Tosohatchee WMA, November 17, 2011

On the way home from Orlando in late afternoon, we decided to take a quick look at Tosohatchee WMA to see if anything new was in bloom. The prize find was a celestial lily, new to me and this blog. Hammock snakeroot was a another new wildflower. Tosohatchee continues to be one of the most interesting and fruitful places for wildflowers.

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Hammock snakeroot (Ageratina jucunda, Asteraceae)

Native

This was a new species for me and this blog. Several snakeroot plants were growing on either side of Beehead Rd, in the shady, wet area shortly after going through the entrance gate.

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Smallfruit beggarticks (Bidens mitis, Asteraceae)

Native

This was the most abundant wildflower we found on this visit. Generally, it was in large stands.

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Simmonds' aster (Symphyotrichum simmondsii, Asteraceae)

Native

This is a tentative identification of this aster.

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Narrowleaf silkgrass (Pityopsis graminifolia, Asteraceae)

Native

We found many large stands of silkgrass.

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Glade lobelia (Lobelia glandulosa, Campanulaceae)

Native

I had first noticed this species on an earlier visit to Tosohatchee. This time there were many more in bloom along both sides of St. Nicholas Rd.

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Wildflower Scenes

Scenes along St. Nicholas Rd. Upper left— Bidens mitis; upper right— Bidens mitis & Lobelia glandulosa; bottom— Bidens, Lobelia, & Carphephorus paniculatus.

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Hairy chaffhead (Carphephorus paniculatus)

Native

This Carphephorus was abundant along St. Nicholas Rd.

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Unidentified

This was a strange-looking plant, reminded us of the skeleton of a fish. There were no blossoms visible, so I haven't been able to identify it yet. We found only this one plant.

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Celestial lily (Nemastylis floridana, Iridaceae)

Florida endemic, endangered, rare

This was a lucky find! Celestial lily blooms for only a couple of hours before sunset. And we were there when this solitary specimen bloomed! The plant was 5 in. tall, and the blossom was 1.5 in. in diameter. I found only this one plant. This is a new species for this blog and for me.

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Catesby's lily (Lilium catesbaei, Liliaceae)

Native, Florida threatened

I didn't expect to see any of these lilies in bloom, but we found one near St. Nicholas Rd. According to W. K. Tayler, it blooms summer and fall. (Mid-November is considered "fall" in Florida!)

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"Grass Light"

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Leavenworth's tickseed (Coreopsis leavenworthii, Asteraceae)

Native

I've photographed this species many times before, so this time I'm just posting two views from below—both with a spider.

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Florida false sunflower (Phoebanthus grandiflorus, Asteraceae)

Native, Florida endemic

We found about a dozen Phoebanthus near the north end of St. Nicholas Rd., both sides. According to Taylor, it blooms spring, summer, and fall, so these were behaving as expected.

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Aster stand

We were losing light fast, so we made a quick and short drive east on Power Line Rd. There were stands of asters on both sides of the road, but the ones on the shady side photographed best.

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