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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