Urban Agriculture

Urban agriculture brings food production into cities—transforming vacant lots, rooftops, balconies, and yards into productive landscapes that nourish people, build community, and regenerate ecosystems.

In Tampa Bay, urban agriculture is part of Regenerative Culture—creating resilient local food systems adapted to our [[ bioregion ]].

Why Urban Agriculture Matters

Food Security

• Reduces dependence on distant supply chains
• Provides fresh, nutrient-dense food
• Accessible to more people
• Resilient during disruptions (hurricanes, pandemics)

Climate Action

• Reduces food miles (transportation emissions)
• Sequesters carbon in soil
• Cools urban heat islands
• Captures stormwater

Community—

File 13: _notes/native-species-guide.md

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title: Native Species Guide —

The native species of the Tampa Bay bioregion are our neighbors, teachers, and indicators of ecosystem health. Learning to recognize and support them is essential to Bioregional Design.

Why Native Species Matter

Ecological Relationships Native species have co-evolved for thousands of years, creating intricate relationships:

• Plants adapted to our soils, rainfall, and pollinators
• Animals evolved with these specific plants
• Fungi, bacteria, and insects form underground networks
• Each species supports dozens of others

Resilience Natives are adapted to:

• Our seasonal wet/dry cycles
• Summer heat and humidity
• Hurricane and storm disturbance
• Periodic fire in some ecosystems
• Local soil conditions

Cultural Connection These species have sustained human communities for millennia. Learning their names and relationships helps us become native to place.

Keystone Species

Some species create habitat and conditions that many others depend on:

Gopher Tortoise

Gopherus polyphemus

The Ecosystem Engineer

• Digs burrows up to 40 feet long
• Over 350 species use their burrows (snakes, frogs, insects, mammals)
• Burrows provide shelter from fire, heat, and predators
• Grazes on wiregrass, maintaining open pine flatwoods

Status: Threatened
Habitat: Pine flatwoods, scrub, dry prairies
What they need: Sandy, well-drained soils; native groundcover; no development

Lesson: One species can support hundreds. Protect the keystone, protect the community.

Longleaf Pine

Pinus palustris

The Foundation Tree

• Once dominated 90 million acres across the Southeast
• Now less than 3% remains
• Fire-adapted with thick bark and grass stage
• Supports the most biodiverse ecosystem outside the tropics
• Provides habitat for red-cockaded woodpeckers, gopher tortoises, hundreds of plant species

Status: Endangered ecosystem
Habitat: Well-drained sandy soils
What it needs: Periodic fire (every 2-5 years), full sun

Lesson: Foundation species create entire ecosystems. Restore the foundation, restore the web.

Native Plants for Tampa Bay Gardens

Canopy Trees

Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)

• Evergreen, spreading crown
• Provides cooling shade
• Supports 500+ species of moths and butterflies
• Acorns feed wildlife
• Hurricane-resistant
• Plant in sun to part shade

Cabbage Palm (Sabal palmetto)

• Florida’s state tree
• Berries feed birds and mammals
• Provides nesting sites
• Tolerates salt spray
• Plant in sun to part shade

Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii)

• Native pine for wetter sites
• Important for pine flatwoods restoration
• Seeds feed birds
• Provides structure for ecosystems
• Plant in full sun

Understory & Shrubs

Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)

• Vibrant purple berries in fall
• Important food source for migrating birds
• Grows 4-6 feet
• Part shade to sun
• Deciduous

Firebush (Hamelia patens)

• Bright red-orange tubular flowers
• Hummingbird and butterfly magnet
• Blooms year-round in South Florida
• Grows 4-8 feet
• Sun to part shade
• Semi-evergreen

Coontie (Zamia integrifolia)

• Ancient cycad, living fossil
• Only host plant for Atala butterfly
• Low-growing, evergreen
• Extremely drought-tolerant
• Shade to part sun
• Seeds are toxic (do not eat)

Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens)

• Groundcover palm
• Important wildlife habitat
• Berries feed birds and mammals
• Fire-adapted
• Sun to shade
• Slow-growing, long-lived

Groundcovers & Grasses

Sunshine Mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa)

• Native groundcover
• Nitrogen-fixing legume
• Pink puffball flowers
• Attracts pollinators
• Great lawn alternative
• Sun to part shade

Muhly Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris)

• Stunning pink plumes in fall
• Clumping grass
• Low water needs
• Full sun
• Provides bird seed

Coralbean (Erythrina herbacea)

• Vibrant red tubular flowers
• Hummingbird plant
• Dies back in winter
• Returns from roots
• Full sun to part shade
• Seeds are toxic

