Wickham Park Wildflower Safari with Vickie Henderson, June 20, 2010

On this day, I took the artist, Vickie Henderson, on a tour of the wildflowers of Wickham Park. She's a houseguest of my friend Marge for about a week, down here from Knoxville, TN, to see nesting sea turtles. Vickie primarily does watercolors of birds, recently branching out into wildflowers. You can see her work at vickiehenderson.blogspot.com. This post depicts a few of the wildflowers we saw.

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Loblolly bay (Gordonia lasianthus, Theaceae)

This beautiful, native, flowering tree is a member of the Tea family, related to camelia. It is found throughout most of Florida and coastal areas from Mississippi to North Carolina.

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Fringed yellow stargrass (Hypoxis juncea, Hypoxidaceae)

Native

Usually found where the grass has been mowed low.

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Scrubland goldenaster (Chrysopsis subulata, Asteraceae)
Native, Florida endemic

This plant was previously misidentified as camphorweed (Heterotheca subaxillaris). Roger Hammer correctly identified it as scrubland goldenaster (Chrysopsis subulata), June 3, 2015.

This plant is popping up everywhere along the dry, sandy trails. Only a few are in bloom.

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Adam's needle (Yucca filamentosa, Agavaceae)

Native

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Rose-rush (Lygodesmia aphylla, Asteraceae)

Native

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Coastalplain palafox (Palafoxia integrifolia, Asteraceae)

Native

Most of the flower heads on this specimen are past their peak and are turning to seed, but a couple of new buds are visible in the background. This palafox is almost a Florida endemic--it's found only in Florida and four counties in southern Georgia.

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Whitemouth dayflower (Commelina erecta, Commelinaceae)

Native

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Largeflower rosegentian (Sabatia grandiflora, Gentianaceae)

Native

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Button rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium, Apiaceae)

Native

Leaves have barbs along edges. Flowerheads on this plant have not opened, yet.

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Elliott's yelloweyed grass (Xyris  elliottii, Xyridaceae)

Native

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Florida scrub roseling (Callisia ornata, Commelinaceae)

Native, Florida endemic

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Vickie

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Indian River Lagoon and clouds panorama

Taken from South Tropical Trail, Merritt Island.

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Gleason Park, June 15, 2010

This park is nearby in Indian Harbour Beach. These wildflowers and other plants were along the paved path that runs around the small, central patch of woods.

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Dwarf Canadian horseweed (Conyza canadensis var. pusilla, Asteraceae)
Native

An easy to overlook "weed," with tiny, daisy-type flowers

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Groundsel tree (Baccharis halimifolia, Asteraceae)
Native

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Wax myrtle, southern bayberry (Myrica cerifera, Myricaceae)
Native

Back home in north Florida, fishermen used branches of wax myrtle to create sunken "brush piles" in lakes. The brush piles attracted speckled perch (aka crappies). The branches were wired together and tied to a couple of concrete blocks. A slightly submerged plastic milk jug was used to mark the spot.

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Earleaf greenbrier (Smilax auriculata, Smilacaceae)
Native

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Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum, Anacardiaceae)
Native

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Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana, Lamiaceae)
Native

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Tallow wood, hog plum (Ximenia americana, Ximeniaceae)
Native

The plum-like fruits are yellow when ripe and are edible, as you can see by the bite I took out of one.

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Common wireweed, common fanpetals (Sida ulmifolia, Malvaceae)
Native

A tiny relative of hibiscus, this plant has very tough stems.

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Eastern poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans, Anacardiaceae)
Native

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Unidentified grass

Stems about 2-ft. long ending in wispy flower/seed heads.

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Yellow bristlegrass, knotroot foxtail (Setaria parviflora, Poaceae)
Native

This is a tentative identification. The USF ISB shows three grasses with "foxtail" in their name and found in Brevard County. This one was the closest match to my photo.

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Satellite Beach Library, June 15, 2010

Here are a few wildflowers and other plants I found near the library on this very hot day.

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Pond to the west of the library. Along the pond edge: golden canna, pickerelweed, and bulrush.

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Golden canna (Canna flaccida,  Cannaceae)
Native

Blossoms, green fruit, and dry fruit.

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Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata, Pontederiaceae)
Native

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 Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle, Rhizophoraceae)
Native
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Unidentified fruit tree

It has been planted by the pond. It's probably an exotic.

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Scrub trail

Short trails run through the sand live oak and palmetto scrub west of the library.

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Gopher apple (Licania michauxii, Chrysobalanaceae)

Native

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Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia, Vitaceae)
Native

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Pelican Beach Park, June 13, 2010

I went to this beach park looking for the fruit of the carissa plum, but found none, so ended up taking a few photos of beach plants. Found a couple of plants new to me and one mystery plant.

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Beach scenes

Left, looking north: sea oats, marshelder, and seagrape

Right, looking south: sea oats, cabbage palms, and condos

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Clouds

Left: sea oats, seagrapes, and a white ibis

Right: sea oats and cabbage palms

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Natal plum (Carissa macrocarpa, Apocynaceae)
Non-native
This plant is a shrub originally from South Africa, sometimes planted as a barrier to protect dunes. It bears fruit in summer and fall. The fruit turns red when ripe and can be made into jellies and preserves.

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Simpleleaf chastetree (Vitex trifolia, Lamiaceae)
Non-native
A fast-growing escape from cultivation; naturalized in disturbed areas.

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Stinging nettle (Cnidoscolus stimulosus, Euphorbiaceae)
Native

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Beach sunflower (Helianthus debilis, Asteraceae)
Native
The plant on the right is establishing itself on the beach side of the dunes.

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Coastal searocket (Cakile lanceolata, Brassicaceae)
Native
Top row: this plant was well past its prime.
Second row: A dead plant with seed pods.
Bottom row: Close-up of seed pods and a seed.

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Crested saltbush (Atriplex pentandra, Amaranthaceae)
Native

(tentative identification)

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 Leaf of sea oat showing salt deposits from sea spray
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Vente conmigo (Croton glandulosus, Euphorbiaceae)

This plant was growing near the dune crossover. Stem is stiff and bristly. A close-up photo shows that the bristles are star shaped. Plant identified August 3, 2010.

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