Alternative Text Description for Small's Milkpea (Endangered)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAP OVERVIEW

This map displays the geographic distribution of Small's Milkpea, an endangered plant species, across the southeastern United States. The map shows habitat boundaries as defined by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for the State of Florida. The primary purpose is to illustrate where this endangered species is known to occur, providing critical information for conservation planning and species protection efforts.

GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

The map covers the southeastern United States, with primary focus on Florida and portions of Georgia and South Carolina. Major cities labeled include Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Cape Coral, West Palm Beach, Coral Springs, and Freeport in Florida; Savannah and Charleston along the Georgia and South Carolina coasts; Columbia, Greenville, and Augusta in the interior; and Athens, Macon, Warner Robins, Albany, Valdosta, Gainesville, Palm Coast, and Lakeland. The Atlantic Ocean is visible along the entire eastern edge of the map, and the Gulf of America appears along Florida's western coast. The map extends from northern Georgia southward through the Florida peninsula.

KEY INSIGHTS

Small's Milkpea has an extremely limited distribution, with habitat areas appearing in only two distinct geographic regions. The species is restricted to small, isolated patches rather than having a continuous range. One concentration occurs in the southern portion of the Florida peninsula near the Gulf of America coast in the southwestern region. A second smaller habitat area appears in the extreme southern tip of Florida near the Atlantic coast. The species is notably absent from the entire northern portion of the map coverage area, including all of Georgia and South Carolina, as well as northern and central Florida. This highly fragmented and restricted distribution pattern reflects the endangered status of the species.

VISUAL ELEMENTS

Small's Milkpea (Endangered)

This layer represents the known habitat boundaries for Small's Milkpea as designated by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

Small's Milkpea Habitat Areas (pink hatched polygons)

Appearance:

Light pink or rose-colored polygons with diagonal line hatching pattern.

Distribution:

Two isolated habitat areas appear in southern Florida only. No habitat areas are shown in Georgia, South Carolina, or northern or central Florida.

Notable locations:

The primary and largest habitat area is located in southwestern Florida, inland from the Gulf of America coast, in the region between Cape Coral and the Lakeland area. A second, smaller habitat polygon appears in the extreme southern tip of Florida near the Atlantic coast, in the area south of West Palm Beach.

Spatial patterns:

The habitat areas are highly fragmented with significant geographic separation between the two identified locations. The southwestern Florida habitat area is the more substantial of the two patches. Both habitat areas are relatively small in size compared to the overall map extent, emphasizing the limited range and endangered status of this species.

Overlapping Patterns

No overlapping patterns are present as this map displays a single thematic layer showing species habitat boundaries.

SYMBOL GUIDE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This map represents species habitat boundaries as understood and documented by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service specifically for the State of Florida. The map has been filtered to display only Small's Milkpea among the species tracked in the source dataset. The very limited geographic extent of the habitat areas visible on this map underscores why Small's Milkpea is classified as endangered. Base map features including cities and state boundaries are shown to provide geographic reference context but are not part of the thematic data layer. The light gray shading visible across portions of the map represents areas outside the primary data focus or background geographic reference information.

DATA CONTEXT

Data Source:

The data comes from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and contains polygonal boundaries for species as understood by the Service for the State of Florida. This represents official federal documentation of endangered species habitat areas. Data source layer name: CR_USFWS_POLY_JUL25.

Definition Query:

This map displays a filtered subset of the source data. The definition query applied is COMNAME = 'SMALL'S MILKPEA', which restricts the display to show only habitat boundaries for Small's Milkpea rather than all species contained in the full dataset.

Scale Information:

The map displays regional-scale coverage appropriate for showing the full extent of the species' range across multiple states. The scale is suitable for understanding broad distribution patterns and overall habitat extent but may not show fine-scale habitat details within individual habitat polygons.

Coordinate System:

NAD_1983_HARN_Florida_GDL_Albers (WKID 3087).

Time Period of Content:

The source data layer name includes "JUL25," suggesting the data reflects information current as of July 2025, though the exact collection period and temporal validity are not specified in the provided information.

Limitations:

The map shows habitat boundaries as understood by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service but may not represent every individual occurrence of the species. Habitat boundaries may be based on historical records, modeling, or survey data, and the actual current presence of the species in these areas may vary. The dataset is specific to Florida, so any potential occurrences outside Florida would not be represented. Small or isolated occurrences below the mapping threshold may not be visible at this scale.

Map Coverage:

The map extent covers the southeastern United States from northern Georgia and South Carolina southward through the entire Florida peninsula. The western extent includes portions of Georgia and the northern Gulf of America coast, while the eastern extent shows the Atlantic coastline. Context areas beyond Florida are included for geographic orientation, though the thematic data layer specifically represents United States Fish and Wildlife Service species boundaries for the State of Florida.

The alternative text description of this map was AI-generated and may contain inaccuracies.