A HISTORY OF SOUTH FLORIDA GARDENING—A REVIEW OF MABEL WHITE DORN AND MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS' THE BOOK OF TWELVE FOR SOUTH FLORIDA GARDENS

Abstract

Published by the South FL Garden Club in 1928, when Mabel Dorn was president and Marjory Stoneman Douglas—famous for championing the protection of the Everglades—was garden editor of the Miami Herald, The Book of Twelve lists twelve tried and true flowering and shade trees, large to small shrubs, etc. for southern Florida, but also includes some plants which are now tried and true invasive species. The book was reviewed in July 2004 by the Univ. of Florida (FL)/Miami-Dade Florida Yards and Neighborhoods (FYN) Extension Agent in response to a request from a local garden club, which as a club project, had decided to re-print and distribute the book to its 100 members. Because it might encourage the use of invasive species, the review was discussed at a seminar on ecologically sustainable alternatives to invasive species. One recommended plant, Schinus terebinthefolius (Brazilian pepper) is now prohibited by the FL Dept of Environmental Protection and considered a noxious weed by the FL Dept of Agric and Consumer Services. The FL Exotic Plant Pest Council (FEPPC) considers five plants Category I invasives, i.e., exotics altering native plant communities, displacing natives, changing community structures or ecology, or hybridizing with natives. These include Lantana camara, Lonicera japonica, Abrus precatorius and Asparagus africanus. Ten plants are FEPPC Category II invasives, exotics increasing in abundance or frequency, but not yet altering plant communities as extensively as Category I species: Cestrum diurnum, Murraya paniculata, Sesbania punicea, Cryptostegia grandiflora, Jasminum sambac, Antigonon leptopus, Macfadyena unguis-cati, Asystasia gangetica, Wedelia trilobata, and Tradescantia fluminensis.