Beautiful yes, but don’t be deceived:
They have a reputation as one of the most meddlesome invasive exotic plants in the Everglades.
Upon arriving to Big Cypress, I didn’t so much see things with new eyes – as the saying goes – as I “didn’t” see things clearly because my eyes were new … in addition to also being myopic:
I wear glasses for distance.
A long-time ranger offered to give me a tour of the Addition Lands, up along the preserve’s northern outskirts.
From a distance the Melaleucas were easy to spot:
They had "puffy" white flowers, or so they seemed, until we stepped out of the truck to take a closer look and their true shape was revealed:
Elongated white bristle brushes.
“These trees shouldn’t be here,” he scowled. “Somebody brought them in from Australia and now they’ve spread everywhere.”
He went on to explain that most of the Melaleuca forests had been cut down on preserve lands, “but you’ll see them everywhere else … especially in the fall when they are blooming. That blows the seeds right back into the preserve.”
“Do they bloom in fall because it coincides with spring in Australia?” I asked.
He shrugged his shoulders dismissively then looked at his watch. We were on a schedule and had to go.
Near sightedness had precluded me from ever becoming serious birder, or so I thought:
I was quickly discovering in Florida that wading birds were impossible “not” to notice.
They were lengthy, conspicuously feathered, and quite ostentatious – whether wading in the water or perched in a tree:
Spotting one (or many) from a distance was quite commonplace.
A quarter mile up the levee, as we approached a confluence with another canal, I spotted what appeared to be one of those peculiar unwanted trees with the puffy white flowers.
“Is that another Melaleuca?” I asked, pointing straight ahead.
He fell silent for a moment – probably half wondering if I was making a joke – then dead panned in disbelief:
“That’s a cypress tree with a bunch of egrets perched on it.”
So it was.
(Birding and botany were never my strong suites.)
3 comments:
Love the cypress and egrets tale!
Funny to think that Melaleuca is a "weed," (So to speak!) since it gives us all those tea tree products!
It's true: so many think of the oil when they hear the name. It's a good tree ... just in this case it's in the wrong spot.
Funny story about poor distance vision and birding. I'm no good at spotting little birds. I do a little better with great big ones!
Interesting about the invasive tree. It's pretty, but not good if it crowds out the native trees.
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