Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Enchanted Forest, February 22, 2012

Only a few things in bloom on this visit.
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Blue jacket; Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis, Commelinaceae)
Native

Found in the butterfly garden.
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Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata, Lamiaceae)
Native

Found a lot of lyreleaf sage in and near the butterfly garden. Some individuals have dark purple mixed with green in the stem and leaves.
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Florida arrowroot; coontie (Zamia pumila, Zamiaceae)
Native
Also, near the butterfly garden. Seeds are shown. Coontie is found in Florida, Puerto Rico, and two coastal counties in SE Georgia.
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Sugarberry; hackberry (Celtis laevigata, Celtidaceae)
Native
New leaves shown on left. Sugarberry is easily recognized by the corky warts that grow on the trunk.
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Lizard's tail (Saururus cernuus, Saururaceae)
Native
These plants were blooming near the park entrance, on the east side.
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Skink

Possibly a mole skink.
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Monday, February 20, 2012

Wickham Park, February 20, 2012

A quick, early spring visit.
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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.

Fuzzy, cobwebby basal leaves are shown here.
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 Yellow colicroot (Aletris lutea, Nartheciaceae)
Native

A number of yellow colicroot plants can be seen now  in the "boggy" area. The basal leaves are yellow and green with rolled edges.
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Pink sundew (Drosera capillaris, Droseraceae)
Native

The sundews are back. The "boggy" area is at least moist again after a long drought.
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Coastal searocket (Cakile lanceolata, Brassicaceae)
Native

I was surprised to find this plant so far from its normal coastal dunes habitat. It was growing in disturbed soil immediately east of the ditch that runs along the east side of the Youth Camping Area.
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Small-leaf climbing fern; Old-world climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum, Schizaeaceae)
Not native, exotic invasive

The top left photo shows the run-away fern climbing up small trees on the north side of the unpaved road to the soccer fields. The fern has two kinds of leaves: infertile (upper-right photo) and fertile. The bottom-left photo shows the top side of fertile leaves. The sporangia can be seen on the underside of fertile leaves, bottom-right. The leaflets are small, about the size of a quarter.
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Sunday, February 19, 2012

Malabar Scrub, February 19, 2012

I found several familiar plants, plus a couple of curiosities on this visit.
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Fetterbush (Lyonia lucida, Ericaceae)
Native
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Red fungi

A shelf fungi growing on a dead and burnt oak log, possibly a red polypore (Polyporus sanguineus),
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Wild pennyroyal (Piloblephis rigida, Lamiaceae)
Native
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Fungi on oak leaf
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Seaside primrosewillow (Ludwigia maritima, Onagraceae)
Native

This primrosewillow has cubical seed capsules.
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Fragrant eryngo (Eryngium aromaticum, Apiaceae)
Native

This rosette of strange and attractive basal leaves caught my attention. I had a hunch that it might be a species of Eryngium, so I checked the USF Plant Atlas website and found a photo of the young, basal leaves that exactly matched this photo. Click here to see this plant in bloom.
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Catbells (Baptisia perfoliata, Fabaceae)
Native

I initially defined this strange, dried plant as "Unidentified." I thought it looked similar to some type of eucalyptus, and one anonymous commenter agreed. I turned to Sally Scalera (University of Florida IFAS Brevard County Extension) for help in identifying it. She sent the photo off to the UF Herbarium and got the response that it looked like Catbells, Baptisia perfoliata, a member of the pea family. I checked online and found several photos of the dried plant that exactly matched the one I found in the Malabar Scrub Sanctuary. This is a peculiar plant. It produces a single blossom--and later a seed pod--at each junction of the stem and leaves. You can see more photos of it at Southeastern Flora and Discover Life.
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Thursday, February 16, 2012

Where the Wildflowers Are

On February 16, 2012, I made a presentation to the Eugenia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society in Vero Beach. My presentation was called "Where the Wildflowers Are," which was a collection of photos of wildflowers I had found in various locations in Brevard and neighboring counties. This posting gives the general locations of the various parks:

Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area
South end of Vero, from US 1 east on 9th St SW (Oslo Rd)

Pelican Island NWR
On Jungle Trail, off A1A, south of Sebastian Inlet

Dale Wimbrow Park
Near Sebastian Municipal Airport, on Roseland Rd, bordering Sebastian River

St. Sebastian River Preserve S.P.
On CR 507, north of Fellsmere, near C-54 canal
Also, entrance off CR 512 (Fellsmere Rd), via North County Regional Park

Malabar Scrub Sanctuary
Malabar, Malabar Woods Blvd, a few miles west of US 1

Turkey Creek Sanctuary
Palm Bay, Santiago Dr, off Port Malabar Blvd, a few miles west of US 1

Erna Nixon Park
Melbourne, south of airport, off Evans Rd, between NASA Blvd and Hibiscus Blvd

Wickham Park
Melbourne, off Parkway Dr, between Wickham Rd and Croton Rd

Viera Wetlands
Melbourne, west end of paved N. Wickham Rd

Cruickshank Sanctuary
Rockledge, off Barnes Blvd, about 1/2 mi. west of US 1

Merritt Island NWR
Titusville, on Merritt Island, Blackpoint Wildlife Dr off SR 406

Scrub Ridge Trail
On Merritt Island, off SR 3 (N. Courtenay Pkwy), short distance south of Haulover Canal

Tosohatchee WMA
Near Christmas, entrance on Taylor Creek Road between SR 520 and SR 50

Lake Wales Ridge
Hickory Lake Scrub on US 17, south of Frostproof; and other nearby areas



Saturday, February 4, 2012

Wickham Park, February 4, 2012

A quick visit to Wickham Park to see if anything new was blooming.
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Prostrate globe amaranth (Gomphrena serrata, Amaranthaceae)
Not native
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 Bay lobelia (Lobelia feayana, Campanulaceae)
Native, Florida endemic
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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.
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Common dayflower (Commelina diffusa, Commelinaceae)
Not native

In this species of Commelina, the third, small petal is blue.
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Florida tasselflower (Emilia fosbergii, Asteraceae)
Not native
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Lilac tasselflower (Emilia sonchifolia, Asteraceae)
Not native
Note the small crab spider.
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Inkberry; gallberry (Ilex glabra, Aquifoliaceae)
Native

Gallberry is frequently the most abundant shrub in flatwood forests of the Lower Coastal Plain and is an important source of honey. It is desirable for the rich, elegant taste and is prized for its honeycomb. Gallberry honey is high in pollen and enzymes, and, therefore, slow to crystallize.
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Fringed yellow stargrass (Hypoxis juncea, Hypoxidaceae)
Native
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Narrowleaf silkgrass (Pityopsis graminifolia, Asteraceae)
Native
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American black nightshade (Solanum americanum, Solanceae)
Native

This is only the second time I've seen this plant in Wickham Park.
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Oakleaf fleabane (Erigeron quercifolius, Asteraceae)
Native
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Common yellow woodsorrel (Oxalis corniculata, Oxalidaceae)
Native
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