Copperwood

You have seen this kind of tree back in April when it drizzled in Miami. Here is another gumbo-limbo on a hot and sunny day. This is Bursera simaruba, commonly known as the gumbo-limbo and Copperwood, which is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas. The gumbo-limbo is amusingly referred to as the tourist tree because the tree's bark is usually red and peeling, just like the skin of the sun burnt tourists. The small fruits of this tree have single seeds that are covered with red fatty aril which has a high content of lipids. Arils are an important source of food for birds, including many winter migrants birds from North America.

Listen, you ought to know that lipids are bad for you because that is a fancy word for fats. If you visit Miami, make sure you do not eat the fruits that fall off gumbo-limbo trees, else the seeds you ingested will give you a problem of having elevated cholesterol level in your blood. I think the migrating birds need to eat lots of these fruits because they need to store energy to fly back home when spring returns.