Nature surprises on Virginia Key

Photo credit: Sam Wright. Okenia  hypogaea is a new variety of each peanut  discovered by Wendy Teas, Sea Turtle Stranding Coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service in the maritime tropical hammock of Virginia Key. This variety has pink pigment on the stems and leaf, a color that has never been observed before now.

Aerial view of Virginia Key shows Tropical Hammock and dunes alongside Bear Cut that is part of the Historic Virginia Key Beach Park.

Newly vegetated dunes are part of a federally funded ecological restoration project.

There are some who would chafe at the notion that Virginia Key is, at its core, a wilderness. If there’s a restaurant there, or for that matter, a Water and Sewage Treatment Plant, how can it be a wilderness?

But even within and certainly around the man-made structures and uses, wilderness prevails and perseveres. And often surprises.

The discovery of a new variety of beach peanut is such a surprise. The separate population of Okenia hypogaea was discovered by Wendy Teas, Sea Turtle Stranding Coordinator for the National Marine Fisheries Service in the maritime tropical hammock of Virginia Key. This variety has pink pigment on the stems and leaf, a color that has never been observed before now.

The maritime hammock of Virginia Key is just one small part of a web of wild places. Other habitats of Virginia Key include a beach dune, coastal strand, and mangrove tidal swamp.

Reclaiming and restoring disturbed natural areas has allowed new species never before seen on Virginia Key to return to their ancestral habitats.

Former Fairchild Tropical Garden Conservation intern Allison Rosenberg documented the presence of a new population of beach star (Cyperus pedunculatus). And beach clustervine (Jacquemontia reclinata) has been introduced along the dune habitat.

Wilderness certainly can be defined as the most undisturbed, pristine, free of human contact places left on the planet. But it can also be found closer to home, in the swaths of wildness on a barrier island that appears to be reclaiming itself.



Download the guidebook to the Tropical Hammock of Virginia Key:
http://www.virginiakeybeachpark.net/guidebook.pdf

Tropical Hammock is Nature's Last Refuge

Virginia Key’s Tropical Hammock


In the center of Virginia Key, a 1,000 acre barrier island off the coast of Miami, is a rare tropical hammock, where endangered plant and animal species find a last refuge.

The hammock is a treasure trove for the naturalist in all of us eager to explore an ecosystem where native butterflies and migrating songbirds abound.

After Hurricane Andrew, the alternately barren and exotic-laden landscape was reforested with native plants. Removing exotics allowed the native seed pool waiting under the rubble to come to life. The state endangered plant, the Biscayne Prickly-ash, began to flourish - its population growing from one species to more than 40 in a short time period.

Field biologist Samuel Wright, who has been working with City of Miami naturalist Juan Fernandez and his staff to restore the 15-acre hammock, documents the restoration project and discovery of new species in the Virtual Herbarium website of Fairchild Tropical Garden http://www.virtualherbarium.org/GardenViews/VirginiaKey.html
Here’s his invitation to explore:

“Imagine getting out of your car and taking a five-minute walk through such rare habitats as coastal dunes, coastal hammocks and mangroves. Could you envision a pleasant, relaxing day with a beach all to yourself in the middle of Miami? Come and lose yourself as you stroll through the Virginia Key Coastal Hammock Interpretive Trail. With all its diverse flora, fauna and cultural history, Virginia Key has a lot to offer.”

The Tropical Hammock entrance is off the parking lot of Virginia Key Beach (Windsurfer’s Beach). The hammock trail is free but there is a City of Miami parking fee of $5 to enter the island off Rickenbacker Causeway.