Vines

Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

• Native honeysuckle (non-invasive!)
• Red tubular flowers
• Hummingbird favorite
• Evergreen
• Sun to part shade
• Host plant for spring azure butterfly

Passionflower (Passiflora incarnata)

• Intricate purple flowers
• Host plant for Gulf fritillary butterfly
• Edible fruit (maypop)
• Vigorous grower
• Full sun
• Dies back in winter, returns from roots

Native Animals to Know

Birds

Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea ajaja)

• Pink wading bird with spoon-shaped bill
• Feeds in shallow estuaries
• Indicator of ecosystem health
• Nests in mangrove islands
• Watch for them in Tampa Bay

Wood Stork (Mycteria americana)

• Large white wading bird
• Federally threatened
• Depends on seasonal wetland cycles
• Sensitive to water level changes
• Nests colonially in cypress swamps

Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens)

• Only bird species endemic to Florida
• Depends on scrub habitat
• Threatened by habitat loss
• Buries acorns (plants oak forests!)
• Family groups help raise young

Pollinators

Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia)

• Florida’s state butterfly
• Black with yellow stripes
• Long-lived for a butterfly (several months)
• Host plant: passionflower
• Roosts communally at night

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

• Bright orange butterfly
• Host plant: passionflower
• Common in gardens
• Beautiful silver spots underneath
• Multiple generations per year

Atala Butterfly (Eumaeus atala)

• Stunning black with blue spots
• Nearly extinct, now recovering
• Only host plant: coontie
• Toxic to predators
• Feeds on coontie cycad

Reptiles & Amphibians

Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi)

• Federally threatened
• Longest native snake (up to 8 feet)
• Non-venomous, docile
• Uses gopher tortoise burrows
• Indicator of healthy ecosystems

Gopher Frog (Lithobates capito)

• Lives in gopher tortoise burrows
• Depends on seasonal wetlands for breeding
• Declining due to habitat loss
• Indicator of wetland health

Marine & Coastal

Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

• Gentle marine mammal
• Feeds on seagrass
• Seeks warm water in winter (springs, power plants)
• Threatened by boat strikes
• Indicator of seagrass health

Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus)

• Common in Tampa Bay
• Resident populations with home ranges
• Complex social structures
• Indicator of bay health
• Watch from shore or responsible tour boats

Creating Native Habitat

In Your Yard

Replace lawn with native groundcovers

• Sunshine mimosa
• Beach sunflower
• Muhly grass meadows

Plant layers like a forest

• Canopy trees (oak, palm)
• Understory (beautyberry, firebush)
• Groundcover (ferns, coontie)
• Vines (coral honeysuckle)

Provide water

• Birdbath with fresh water
• Small pond for frogs
• Shallow edges for butterflies

Leave some “mess”

• Dead wood for beetles
• Leaf litter for insects
• Seed heads for birds
• Bare sand for ground-nesting bees

In Your Community

Support native habitat corridors

• Connect green spaces
• Protect remaining natural areas
• Restore degraded land

Remove invasives

• Brazilian pepper
• Melaleuca
• Air potato
• Torpedo grass

Educate neighbors

• Share native plants
• Teach about keystone species
• Build a culture of care

Observing Native Species

Practice Learning from Nature by:

Keeping a nature journal

• What species did you see today?
• What were they doing?
• What habitat were they in?
• What season is it?

Learning scientific and common names

• Names help us remember and notice
• Connect with place through language

Noticing relationships

• Which butterflies visit which flowers?
• Which birds eat which seeds?
• Who lives in gopher tortoise burrows?

Tracking phenology

• When do oaks bloom?
• When do spoonbills arrive?
• When does beautyberry fruit?

Resources for Learning

iNaturalist App

• Free species identification
• Contribute to citizen science
• Connect with local naturalists

Local Nature Centers

• Boyd Hill Nature Preserve
• Weedon Island Preserve
• Sawgrass Lake Park
• Brooker Creek Preserve

Native Plant Sales

• Florida Native Plant Society chapters
• County extension offices
• Local native nurseries

The Web of Life

Every native species is part of an intricate web:

• Plants feed caterpillars
• Caterpillars become butterflies
• Butterflies pollinate flowers
• Seeds feed birds
• Birds spread seeds
• Everything is connected

When we plant natives, we’re not just adding plants—we’re restoring relationships that have evolved over millennia.

This is Regenerative Culture in practice: participating in the web of life by supporting the species that belong here.

Explore Further

• Tampa Bay Ecosystems - Where these species live
• Learning from Nature - How to observe and connect
• Bioregional Design - Designing with native species
• Biomimicry - Learning from specific adaptations
• Pattern Literacy - Understanding ecological relationships

This guide will continue to grow.

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