After much angst and even more discussion, city officials have a name for Boca Raton’s newest nature preserve, an area until now known as the “Osborne Tract.”
The city bought the 24-acre parcel in 1997 for $3.5 million, using the last of 1991’s $12 million bond issue intended for the purchase of environmentally sensitive property.
The preserve is between Palmetto Park Road and Camino Real, east of the CSX Railroad.
Members of the city’s Environmental Advisory Board and Parks and Recreation Board took the naming task seriously.
They recommended the property’s new moniker be “Blazing Star Preserve,” a Wild West-sounding name that actually refers to purple wildflowers that bloom on the site in late summer and early fall. The spiky flower attracts butterflies and insects called bee-flies.
The Parks and Recreation board warmed to the name because relatives of the Blazing Star are used in fresh-flower arrangements and are “prized” for their violet hue.
The board rejected several names.
First thrown out was “Tallowwood Thicket Preserve.”
That, board members said, would be completely inappropriate. Tallowwood is a gnarled and thorny shrub — not the image the city wants to project.
Next rejected was “Sand Pine Preserve.” That would be confusing, board members said, because it is near Sugar Sand Park. Plus, there’s a park nearby called Pine Breeze Park. Too much sand, too much pine.
A third option, “Tarflower Park,” was all wrong.
Though it would take a botanist to know this, the board said tarflower roots graft onto the roots of nearby plants and trees and feed off their water supplies. Tarflowers also have thorns.
The City Council is scheduled to officially sign off on the preserve’s name at its Tuesday night meeting.
