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Tampa Bay Times
Check out these famous Tampa Bay trees
By Martha Asencio-Rhine,
11 days ago
An oak tree with sprawling limbs is pictured around a bike path at Hammock Park in Dunedin. The tree is popular with local kids who like to climb the branches. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]
Friday is Arbor Day, a day to observe the importance of trees in our communities and to encourage the planting of more trees.
Trees are our friends in the Florida heat, providing shade from the harsh summer sun and making neighborhood streets more welcoming. But tree canopies in some Florida cities are shrinking due to development and planning for storms.
Tampa Bay is home to some very popular trees. Here are some of the standouts.
St. Pete bombax tree (Bombax ceiba)
Claim to fame: Popular with locals and visitors visiting the St. Pete Pier or dining along busy Beach Drive. The bombax’s bulky branches and springtime bloom of big red flowers are beloved.
Where to find it: Next to the Museum of Fine Arts in downtown St. Petersburg at the corner of Beach Drive Northeast and Second Avenue Northeast.
A visitor climbs the bombax tree next to the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg on April 9. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]The bombax tree recently bloomed next to the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]
Beach Drive banyans in St. Petersburg (Ficus benghalensis)
Claim to fame: Their impressive aerial root system and sprawling canopy. People love climbing “inside” the many nooks created by pillar-like roots.
Where to find them: In St. Petersburg’s North Straub Park along Beach Drive Northeast.
The large banyan trees along Beach Drive in St. Petersburg thrill visitors with their roots and large canopy. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]
Pink trumpet tree in St. Petersburg (Tabebuia heterophylla)
Claim to fame: The bright pink flowers that bloom yearly in February or March.
Where to find it: St. Petersburg’s Coffee Pot Boulevard Northeast and 23rd Avenue Northeast. Pictures from the sidewalk only, please. The pink trumpet tree is located on private property.
Historic Old Northeast’s popular Tabebuia heterophylla or pink trumpet tree was in full bloom Feb. 20 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]Ethan Huynh snaps a photo of his husband, Nathan Dang, in front of Historic Old Northeast’s popular pink trumpet tree, which was in full bloom Feb. 20 in St. Petersburg. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]
Plant City’s scraggly oaks (Quercus virginiana)
Claim to fame: The roots of these oak trees are mostly exposed, creating a natural jungle gym visitors love to play in. The hilly site used to be mined for phosphate in the 1960s, before the land was donated to the county and planted with trees and shrubs. Erosion over time exposed the roots.
Where to find them: Edward Medard Conservation Park in Plant City.
People have fun climbing through the roots of one of the scraggly oak trees at Medard Park, where erosion has exposed the tree roots, on April 14 in Plant City. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]People have fun climbing through the roots of one of the scraggly oak trees at Medard Park, where erosion has exposed the tree roots, on April 14 in Plant City. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]People have fun climbing through the roots of one of the scraggly oak trees at Medard Park, where erosion has exposed the tree roots, on April 14 in Plant City. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]
Safety Harbor’s ancient Baranoff oak tree
Claim to fame: Estimated to be between 300 and 500 years old, which makes this live oak older than the United States.
Where to find it: Baranoff Park in Downtown Safety Harbor. The tree has some supports for heavy branches. It’s inside a fenced area so it won’t be damaged.
The Baranoff oak tree stands in a fenced-off area, with supports for some of its heaviest branches, in downtown Safety Harbor. The tree is believed to be 300 to 500 years old. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]An admirer photographs the Baranoff oak tree, which is believed to be 300 to 500 years old, in downtown Safety Harbor on April 12. [ MARTHA ASENCIO-RHINE | Times ]
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