The Key Largo Tree Cactus Extinction: How Rising Seas Claimed This Florida Gem
The Key Largo tree cactus (Pilosocereus millspaughii), once a towering symbol of resilience in Florida’s subtropical landscape, has vanished from the United States. In a heartbreaking milestone, it became the first U.S. species driven to local extinction by rising sea levels. Discovered in 1992, this charismatic cactus thrived in a single patch in the Florida…