Finding Home in the Sandy Lands of the South: A Naturalist's Journey in Florida

Finding Home in the Sandy Lands of the South: A Naturalist's Journey in Florida

By F. E. "Jack" Putz, Distinguished Professor of Biology, University of Florida

Florida’s familiar natural history comes alive in the collection of 60 stories about local plants, animals, and ecological phenomena. With sprinklings of history and culture, the author shares insights about the Spanish moss draping your live oaks and the pocket gophers tunneling in your yard.

The subtext for this set of nature essays is the author’s personal struggle to accept Florida and the South as home. The path he takes to this personal discovery slogs through cypress swamps, climbs into the canopies of savanna live oaks, and chases fox squirrels through longleaf pine savannas. Along the way he shares his botanical and ecological insights about everything from sand grains to hurricanes.

This book has something for every Florida Master Naturalist - from those of us interested in edible wild plants, or those who are curious about Tung Blossom Queens, to naturalists struggling to understand Florida’s climate, topography, and fire ecology.

Paperback; 241 pages; Size  6 x 9; blk/wht photos