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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