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Wild Weeds – Weed of the Month Indianpipe Monotropa uniflora   Indianpipe, also known as Ghost plant or Death plant, is an herbaceous perennial wildflower that can sometimes be mistaken for a fungi. This plant does not contain chlorophyll and it not photosynthetic, therefore all parts of the plant are white and translucent. Indianpipe…

BELLE GLADE, Fla. – According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Childhood Obesity Facts for Children and Adolescents (www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html), the following data has been gathered for individuals aged 2-19 years in 2017-2020: The prevalence of obesity was 19.7% and affected about 14.7 million children and adolescents. Obesity prevalence was 12.7% among 2- to…

Common Name: Egyptian Goose Status: Non-native species Scientific Name: Alopochen aegyptiaca Occurrence: Year-round resident throughout Florida Egyptian goose patrolling the shoreline. Location: Brandon, Hillsborough County. Photo: Jim E. DavisIdentification: Egyptian Geese have dark, chestnut feathers on their back and a light beige chest. They also have rusty-orange and back tail feathers. Their head is whitish/beige and have a dark…

Hacks to Habits What did the salad greens say to the hungry person? We will make your mouth and body happy if you “let-tuce”! Fruits and vegetables have a high nutrient density and fiber content and offer an abundance of health benefits, including enhancing gut microbiota and reducing the risk of multiple diseases. In addition,…

The classic model of ecological succession begins with new land.  This could be new land formed by a sand bar, or a new landscape formed after a volcanic eruption, but new land none the less.  Then the pioneer community begins.  Based on the model, the plants need to be first, herbivores cannot survive unless there…

Introduction Historically the average rainfall in the Pensacola Bay is around 60 inches per year.  However, over the past 10 years that has increased to slightly more than 75 inches per year (see Table 1).  The frequency of those levels over the past decade shows that most are between 60 – 80 inches but there…

      The latest versions of AI can make you feel almost like you are chatting with a human. For the last blog post of this year, we decided to do something different and interesting for all of our readers. Witnessing all the hype that  ChatGPT  is having on social media, we decided to ask…

    Frozen satsuma citrus during January 2014 ice storm in NW Florida. Credit: Larry Williams In North Florida, it’s wise to select the more cold hardy citrus varieties. Kumquats and Satsuma mandarins are the most cold hardy of the edible citrus choices. In our area, it’s important to purchase citrus trees that are grafted onto…

For pets, do not leave your animals outside for a long period of time, even if they typically live outdoors. Treat your pets how you would like to be treated. If you are cold, they are cold. If you must leave pets outdoors, reinforce their shelter with straw or blankets. Plants: Cover what you can…