The Florida stone crab is a crab found in the western North Atlantic, from Connecticut to Belize, including Texas, the Gulf of Mexico, Cuba and the Bahamas. It is widely caught as a source of food.

It is brownish red with gray spots and a tan underside, and has large unequally-sized claws with black tips. The claws are hinged, very dark, and banded with red and yellow. It measures about 6.5 inches in length.

They make burrows in mud or sand below the low tide line, lying in wait for prey, prefering to feed on oysters and other small mollusks, polychaete worms, and other crustaceans. They will also occasionally eat seagrass.

The Florida stone crab is usually fished near jetties, oyster reefs or other rocky areas. The bodies are relatively small and are rarely eaten, but the claws are considered a delicacy.

The popularity of the Florida stone crab has grown again in recent years and is considered to be one of the best varieties to eat, as well as one of the more expensive.

Tragacanth is a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of legumes of the genus Astragalus. Some of these species’ common names include Milk Vetch or Goat’s Thorn. The gum is sometimes called Shiraz Gum or Gum Dragon.

The sap is an odorless, tasteless, water-soluble mixture of polysaccharides obtained by draining from the root of the plant. It seeps from the plant in twisted ribbons or flakes which can be powdered. It absorbs water to become a gel, which can be stirred into a paste.

It is used in incense as a binder to hold powdered herbs together. It is also the traditional binder used in the making of artist’s pastels, as it does not adhere to itself the same way gum arabic does when dry. In addition, it is used to make a paste used in patisseries to create life-like flowers as decorations for cakes.

Tragacanth contains an alkaloid that has historically been used as an herbal remedy for such conditions as cough and diarrhea. As a mucilage or paste it has been used as a topical treatment for burns, as a cast to prohibit mobility for healing bones, and is used in pharmaceuticals and foods as an emulsifier, thickener, stabilizer, and texturant additive.

Gum tragacanth is less common in products than other gums, such as gum arabic or guar gum, largely because most Tragacanth is grown in Middle Eastern countries which have shaky trade relations. Commercial cultivation of tragacanth plants has generally not proved economically worthwhile in the west.

Spanish moss is a bromeliad with thin, thread-like leaves that reach up to 10 feet in length. It ranges from the southeastern United States across the West Indies, Central America and as far south as Chile and northern Argentina. It is the most well known bromeliad in the world after the pineapple.

Found extensively in tropical trees, Spanish moss foliage prospers in dappled sunlight under tree leaves. Although tolerant of occasional exposure to heat and sun, the foliage is lush and succulent especially when humidity is high.

It is commonly associated with the live oak and bald cypress trees in the American South. If humidity is high year round, Spanish moss can germinate and clasp onto rock surfaces and cliffs. This ability to grow from any coarse surface manifests itself in human settlements, where the bromeliad grows on roof eaves, fences and telephone lines.

Spanish moss has been used for various purposes, including building insulation, mulch, packing material, mattress stuffing, and fiber. In 1939 over 10,000 tons of processed Spanish moss was produced. It is still collected today in smaller quantities for use in arts and crafts, or for beddings for flower gardens.

Anoles are small and common lizards that can be found throughout the southeastern United States, the Caribbean, and various other regions of the Western world. A large majority of them sport a green coloration, including the only species native to North America, the aptly named Green anole, although the green anole can change its color based on its mood and surroundings.

They are frequently and incorrectly called American chameleons or geckos, although they are not closely related to either of those groups. In fact, they are more closely related to iguanas. These misconceptions are likely due to their ability to alter their skin color and run up walls.

Anoles are an exorbitantly diverse and plentiful group of lizards. There are currently about 372 known species. The Knight, Green, Bark Anole, and Cuban brown anoles can all be found in the United States, primarily in Florida, although the most prevalent of these species by far is the Cuban brown anole, which has pushed the native green (or “Carolina”) anole population farther north.

