Alternative Text Description for Tiny Polygala (Endangered)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

MAP OVERVIEW

This map displays the geographic range of the Tiny Polygala, an endangered plant species, within the southeastern United States, with particular focus on Florida. The map shows polygonal boundaries representing the known habitat areas for this species as documented by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The distribution is limited to a small area along Florida's southeastern coast.

GEOGRAPHIC CONTEXT

The map covers the southeastern United States, spanning from Georgia and South Carolina in the north to southern Florida, and from the Atlantic Ocean eastward to portions of Georgia and northern Florida inland. Major cities labeled include Jacksonville, Orlando, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Cape Coral, West Palm Beach, Coral Springs, and Port St. Lucie in Florida, as well as Charleston, Savannah, Columbia, Greenville, Augusta, Athens, Macon, Warner Robins, Albany, Valdosta, Gainesville, Wilmington, and Tallahassee in surrounding states. The Atlantic Ocean forms the eastern boundary, and the Gulf of America appears along Florida's western coast. The map shows state boundaries and coastal features, with particular detail in the Florida peninsula region.

KEY INSIGHTS

The Tiny Polygala has an extremely limited geographic distribution confined exclusively to a small coastal region in southeastern Florida. The species' habitat is concentrated in two distinct areas near Port St. Lucie and extending southward through the Coral Springs area, covering approximately 50-70 miles of coastal territory. This highly restricted range indicates the species' vulnerable status and specific habitat requirements. The distribution appears to be coastal or near-coastal, suggesting the species may require particular environmental conditions found only in this narrow geographic zone. No populations are shown elsewhere in Florida or the broader southeastern region, emphasizing the species' rarity and localized occurrence.

VISUAL ELEMENTS

Tiny Polygala Habitat Areas

Brief description: Polygonal boundaries indicating the known geographic range of the endangered Tiny Polygala species.

Endangered Species Range (pink crosshatch pattern)

Appearance:

Areas shown in pink with a diagonal crosshatch pattern overlay, creating a semi-transparent fill that allows underlying base map features to remain visible.

Distribution:

Two distinct polygonal areas appear along Florida's southeastern Atlantic coast in the Port St. Lucie and Coral Springs vicinity, between approximately Palm Bay to the north and areas south of West Palm Beach.

Notable locations:

The northern habitat area is centered near Port St. Lucie, while the southern area extends through the greater Coral Springs region. Both areas appear to be relatively close to the Atlantic coastline.

Spatial patterns:

The habitat areas follow a north-south orientation along the coastal region, separated by a gap of approximately 20-30 miles. The polygons suggest contiguous habitat patches rather than scattered point locations, indicating areas where environmental conditions support the species' survival. The coastal proximity of both areas suggests potential relationships to specific soil types, climate conditions, or ecological communities characteristic of Florida's Atlantic coastal zone.

Overlapping Patterns

No overlapping patterns are present in this single-layer thematic map focused solely on the Tiny Polygala distribution.

SYMBOL GUIDE

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This map represents a single thematic layer extracted from a broader dataset and focuses exclusively on the endangered Tiny Polygala distribution. Base map features including cities, state boundaries, and water bodies are shown for geographic reference but are not part of the thematic content. The map is filtered to show only the Tiny Polygala from a larger species dataset maintained by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for Florida. The extremely limited range shown underscores the conservation significance of this endangered plant species and the critical importance of habitat protection in these specific coastal areas.

DATA CONTEXT

Data Source:

The data originates from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and represents their official understanding of species boundaries for the State of Florida as of July 2025. The source layer is CR_USFWS_POLY_JUL25.

Definition Query:

The map displays only records where the common name equals "TINY POLYGALA" (COMNAME = 'TINY POLYGALA'), filtering the dataset to show this single endangered species from the broader collection of species tracked by USFWS.

Scale Information:

The map shows a regional scale covering the southeastern United States with sufficient detail to identify the specific coastal counties where the Tiny Polygala occurs. This scale is appropriate for understanding the species' overall geographic distribution and conservation context.

Coordinate System:

NAD_1983_HARN_Florida_GDL_Albers (WKID 3087)

Time Period of Content:

Data current as of July 2025.

Limitations:

The polygonal boundaries represent the species range as understood by USFWS and may reflect habitat modeling, historical observations, or suitable habitat areas rather than exhaustive field surveys of every location where individual plants occur. Actual plant populations may be patchier or more restricted within the shown polygons. The endangered status indicates the species faces significant conservation challenges, and habitat boundaries may change over time due to environmental changes, development pressures, or conservation actions.

Map Coverage:

The map extent covers the southeastern United States from northern Georgia and South Carolina southward through the entire Florida peninsula, and from the Atlantic Ocean westward to inland portions of Georgia and northern Florida. This broad coverage provides geographic context for the highly localized Tiny Polygala distribution shown in southeastern coastal Florida.

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