The raisins of the ocean and that thing we kept on calling a gecko

Date: June 9th 2016
Location: Blue Hole Observation Platform and Nature Trail

The underside of a sea grape leaf

The fruit of the sea grape

Today our first stop was the blue hole observation platform and nature trail, we were tasked with finding leaves of five different species of our choosing. The first plant that caught my eye right away was the Sea Grape. The sea grape or Coccoloba uvifera is an angiosperm and a part of the buckwheat family. Its range is from southern Florida to Bermuda.The flowers of the plant are white and the fruit which grow in clusters much like the grapes we are used to seeing, turn red when they are ripe. The fruit is apparently edible and can be eaten raw. They are also used to make wines. Not only did we see this in Big Pine Key but almost everywhere else! Apparently, they are a good stabilizer and provide protection from winds as they can get very large. I could not tell you how many times I saw this plant while driving to the other locations but each time it put a smile on my face (lame I know but come on look that big ol' leaf).  

Right after I took this picture, it was like he (or she) was never there

The throat flap exposed

Another organism I was so happy to see again were the anoles. All day yesterday we were calling out to each other "omg look at that gecko!!" To which Stefan would reply "They're called Anoles guys". The anoles we tend to see down here in Florida are called Brown Anoles or Anolis sagrei. They can be in every county of southern Florida! These little guys are an invasive species brought over from Cuba. They are very good at blending in with their surroundings and will skedaddle out of there when you approach them. They can get up to 8 inches long, males are usually longer. They also have a bright orange throat flap which I didn't get to see but I'm sure they only let special people get a look. They prefer to live on the ground and like to eat insects. They also have a taste for the native lizard to Florida, the green anole.  Overall today was a great second day, the weather was good, not too much rain but slightly overcast. We didn't get to see much sun but that might be good for the sake of my skin #palepeopleproblems! 





                                                      For more information on sea grapes click here
                                                     To learn a little extra something about brown anoles
                                                                       Some great information about Blue Hole in Big Pine Key