Yamato Scrub – Boca Raton, FL

The field trip to the Yamato Scrub was more personal than all the rest of the field trips our group has gone on in the past. This was partially because there was only myself and four other members of our group present. This allowed for more one on one time with getting to know nature at a relaxing place. The weather was very tolerable this day as well with an overcast of clouds and cooling light drizzle of rain. There were so many plant species in the scrub that we had never seen before and need a book to identify. Taking the time to look for the name of the plant based on its physical characteristics was a rewarding learning experience for me, as I am sure it was for others on this trip as well. It was exciting to see the life on this scrub and I was shocked to think that this area (which is now a few miles inward of the beach line) was once the scrub area of the coast and the beach lay right by it. It’s interesting to learn how our land changes over the course of many years and what the factors are that contribute to those changes.

            During this visit to the scrub I learned how to identify the different native pine trees that are in this region: the slash pine and the sand pine. Along with the abundant plant life that exists among this scrub, our group was lucky enough to have close encounters with animal/insect life such as an armadillo, a large black spider with her eggs, a Florida mouse, a stunning Cardinal bird, and a surprising Eastern Indigo Snake. The Yamato Scrub is located very close to our university campus and I can’t believe I did not know about it until now. I am glad we went to this location because of its rare species that live there and am happy that it is a nearby location for me so that I can go back and visit it more often, perhaps finding more species I had not seen during the field trip. 

List of Flora Species:

Periwinkle (from Africa)

Slash Pine

Sand Pine

Partridge Pea

Prickly Pear Cactus

Saw Palmetto Palm

Bracken Fern

Tar Flower

Coco Plum

Dwarf Oak Trees

Caribou Moss

List of Fauna Species:

White Peacock Butterfly

Cardinal Bird

Armadillo

Florida Mouse

Peregrine Falcon

Wood Stork

Eastern Racer Snake

Black Spider

Message/Information Board of Yamato Scrub

Saw Palmetto 

Dried Up Canal

White Peacock Butterfly

Dwarf Oak Trees

Spanish Moss

Slash Pine

Partridge Pea

Prickly Pear Cactus

Slash Pine Bark

Lichen on Bark

Scrub grounds

Pine Cone

Saw Palmettos

Caribou Moss

Tar Flower

Amanda in Nature

Sand Pine

Spider with Eggs

Pathways of the Yamato Scrub