Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Since about 1870, botanists from all over the world have been visiting Bahia Honda Key to study the plants brought here by the birds, the hurricane winds, and the ocean waves from all the islands of the West Indies and the Caribbean Sea. The very rare plants that are found growing as a native plant only on Bahia Honda Key are the West Indies satinwood, or yellowwood tree (Zanthoxylum flavum), the Catesbaea, Jamaica morning-glory (Jaquemontia jamaicensis), and wild dilly (Mimusops). Beautiful and colorful plants from the West Indies known in the Keys and South Florida areas are the Geiger tree (orange flowers), wild Alamanda (yellow flowers), sea-lavender (fragrant white flowers and ash-gray leaves), key spiderlily (white flowers), bay cedar (yellow flower), and the thatch and silver palms.