With the Wild Things: Gumbo Limbo

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|a With the Wild Things: Gumbo Limbo |h [electronic resource].

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|a Ft. Myers, Florida : |b Whitaker Center in the College of Arts and Sciences, Florida Gulf Coast University.

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|a 5 podcasts, approximately 1 minute each in length

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|a Please contact the owning institution for licensing and permissions. It is the users responsibility to ensure use does not violate any third party rights.

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|a Source: Gumbo Limbos 1 Length of Segment: 00:01:14 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Among Florida's native plants are many tropical species whose ranges barely reach into the state. The gumbo limbo tree is one of these. Native from Central America and Mexico through the West Indies, the gumbo limbo tree is also an important component of South Florida hammock habitats and an important landscape plant. The name 'gumbo limbo' seems to have its origin in African American heritage and yes, it's also linked to the thick soup we call 'gumbo': soup that is made thicker and somewhat sticky by the addition of okra. The name is also linked to the thick, sticky mud called 'gumbo' of the Mississippi Delta and, of course, to chewing gum. So what is sticky about the gumbo limbo tree? Its sap. The word 'limbo' doesn't come from the English word referring to a place between heaven and hell, but apparently from the African Bantu language. The name 'gumbo limbo' is a reference to the sticky quality of the tree sap that made it useful in catching birds.

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|a Source: Gumbo Limbos 2 Length of Segment: 00:01:14 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Although the name 'gumbo limbo' seems rather catchy and easy to remember, this tropical tree that is native to South Florida and the Caribbean Basin is probably best known in the United States by the colloquial name 'tourist tree'. Whenever that name is associated with the gumbo limbo tree for the first time, the listener standing before the tree erupts with a broad smile, if not an audible chuckle showing immediate understanding. The gumbo limbo tree is called the tourist tree because of its red, peeling skin. No, the gumbo limbo tree doesn't get sunburned, but its bark is very thin and it naturally peels in patches much like a human with a bad sunburn. Gumbo limbo trees can grow to 60 feet tall and two to three feet in diameter with a broad crown and large branches. Take a close look at those branches: those formed during the past year are greenish in color, those that are more than a year old take on the red that we recognize by the name 'tourist tree'.

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|a Source: Gumbo Limbos 3 Length of Segment: 00:01:14 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. A close look at the gumbo limbo tree reveals many adaptations to the South Florida environment it thrives in. Its roots are shallow, often snaking across the surface, taking advantage of the high water table and invading and widening cracks in limestone. Gumbo limbo trees are deciduous, dropping their large compound leaves during drought conditions and in the fall, but also often losing them during tropical storms. No problem for the tree. Its thin bark, especially the green bark of limbs of the current year is capable of photosynthesis, allowing the gumbo limbo to rebound quickly. Gumbo limbo trees produce rather inconspicuous greenish flowers in late winter, but it takes a year for the seed pods to mature. The ripe red seeds are found in early summer. Birds love the fruit of gumbo limbo and aid the tree in its dispersal, dropping seeds with a bit of fertilizer wherever they go. The gumbo limbo is a hardy tree that adds much to South Florida environments. It's capable of surviving drought, wind, and poor soils, but it doesn't survive cold. Its northern limit in Florida is at about Tampa.

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|a Source: Gumbo Limbos 4 Length of Segment: 00:01:14 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. Because the gumbo limbo tree is common in the West Indies and South Florida, it's no surprise that it has a diversity of uses. Before the advent of plastics, the horses and fanciful creatures ridden by children on carousels were often carved from the soft wood of gumbo limbo. The wood is still a favorite of carvers, but it's also used for matchsticks, wooden packing material, and some furniture. In many areas, gumbo limbo has been used to create living fences. All it takes is to cut sections of limbs from a tree and stick them in the ground; they readily take root, but also are short lived and decay quickly. The sticky aromatic gray sap of gumbo limbo has been used as glue to mend things and also to capture birds in much the same manner that fly paper captures flies. Gumbo limbo trees often grow in the same habitat as the poisonwood tree, a close relative of our poison ivy. Natives of the Caribbean consider the bark of the gumbo limbo a natural antidote to the effects of the poisonwood. The unique gumbo limbo tree has also been in folk medicines to treat intestinal irritations and kidney infections.

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|a Source: Gumbo Limbos 5 Length of Segment: 00:01:14 Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Jackson, out with the wild things. As a landscape tree, the gumbo limbo is perfect for South Florida environments. Because it's a native of the region, it's very tolerant of our soils, periodic drought conditions, some salt spray, and tropical storms. It also has few insect pests and seems quite tolerant of air pollution and poor drainage. Gumbo limbo trees are fast growing and require little care. They have a beautiful form, provide good shade, and produce colorful seed pods that last through the winter. And of course, there is that bark: thin, oily, reddish-orange, and constantly peeling; the subject of conversation anyway. The gumbo limbo might be the perfect tree for your landscaping, but don't plant them too close to sidewalks, driveways, or your foundation. Their roots are shallow, often running along the surface of the ground, thus they can interfere with mowing. They also readily push up concrete in the same way they push through South Florida's limestone to make their living.

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|a Burseraceae.

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|a Gumbo Limbo.

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|a Dr. Jerry Jackson.

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|t Gumbo Limbo 1

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|t Gumbo Limbo 2

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|a Everglades Digital Library: Reclaiming the Everglades.

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|a With the Wild Things.

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|3 FIU Helix Media Library |u http://libtube.fiu.edu/player?autostart=n&fullscreen=y&width=320&height=260&videoId=977&quality=hi&captions=n&chapterId=0 |y Gumbo Limbo 2

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|3 FIU Helix Media Library |u http://libtube.fiu.edu/player?autostart=n&fullscreen=y&width=320&height=260&videoId=978&quality=hi&captions=n&chapterId=0 |y Gumbo Limbo 3

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|3 FIU Helix Media Library |u http://libtube.fiu.edu/player?autostart=n&fullscreen=y&width=320&height=260&videoId=979&quality=hi&captions=n&chapterId=0 |y Gumbo Limbo 4

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|3 FIU Helix Media Library |u http://libtube.fiu.edu/player?autostart=n&fullscreen=y&width=320&height=260&videoId=980&quality=hi&captions=n&chapterId=0 |y Gumbo Limbo 5

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|a Everglades Digital Library: Reclaiming the Everglades