The wetlands by the Santa Fe River and Hwy 47 bridge were the venue for the popular plant hike, hosted by Dr. Colette Jacono of Fort White on March 17, 2019. Dr. Jacono is a botany specialist who can identify all the many plants growing along the river. She is nationally known as a plant expert and sometimes gives expert opinions in court cases throughout the U.S.
Each participant on the hike received an education on plant identity and a ticket to RiverFest, coming up soon on March 31, 2019.
The following is a testimonial from Kristin Rubin who was on the plant hike:
I wish these pictures could talk, there was so much to learn, so much to see. This was my third plant hike, two last year, guided by Colette Jacono, Ph.D. in botany and surrounded by novices, students, fellow scientists and all of us having one thing in common: to learn about the floodplain habitat. I learned more about identification and how the plants coexist not only in the floodplain but how they thrive on the karst, which is what we live on in Florida. We discovered plants that were not on the extensive plant list and one of my favorites was the Asclepius humistrata and of course the Zephryanthes atamasca, from which I was fortunate to gather a few seeds. Grab a friend and share the wonders at Gilchrist Park on the Santa Fe River at the SR 47 Bridge.
Thanks to Cindy Noel and Kristin Rubin for information and photographs in this post, and especially to Colette Jacono for her time and expertise.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
-A river is like a life: once taken, it cannot be brought back-