Please understand that rattlesnakes inhabit our natural lands and are more active during the hot spring and summer afternoons. If you see a snake, give it space. Thanks to our prescribed burns and land management techniques, the ecosystem is thriving with organisms like the eastern diamondback rattlesnake. We recommend geocaching in the morning & evening!
Florida’s sand scrubs are old beach ridges or sand bars from when Florida was underwater. 25 million years ago, Florida was just a chain of islands, but as the ocean receded, sand dunes, bars and ridges which used to be at the waters edge are now inland. A lot of the plant species which survive here are the same species we see on the beaches. The scrubby oaks look like those you see growing along dunes. The palmettos and scrub rosemary are also found in beach environments. The sand scrub is extremely dry. It is known as a xeric habitat – xeric means dry, without water. The sandy soils are very infertile. There are many endemic species which have evolved to live in the dry, infertile sands of the scrub. It is a very rare ecosystem and is one of the most endangered habitats on the planet. Less than 3% of the ancient sand scrubs are left. Another reason the sand scrub is important because it is a recharge for the Florida aquifer system. Rain water percolates quickly through the grains of sand, filling back the aquifer. At the Arboretum, there are some Sand pines (Pinus clausa) in the canopy, but it is mostly open. The understory of the sand scrub consists of Sand live oak (Quercus virginiana var. maritime), Myrtle oak (Quercus myrtifolia) and Chapman oak (Quercus chapmanii). Often times, people commonly call all of these scrub oaks because of their scrubby habit. They create a dense, solid mat of roots which meld to one another, almost becoming one organism beneath the ground.
Sand Scrub Community at UCF Arboretum
This cache is part of the UCF Arboretum tour series.
Every geocache in the Arboretum tour series contains at least one keychain. The keychains behold coordinates to our mystery cache! This cache holds special prizes for the adventurers who find it. After noting the coordinates, please return the keychains to their respective bags along with the list of signatures. Happy trails!
When logging your find please also include the number of people in your party and we also love to see photos of you or your group at play. We hope you enjoy the arboretum and learn something useful from the UCF Arboretum Geocache series.