A lot of the biodiversity of the Southeast is in the wetlands. Another hotspot is in the temperate rainforests of the southern Appalachians. You wouldn't see ei

A lot of the biodiversity of the Southeast is in the wetlands. Another hotspot is in the temperate rainforests of the southern Appalachians. You wouldn't see either of those places by accident. Piedmont is kind of boring by contrast. Eg. https://imagineourflorida.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Imagine-Our-Florida-Hungryland-Wildlife-and-Environmental-Area-9.jpg https://imagineourflorida.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Ima... https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/photos/Tiger%20Creek%20IMG_3574.jpg?crop=0,216,5184,3240&wid=824&hei=515&scl=6.29126213592233 https://natureconservancy-h.assetsadobe.com/is/image/content... https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/grid_builder/cong/crop16_9/C7A243E3-1DD8-B71B-0B8AD7A564CAC146.jpg https://www.nps.gov/common/uploads/grid_builder/cong/crop16_... https://ashevilletrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/sams-knob-trail-03.jpg https://ashevilletrails.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/sams-... With that said, as a Floridian I was happy to see palm trees again when I moved to the Bay Area. It's nice there. It's my understanding that California has more spiky plants than broadleafs due to the dry-summer climate. Most of the Southeast is broadleaf because it's very wet year-round. Plants with small leaves reveal more about their structure from a distance while broadleaf forests form a green blanket. So the biodiversity in California might be a little more visible. Southwest Florida has a semi-xeric climate as well but with dry and warm winters, similar to southern Mexico, and various species of cacti can be found.