Brittle Thatch, White-crowned Pigeon

What's Growin'-Palms Brittle Thatch Palm(Thrinax morrisii) is an uncommon palm elsewhere is a common tree on the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key.

This slow growing endangered species is not a tall palm with extreme specimens reaching 20’. The berries are a favorite food of the Key Deer.

It has a characteristically rough trunk with the frond bases not persistent but falling away as the tree matures. A very difficult palm to transplant but nice as a low specimen plant or in a group.
What's Flyin'-Birds Our summertime visitors, the White-Crowned Pigeon(Patagioenas leucocephala), are becoming fewer and fewer. They arrive in late April or early May feasting on the ripe fruit of the Poisonwood tree, Blolly and Randia. Local lore says they do show the effects of fermented berries sometimes crashing through the trees in a drunken frenzy. They are a timid bird that is very difficult to approach but fortunately show a preference to sitting on solitary branches. This fine bird suffered from hunting in the early part of the century. They are only found in the Florida Keys, sporadically in South Florida and the Caribbean.

That's it, see ya