Login

Cart

Your cart is empty
An image of the Florida Scrub Floridian Shirt by Okihasi.
A man wearing the Florida Scrub Floridian Shirt by Okihasi.
A man wearing the Florida Scrub Floridian Shirt by Okihasi.
A man wearing the Florida Scrub Floridian Shirt by Okihasi.
Florida Scrub - Men’s Floridian Shirt by Okihasi
Okihasi

Florida Scrub - Men’s Floridian Shirt by Okihasi

Sale price$79.00
Size:

Inspired by the Lake Wales Ridge, an ancient landscape feature comprising an ecosystem found only in Florida, Okihasi’s Florida Scrub men’s shirt highlights an area where remarkably adapted species have found ways to survive despite the meager resources offered by their surroundings. The cool breathable shirt depicts Florida scrub jays and gopher tortoises, critters that might teach us how to do more with less.

The white sands of Florida are not confined to Gulf beaches. The Lake Wales Ridge is a 100-mile-long, ancient, elevated sand dune system in central Florida, stretching from Clermont to Venus in Polk and Highlands counties. At up to 300 feet in elevation, it is effectively a dry island and is home to a national wildlife refuge. It is a delicate and undervalued environment threatened by development and the mining of its sand for coastal beach nourishment projects. If it were to be assigned a mascot, it would likely be the gopher tortoise that lives out its days among vegetation that may reach for the sky but doesn’t get very high — stunted scrub oaks, prickly pear cactus, saw palmettos, rosemary and wildflowers resist drought and persist despite an unrelenting hot sun. According to the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, the gopher tortoise can live up to 60 years in the wild and digs burrows that average 15 feet in length and about six feet in depth. The tortoises may not have central heat and air, but the temperature and humidity level in the burrows remain steady throughout the year. Their appeal is widespread; an estimated 350 species make use of tortoise burrows. - Steve Bornhoft

Please see below for more information about the shirt, care, and sizing.

More about the Florida Scrub Ecosystem.

The scrub ecosystem of Lake Wales Ridge is a rare and ancient landscape, a relic of a time when much of the state was submerged beneath the sea. This unique ridge, is composed of white, sandy soils and dotted with hardy, drought-resistant vegetation, creates an otherworldly environment that thrives under the intense Florida sun. The scrub is a mosaic of stunted oaks, rosemary, prickly-pear cactus, saw palmettos, and different wildflowers that are adapted to the nutrient-poor soil and periodic fires that shape this habitat. It is also home to the endemic Florida Scrub Jay and the Gopher Tortoise, both highly unique and keystone in nature. The scrub is also extremely valuable by providing aquifer recharged, habitat for native pollinators, an educational and recreational area, and has a large cultural and historical significance to our state. Unfortunately, this ecosystem is slowly disappearing due to development and now the sand is sought after for beach nourishment.

MATERIAL DETAILS

  1. Light-weight Viscose material made from bamboo - excellent to wear on those hot days.

  2. Machine wash cold  on gentle - Mild detergents - Dry Cleaning Recommended

  3. Line dry

  4. Iron on a medium setting - take caution when ironing

Sizing

Do not use generic sizing (S, M, L, etc). Take exact measurements of your body to get the correct size. See the sizing chart below.

Chest Size

Small - 40-43”

Medium - 43-45”

Large - 45-47”

XL - 47-51”

XXL - 52-55”

XXXL - 56-59”

Length

Small - 28.5-29.5”

Medium - 29.5-31.5”

Large - 31.5-32.5”

XL - 32.5-33.5”

XXL - 33.5”

XXXL - 33.5”

Shoulder

Small - 17-18.25”

Medium - 18-19”

Large - 19-19.75”

XL - 20.75”

XXL - 21.75”

XXXL - 22-22.5”
An image of the Florida Scrub Floridian Shirt by Okihasi.
Florida Scrub - Men’s Floridian Shirt by Okihasi Sale price$79.00

Wear Okihasi and DemonstrateYour Love for Florida’s Environment

As a college student, I traveled to a South Africa and worked on a study involving meerkats and Cape ground squirrels. While there, I saw spectacular exotic species — warthogs and snake-eating secretary birds and the exceedingly rare brown hyena.

But it was upon my return to the United States that a small, brown bird enabled me to appreciate the importance of all species to the web of life and taught me that a critically endangered, seemingly inconsequential bug eater can inspire conservation efforts capable of preserving an entire ecosystem.

Birders talk about their “spark bird,” the species that stimulated in them a lifelong fascination with nature. For me, it was that small, brown bird — the Florida grasshopper sparrow, introduced to me by a University of Central Florida professor during a trip to the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve.

I grew up amid prickly pear cacti and gopher tortoises at the tip of the Lake Wales Ridge in Central Florida. My mother was a middle school science teacher. As a kid, my appreciate for nature and wildlife was limited, but my life changed when I changed my college major from psychology to biology.

Some years after graduating, I was part of a team establishing a STEM school in Ashville, North Carolina, when my parents, returning from a trip to Hawaii, presented me with an authentic aloha shirt that featured a marine scene. I wore only solid-colored shirts at the time, and my first reaction was “I’ll never wear this.” But I did, and I was surprised by all the conversations that shirt started, and I bought more of them.

In the midst of the COVID pandemic, I, like many others, thought about starting a business, and Okihasi was born. It combines my fondness for aloha shirts with my love for Florida’s diverse ecosystems.

My shirts, like that aloha shirt that landed in the mountains of western North Carolina, spark conversations — among ecologists, environmentalists, birders and nature enthusiasts of all stripes.

I find that gratifying and hope Okihasi Floridian men’s shirts help inspire people to preserve natural areas, strike a balance between development and conservation and save creatures great and small, including those little brown birds.

Sincerely,

John Mizell

Florida Family-Owned

Located in Panama City Beach, Okihasi is owned and operated by Florida natives who are inspired and guided by their strong passion for Florida’s natural beauty.

Florida Themed Shirts

Okihasi shirts depict Florida’s diverse ecosystems and the tremendous variety of its flora and fauna in an effort to foster appreciation for irreplaceable lifeforms. Designed by a Floridian Biologist, each shirt tells a story of our natural areas.

Safe Shopping

You can shop Okihasi with confidence. Our checkout systems protect your identity and rest assured, we strive to get your orders filled as soon as you place them.

SATISFACTION GUARANTEED

At Okihasi, customer happiness is paramount. We are committed to delivering products of premium quality and back them with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.