PIONEER FLORIDA NURSERYMEN
Posted by: 
sfwife
N 27° 26.833 W 082° 31.551
17R E 349205 N 3036895
Historic Nursery in Manatee County
Waymark Code: WM2P8J
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 11/29/2007
Views: 64
Front of Marker:
The Reasoner Brothers, Pliny Ward (1863-1888) and Egbert Norman (1869-1926), founded Florida’s oldest continually operated nursery. Pliny landed at Desoto Point in 1881 at age 18. Pliny, a prolific writer, authored the USDA Bulletin No 1-“Condition of Tropical Fruit in the U.S.”. He was a volunteer in the famed SaraSota Abbe murder posse, Superintendent of the Florida Subtropical Expo in Jacksonville-enjoyed by President and Mrs. Grover Cleveland; Commissioner to the Florida Exhibit at the Cotton States Centennial in Cincinnati. Returning to minister to yellow fever patients, he died at 25 after 6 plus years in Florida – in active plant exchange with major Botanical Gardens and nurseries all over the earth – internationally famous, appreciated and loved.
Egbert , arriving in Florida at the age of 16, published annually the famous catalog begun in 1883 and continued introducing into Florida exotic plants from every corner of the earth.
Reasoner Brothers – Landscape Architects founded in 1918, is the oldest in the South.
Back of Marker:
REASONER INTRODUCTIONS
PALMS : Acrocomia, Chamaedorea, Dictyosperma, Fishtail, Panama Hat Palm, Paurotis, Prichardia, Royal Palm.
TREES : Acacia, Albizzia, Bauhinia, Callitris, Cassia, Casuarina, Covillea, Enterolobium, Erythrina, Ficus, Hippocratea, Melaleuca, Pithecolobium, Podocarpus, Ravenala, Tabebuia-Gold Tree.
SHRUBS : Agave, Aralia, Asparagus, Bamboo, Bottle Brush, Brunfelsia, Caladium, Clerodentrum, Crinum, Crotalaria, Crepe Myrtle, Croton, Dombeya, Furcraea, Gardenia, Hedychium, Hibiscus, Justicia, Kaempferia, Lawsonia, Malpighia, Malvaviscus, Moraea, Olenader, Sesbania, Severinia, Tabernaemontana, Thryallis.
VINES : Aristolochia, Beaumontia, Bougainvillea, Hiptage Benghalensis, Porana, Quisqualis, Thunbergia.
FRUIT : World’s 1 st Pink Grapefruit-Foster and Thompson. Avocado, Black Berries, Ceylon Peach, Cleopatra Mandarin, Eugenia, Fig, Garcinia, Guave, Loquat, Lychee, Macadamia Nut, Mango, Meiwa Kumquat, Nutmeg, Oneco Mandarin, Rangpur Lime, Royal Grapefruit, Thornless Key Lime.
Marker Number: none
Date: 1981
County: Manatee
Marker Type: City
Sponsored or placed by: Manatee County Historic Society
Website: [Web Link]
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Visit Instructions:
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