Feature

Botanical Whales

Adventures in the Tortugas reveal that seagrass fields need saving too

By Susan Milius

- More than 2 years ago

OK, OK, a plant can’t really look a person in the eye and share its thoughts. But after a strange couple of days, I’m almost ready to commune with vegetable matter. A string of wet, pinkie-tip–sized green leaves sits on a paper plate in front of me, and I begin to think that this little sprig and I are both wondering, “You? What in the world are you doing here?”

BOTANICAL WHALES Dark patches in the water indicate seagrasses thriving around Garden Key, home to the brick ruins of 19th century Fort Jefferson, in the Dry Tortugas.