Florida Hikes

Hike Bike Paddle Camp Florida with authors Sandra Friend and John Keatley as your guides

Fakahatchee ferns

Identifying Florida species

Identification of Florida species via photos taken in Florida’s public lands.

Red-winged blackbird

One of the most distinctive sounds you'll hear in a Florida marsh is the call of the red-winged blackbird, particularly when there are a large flock of them.

Roseate spoonbill

There's no mistaking the roseate spoonbill, with its bright pink plumage and distinctive shovel-shaped beak. Usually seen in pairs or large groups, they feed on mud flats.

Saltwort

The thick succulent leaves of saltwort are commonly seen along coastal fringes and mangrove forests. Used as a medicinal herb and as a tea, saltwort is thought to relieve asthma, constipation, and gout

Sand Cordgrass

It's found throughout Florida, in freshwater marshes and along the rim of saltwater marshes, and is by far one of the showiest grasses in Florida, especially when the huge tufts are ruffled by a breeze - sand cordgrass.

Sand Live Oak

A white oak in the same family as beeches and chestnuts, the sand live oak varies in size the farther north it goes in its range, from 20 feet in South Florida to an average of 50 feet tall.

Sandhill crane

Tall, distinctive birds that you'll see everywhere in the Florida peninsula, sandhill cranes mate for life and travel in pairs or as a family.

Sea Myrtle

Found along the coast and inland waterways, large bushes that burst into blooms of white puffs in fall are sea myrtle (also known as saltbush or groundsel bush), baccharis halimfolia.

Snowy egret

Sometimes mistaken for other white wading birds in Florida, the snowy egret has distinctive yellow feet and a black bill.

Strangler Fig

Slowly suffocating its host by creating a leafy canopy above it and roots that surround it, the strangler fig (Ficus aurea) earns its name. You'll see it throughout tropical habitats in South Florida.

Swamp Sunflower

One of Florida's showiest wildflowers, the swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius) comes into its glory in numerous locations around the state in the fall.