In January 2011, I made a quick visit to several natural areas in Palm Beach County, Florida while on a business trip and had my first experience with the varied oak habitats of the South Florida coast. In January 2017, I had the chance to relive the experience and revisit three of those spots – the High Ridge Scrub, Juno Dunes, and Frenchman’s Forest Natural Areas.

Copenhagen Hills Preserve is an ecological gem.  With its unique calcium-rich soils, it hosts a plethora of plant communities, ranging from pine forests and prairies to bottomlands and swamps.  This cornucopia of habitats is home to many rare and indigenous plants, such as purple cone flower (Echinacea purpurea), three-flowered hawthorn (Crataegus triflora), and, of course, a variety of uncommon oak species.

In January, 2015, The Morton Arboretum launched a project in collaboration with BGCI and the IUCN/SSC Global Tree Specialist Group, which aims to complete IUCN Red List threat assessments for all of the world's oak species.