Big Munson Island Plants

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Gumbo Limbo*

Red, peely bark, long twisted branches

Buttonwood

Large twisted branches, dense wood

Silver Thatch Palm

Only palm native to the keys, tall, no coconuts

Seven Year Apple

Almost always has the fruits on the tree

Blolly

Very tall and very thin, often one of the tallest and skinniest trees. Often has ants on the tree as well

Jamaican Dogwood

Distinct leaf shape, also often seen knocked over and regrowing

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Poisonwood Tree*

Calico bark with thick, black oily patches. Leaves in sets of five

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Saltwort*

Patches with much more twisted branches overlapping each other

Glasswort

Patches that grow straight up, will often have red in the individual stalks

Cape Sable Thoroughwort

Distinctive flower in a tangled mess of vines

Prickly Pear Cactus

Thin, circular pads. Will sometimes have bright red fruits on them

Barbed Wire Cactus

Thin, noodle-like stalks, all growing on top of each other in a giant pile. Often growing onto other trees

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Bahama Nightshade*

Bright red berries and small purple flowers, leaves are scratchy to the touch

Purple Porterweed

Weeds with small purple flowers growing on them

Sea Oats

Looks like oats, usually in big clumps holding the berm together

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Sea Grape*

Very distinctive waxy leaves, also has small grapes. Fully grown sea grape trees are very large

Limber Caper

Can be a bush or a vine, has pink flowers and “teeth pods”

Jamaica Caper

Can be a bush or a vine, has pink flowers and no “teeth pods”

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Red Mangrove*

Large prop roots that go down from the tree into the water, has propagule seed pods

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Black Mangrove*

Pneumatophores or “snorkel roots” that come up out of the water. Salt crystal on the leaves make them sparkly in the sun

White Mangrove

Can have prop roots going down or snorkel roots going up. Leaves have a distinctive shape that kinda looks like a butt

Orange Geiger Tree

Bright orange flowers

Sea Rockets

Very thin vines grow into medium to large piles, almost always very close to the beach. Also almost always will have flowers

Sea Lavender

A very distinct felt-esc look and feel to the plant. Grows in massive bushes, but pushing aside the top outer layer of the plant reveals all that doesn’t receive direct sunlight is dead