Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Pseudoziziphus celata (Buckthorn Family - Rhamnaceae) & Crataegus lepida (Strawberry Family - Rosaceae) are both endemic plants of Lake Wales Ridge in Central Florida, growing on an engine dune system consisting of sand weathered out of the Appalachian Mountains and then redeposited by the Atlantic Ocean two or three million years ago.
Pseudoziziphus is a critically endangered plant species with only a handful of individuals still occurring in habitat. It forms colonies here on the sand and has caged like, thorned branches that seem to have evolved for some sort of large herbivore that doesn't exist anymore. Both Pseudoziziphus and this Crataegus (Hawthorn) species display evidence of strong natural selection for defense, having converged on thorn and zig-zag divaricate branching, and both grow here on nutrient-poor sand.
Your contributions support this content. It sounds cliché but it's true. Whether it's travel expenses, vehicle repair, or medical costs for urushiol poisoning (or rockfalls, bee-stings, hand slices, toxic sap, etc), your financial support allows this content to continue so the beauty of Earth's flora can be made accessible to the public, accompanied by a small dose of profanity and crude humor. At a time when so much is disappearing beneath the human footprint, CPBBD is willing to do whatever it takes to document these plant species and the ecological communities they are a part of before they're gone for good.
Plants make people feel good. Plants quell homicidal (and suicidal!) thoughts. To support Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't, consider donating a few bucks to the venmo account "societyishell" or the PayPal account email crimepaysbutbotanydoesnt@gmail.com...
Or consider becoming a patreon supporter @ :
patreon.com/CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt
Buy some CPBBD merch (shirts, hats, hoodies n' what the shit) available for sale at :
bonfire.com/store/crime-pays-but-botany-doesnt
To purchase stickers, venmo 16 bucks to "societyishell" and leave your address in the comments.
Plants ID questions or reading list suggestions can be sent to crimepaysbutbotanydoesnt@gmail.com
Thanks, GFY.
Pseudoziziphus celata (Buckthorn Family - Rhamnaceae) & Crataegus lepida (Strawberry Family - Rosaceae) are both endemic plants of Lake Wales Ridge in Central Florida, growing on an engine dune system consisting of sand weathered out of the Appalachian Mountains and then redeposited by the Atlantic Ocean two or three million years ago.
Pseudoziziphus is a critically endangered plant species with only a handful of individuals still occurring in habitat. It forms colonies here on the sand and has caged like, thorned branches that seem to have evolved for some sort of large herbivore that doesn't exist anymore. Both Pseudoziziphus and this Crataegus (Hawthorn) species display evidence of strong natural selection for defense, having converged on thorn and zig-zag divaricate branching, and both grow here on nutrient-poor sand.
Your contributions support this content. It sounds cliché but it's true. Whether it's travel expenses, vehicle repair, or medical costs for urushiol poisoning (or rockfalls, bee-stings, hand slices, toxic sap, etc), your financial support allows this content to continue so the beauty of Earth's flora can be made accessible to the public, accompanied by a small dose of profanity and crude humor. At a time when so much is disappearing beneath the human footprint, CPBBD is willing to do whatever it takes to document these plant species and the ecological communities they are a part of before they're gone for good.
Plants make people feel good. Plants quell homicidal (and suicidal!) thoughts. To support Crime Pays But Botany Doesn't, consider donating a few bucks to the venmo account "societyishell" or the PayPal account email crimepaysbutbotanydoesnt@gmail.com...
Or consider becoming a patreon supporter @ :
patreon.com/CrimePaysButBotanyDoesnt
Buy some CPBBD merch (shirts, hats, hoodies n' what the shit) available for sale at :
bonfire.com/store/crime-pays-but-botany-doesnt
To purchase stickers, venmo 16 bucks to "societyishell" and leave your address in the comments.
Plants ID questions or reading list suggestions can be sent to crimepaysbutbotanydoesnt@gmail.com
Thanks, GFY.
