Satellite Beach Post Office Swale: Spring Update, April 17 & 19, 2011

The swale on the north side of the Satellite Beach Post Office is filled with wildflowers. I photographed two dozen wildflowers (all natives) and probably overlooked at least another half-dozen. With its variety of soils, from moist in the middle to dry around the edges, the swale makes a pretty wildflower meadow. I found a new wildflower (Florida bellflower, in the wet areas of the swale) and a new shrub (Florida swampprivet, on a high, dry side).

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The swale meadow

Predominantly coreopsis and fleabane, with a few scattered sabatia.

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Leavenworth's tickseed (Coreopsis leavenworthii, Asteraceae)
Native

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Oakleaf fleabane (Erigeron quercifolius, Asteraceae)
Native

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Largeflower rosegentian (Sabatia grandiflora, Gentianaceae)
Native

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Narrowleaf blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Iridaceae)
Native

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Cricket

At first I thought I had found a cricket eating the edges of a pennywort, but the edges are brown, so maybe this cricket was just passing through.

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Whitemouth dayflower (Commelina erecta, Commelinaceae)
Native

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Baldwin's eryngo (Eryngium baldwinii, Apiaceae)
Native

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Ladiestresses (Spiranthes spp., Orchidaceae)
Native

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Mock bishopsweed (Ptilimnium capillaceum, Apiaceae)
Native

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Manyflower marshpennywort (Hydrocotyle umbellata, Araliaceae)
Native

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Showy milkwort (Polygala violacea, Polygalaceae)
Native

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Florida bellflower (Campanula floridana, Campanulaceae)

Native, Florida endemic

This is a new wildflower for this blog. It 's a low, spreading plant that likes wet areas.
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Starrush whitetop (Rhynchospora colorata, Cyperaceae)
Native

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Fourleaf vetch (Vicia acutifolia, Fabaceae)

Native

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Hairypod cowpea (Vigna luteola, Fabaceae)

Native

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American bluehearts (Buchnera americana, Orobanchaceae)

Native

...with unidentified insect.

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Capeweed or frog fruit (Phyla nodiflora, Verbenaceae)

Native

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Common yellow woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata, Oxalidaceae)
Native

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Shrubby false buttonweed (Spermacoce verticillata, Rubiaceae)

Not native

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Virginia pepperweed (Lepidium virginicum, Brassicaceae)
Native

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Painted leaf, fire-on-the-mountain (Poinsettia cyathophora, Euphorbiaceae)
Native

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Snow squarestem (Melanthera nivea, Asteraceae)
Native

This is the only place I've seen this plant. Several of them are growing along the fence on the west side of the swale.

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Florida swampprivet (Forestiera segregata, Oleaceae)

Native

This was a new plant for me. It was growing in the fence west of the swale.

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Walter's groundcherry (Physalis walteri, Solanaceae)
Native

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Spanish needles, beggarticks (Bidens alba, Asteraceae)

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C-17 Globemaster

As I was exploring the swale, this military transport aircraft repeatedly passed overhead, practicing landings and takeoffs at Patrick AFB.

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