They are very territorial. Although the lizards are small, their territories are quite big, around three square yards. Their territories often contain a basking area, a shady area, a high lookout, and always a place to hide from predators. When an intruder is in the area, the anole raises its spine, fans its dewlap, and does “push-ups” accompanied by intermittent ultrasonic hisses. When caught by a person they will tend to bite if agitated and require some effort to remove from skin. They very rarely draw blood or cause injury.

Roystonea regia, commonly known as the royal palm, is a species of palm which is native to southern Florida, Mexico and parts of Central America. A large and attractive palm, it has been planted throughout the tropics and subtropics as an ornamental tree.

It is a large palm which reaches a height of 66 to 98 feet, with heights up to 113 feet reported. Trees have an average of 15 leaves or fronds which can be up to 13 feet long. The flowers are white with pinkish anthers. The fruit are green when immature, turning red and eventually purplish-black as they mature.

The seed is used as a source of oil and for livestock feed. Leaves are used for thatching and the wood for construction. As a medicinal plant, the roots are used as a diuretic and are added to Tifey, a Haitian drink, by Cubans of Haitian origin. They are also used as a treatment for diabetes.

The fruit is eaten by birds and bats which disperse the seeds. It serves as a roosting site and food source for a variety of animals. It is the national tree of Cuba and has religious significance in Christianity where it is used in Palm Sunday observances.

Roystonea regia is named in memory of Union Army general Roy Stone for his contributions during The Good Roads Movement in Puerto Rico between 1880 and 1916.

The American White Ibis is a species of wading bird which occurs from the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States south through most of the New World tropics. It occurs in marshy wetlands and pools near the coast. It also occurs on mowed grass, lawns, and has become common in some city parks, where it can be found feeding alone or with other Ibis.

This ibis feeds by probing with its long, downcurved beak. Its diet consists of various fish, frogs and other water creatures, as well as insects and small reptiles. They have all-white plumage except for black wingtips visible in flight and reddish bills and legs. The red bill blends into the face of breeding birds; non-breeding birds show a pink to red face.

Like the other species of ibis, the White Ibis flies with neck and legs outstretched, often in long, loose lines. When feeding, the birds often give a soft, grunting croo, croo, croo as they forage. The American White Ibis is the mascot of The University of Miami, located in Coral Gables, Florida.

From Our Forests and National Parks, by John Muir, 1901

“The tendency nowadays to wander in the wilderness is delightful to see. Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, overcivilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.

Awakening from the stupefying effects of the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury, they are trying the best they can to mix and enrich their own ongoings with those of Nature, and to get rid of rust and disease. Briskly venturing and roaming, some are washing off sins and cobweb cares of the devil’s.

Spinning all-day storms on mountains; sauntering in rosiny pinewoods or in gentian meadows, brushing through chaparral, bending down and parting sweet, flowery sprays; tracing rivers to their sources, getting in touch with the nerves of Mother Earth.

Jumping from rock to rock, feeling the life of them, learning the songs of them, panting in whole-souled involvement, and rejoicing in deep, long-drawn breaths of pure wilderness. So also is the growing interest in the care and preservation of forests and wild places.”

Suiseki is the Japanese art of stone appreciation and may also refer to the objects of the appreciation, the stones. Suiseki may take many forms including those that bear a resemblance to human figures, animal figures, landscape forms, and those which are purely abstract.

Natural stone and rock formations, with no artificial carvings, are preferred. Suiseki are sometimes carved and then thrown back into a lake so that any markings can be washed away with time. The stones can be any color, and contrasting colors are not uncommon.

The size of the stone can be quite varied. They can weigh hundreds of pounds or less than an ounce. Subtlety of color, shape, and markings is also desired, as is beauty of texture and shape. Suiseki are usually reminiscent of someone or something, or may convey a spiritual nature that moves viewers in some way.

One of the most important aspects of suiseki is the great care which is taken in displaying stones. They are usually set upon a stable surface, such as a rosewood pedestal that has been carved specifically for the stone. Suiseki should always be the predominant element and the container or surroundings should never detract from the stone.