buff.ly/7oYYu2i

Get your cameras ready – the inaugural Florida Native Plant Society Photo Contest opens July 15th! Celebrate Florida’s incredible native flora and all the ways they shape our wild and cultivated spaces. Learn more at www.fnps.org/photocontest.

Thank you to our 2025 Florida Native Plant Society Conference sponsors! Today we're highlighting Florida Nursery, Growers and Landscape Association. Founded in 1952, FNGLA is a vibrant network of professionals who work in unison to shape the future of Florida's nursery and landscape industry.

Don’t forget — the 2025 FNPS Landscape Awards are open for submissions! Early bird rates end June 30, 2025, so submit soon to take advantage of the discount. Final deadline for submissions is August 1, 2025. Visit www.fnps.org/what-we-do/l... for details and to apply.