Goldenaster, October 2, 2010

Patches of small, low, yellow, daisy-like flowers are currently showing along roads and bike paths. It was a mystery to me since none of my reference books depicted such a wildflower. I finally determined that the wildflower is coastalplain goldenaster (Chrysopsis scabrella, a member of the aster or daisy family). It is normally a weedy, erect plant, but repeated mowing has forced it into a low-growing form seen along roadsides.

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Coastalplain goldenaster (Chrysopsis scabrella, Asteraceae)
Native

These plants were near the Satellite Beach Library.

Front and side views of flower head.

Seed head and seeds.

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Scrub Ridge Trail, October 10, 2010

Mosquitoes galore! Forgot to bring my insect repellant. Whenever I stopped to shoot a wildflower, dozens of mosquitoes landed on me and started biting. Didn't spend a lot of time trying to get perfect shots. (See previous Scrub Ridge Trail post.)

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Blazing star, dense gayfeather (Liatris spicata, Asteraceae)

Native

Bracts blunt-tipped, greenish-purple. Heads many, sessile (without stems), tubular. Moist pinelands. Blooms summer, fall.

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Blazing star, fewflower gayflower (Liatris pauciflora, Asteraceae)
Native

Flower heads stalked, of about 4 florets located on 1 side of flower stalk. Bracts sharp-tipped. Pinelands. Blooms summer, fall. (Note: USF/ISB does not show this species as found in Brevard County.)

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Vanillaleaf (Carphephorus odoratissima, Asteraceae)
Native

Leaves have a vanilla odor, especially when dried. Moist pinelands. Blooms summer, fall, winter. In the  backwoods of North Florida in the early 1900s, my father's impoverished family collected leaves of this plant to sell for use as an artificial vanilla flavoring in pipe and cigarette tobacco.

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Chapman's goldenrod (Solidago odora var. chapmanii, Asteraceae)
Native

Flower heads borne along 1 side of the floral branches. Dry, open woods and pinelands. Blooms spring, summer, fall.

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Slender flattop goldenrod (Euthamia caroliniana, Asteraceae)

Native

Leaves usually less than 3 mm wide, 1- to 3-veined. Pinelands and disturbed sites. Blooms summer, fall, winter.

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Spurred butterfly pea (Centrosema virginianum, Fabaceae)

Native

Pinelands and open clearings. Blooms all year.

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Beach false foxglove (Agalinus fasciculata, Orobanchaceae)

Native

Open moist fields and disturbed sites. Blooms summer, fall.

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Enchanted Forest Sanctuary, October 8, 2010

I skipped photographing the flower gardens near the visitors center to concentrate on looking for new wildflowers along the many trails. Well, I did photograph a sunflower that was blooming in the garden since I didn't photograph it on my previous visit. (See Enchanted Forest, July 14, 2010.)

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Narrowleaf sunflower, swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius, Asteraceae)

Native

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Frostweed, white crownbeard (Verbesina virginica, Asteraceae)

Native

A tall plant, rough leaves, winged stem.

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Spanish needles (Bidens bipinnata, Asteraceae)

Native

This was a new wildflower to me. Several plants were growing along the east end of Tortoise Trail, near the intersection with Ridge Trail.

The leaves, which are unusual and diagnostic, are pinnately bisected. Flower heads small; ray florets pale yellow, few or absent. Disk florets yellowish. Seeds needlelike, with 3 or 4 barbed awns.

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Leafless swallowwort (Cynanchum scoparium, Apocynaceae)

This previously unidentified vine has now been identified.  It is Cynanchum scoparium, common name leafless swallowwort. It's in the Apocynaceae family and is a relative of milkweed, twinevine, oleander, frangipani, allamanda, and periwinkle. Updated Dec. 5, 2010.

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St. Andrew's-cross (Hypericum hypericoides, Clusiadeceae)

Native

These plants were found along Tortoise Trail in the dry, oak scrub area.

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Bloodleaf, Juba's bush (Iresine diffusa, Amaranthaceae)

Native

Another new plant, found on the western leg of Ridge Trail, a short distance north of Tortoise Trail.

The genus name, Iresine, is from a Greek word meaning wool, a reference to the wooly or cottony appearance of the plant. The common name, bloodleaf, refers to the leaves that are often tinged with red. On this particular plant, the edges of some of the leaves are reddish.

Wind blowing through the plants causes them to dance, which is perhaps where the common name juba comes from. Juba is a dance that originally came with slaves from Western Africa to the Caribbean in 1500s, and to the U.S. in the 1600s. Juba is also the name of a supernatural being in some American Black folklore and became the popular name for a prolific weed, Juba's bush.

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St. Johns River Gold, October 6, 2010

When driving east on SR 520 this time of year, with the late afternoon sun behind you, as you crest the bridge over the St. Johns River, look far to the east. There, on the north side of the highway, you'll see what looks like molten gold spilled on the eastern edge of the marsh, up against the dark woods. As you get closer, you'll see large patches of gold spreading out into the marsh, and you'll begin to recognize the gold as the massed blossoms of tall wildflowers. If you look to your right, you'll also see splashes of gold on the south side of the highway, although the near shrubs on that side partially obscure the view. Later, after you're on I-95 heading south, you can see more of the golden color in the marshes east of I-95, just south of the SR 520 intersection. All this brilliant color is due to a single species of wildflower: Southeastern Sunflower (Helianthus agrestis, Asteraceae), a native plant found only in Florida and a few counties in southern Georgia. Here, near the St. Johns River, it peaks in mid- October. In mid-July, in these same marshes, a similar effect, but in pink and less striking, is produced by masses of tall, blooming Swamp Rosemallow (see the earlier St. Johns River post).

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 My wife, who reported sighting the St. Johns River gold, volunteered to drive me there, allowing me to photograph from the car. We first spotted the broad patches of yellow in the marshes on the east side of I-95, south of the SR 520 exit. I used my telephoto lens, but zipping along at 70 mph, I mostly got green and yellow blurs. I salvaged the best of my blurry "drive-by" images by doing a Photoshop artistic treatment on it, which gave the above impressionistic image.

 As it turned out, there was no safe place to stop along the north side of SR 520, so I was unable to get a photo of the sunflowers in the river marsh. Fortunately, we did find a small clump of sunflowers along the canal near the airboat ramp at the Lone Cabbage Fish Camp. This had the advantage that I was able to get close-up photos of the flowers.

The disk flowers are dark purple, with bright yellow anthers.

The relatively long hairs on the lower margins of the leaves is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Helianthus agrestis.

A nearby small alligator kept an eye on us.

We found an area of sunflowers on the east side of F. Burton Smith Regional Park, which is on SR 520, immediately east of the St. Johns River marsh. Some of these plants were over 6 ft. tall.

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 Peppervine (Ampelopsis arborea, Vitaceae)

Native

This peppervine was growing among the sunflowers in F. Burton Smith Park.

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 Mexican primrosewillow (Ludwigia octovalvis, Onagraceae)

Native

Several primrosewillows were found with the sunflowers near the airboat ramp at Lone Cabbage. The seed capsules help identify this species: over 1 in. long, round, with ridges and stripes.

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 Water-lettuce (Pistia stratiotes, Araceae)

Not native

Rafts of water-lettuce were in the canal near the Lone Cabbage airboat ramp. This is an invasive plant, a nuisance for boaters. According to the IFAS/UFL website, experts disagree as to whether water-lettuce is native to the U.S.: it has been present in Florida since as early as 1765 when the explorer, William Bartram, described and drew the plant in Lake George.

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Sandhill Cranes

F. Burton Smith Regional Park.

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