Malabar Scrub Sanctuary, May 6, 2012

The main purpose of this visit was to see if the catbells plant was blooming. In February, I had found the stem and leaves of an old plant recently, which the UF Herbarium identified for me. No catbells on this visit, but I did find a couple of interesting plants, including one new one for me and this blog.

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Entrance Kiosk

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Helmet skullcap (Scutellaria integrifolia, Lamiaceae)
Native

Blossoms and seeds have gone.

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Florida scrub frostweed; rock-rose (Helianthemum nashii, Cistaceae)

Native

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Gopher apple (Licania michauxii, Chrysobalanaceae)

Native

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Fragrant eryngo (Eryngium aromaticum, Apiaceae)

Native

I have yet to test the fragrance of this plant. Maybe later in the year I can catch it in bloom.

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Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens, Arecaceae)

Native

Close-up of a few blossoms.

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Piedmont blacksenna (Seymeria pectinata, Orobanchaceae)

Native

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Lesser Florida spurge (Euphorbia polyphylla, Euphorbiaceae)

Native, Florida endemic

This is an unusual plant with strange flowers. When just emerging it looks somewhat like a small evergreen. Later, it has a wiry appearance. The flowers are very small and easily overlooked. These members of the spurge family are usually found in open spaces in dry, sandy soil.

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Lax hornpod (aka miterwort) (Mitreola petiolata, Loganiaceae)

Native

This plant is found in moist or wet areas. Here it was found in the ditch on the west side of the main paved trail. Short-stalked leaves tapered at the base identifies this plant as M. petiolata. If the leaves had rounded bases, then it would've been M. sessilifolia. This was a new plant for me and new to this blog.

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Nutall's thistle (Cirsium nutallii, Asteraceae)

Native

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Narrowleaf silkgrass (Pityopsis graminifolia, Asteraceae)

Native

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Narrowleaf yellowtops (Flaveria linearis, Asteraceae)

Native

An unusual member of the aster family: only one ray floret in each composite flower.

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Rosy camphorweed (Pluchea baccharis, Asteraceae)

Native

Leaves clasp the stem.

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Blackroot (Pterocaulon pycnostachyum, Asteraceae)

Native

Stems have a striking green and white pattern.

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Yellow colicroot (Aletris lutea, Nartheciaceae)

Native

Hundreds of yellow colicroots were growing near the shore of the lake. The bottom-right photo shows dozens of young plants coming up. Their basal leaves are distinctive.

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Coastalplain St. John's-wort (Hypericum brachyphyllum, Clusiaceae) Native

Young stems are 2-winged.

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Sandweed; peelbark St.John's-wort (Hypericum fasciculatum, Clusiaceae)

Native

Stems have shredded and peeling bark.

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Axilflower (Mecardonia acuminata subsp. peninsularis, Plantaginaceae)

Native, Florida endemic.

Note (Aug 4, 2014): I had previously incorrectly identified these plants as Savannah false pimpernel (Lindernia grandiflora).

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Horned bladderwort (Utricularia cornuta, Lentibulariaceae)

Native

A few of these plants were growing in the moist, sandy soil near the lake. Bladderwort is a carnivorous plant.

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Candyroot (Polygala nana, Polygalaceae)

Native

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Shrubby false buttonweed (Spermacoce verticillata, Rubiaceae)

Not native

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Pricklypear (Opuntia humifusa, Cactaceae)

Native

What appears to be a white, cottony fungus is actually cochineal scale, parasitic insects that suck juices from prickly pear cacti, eventually killing the host plant. They secrete a white, waxy coating around their bodies to protect themselves from desiccation and predation. The insects produce a beautiful red substance (also called cochineal, or carmine), which has historically been an economically important dye in some parts of Latin America, used in cosmetics and to dye cloth. The cochineal insect, when crushed, yielded a supreme scarlet dye, which the Aztecs had long used in the production of exquisite textiles. The dye became an added incentive for Spain in its Mexican conquest. The cochineal--the Spanish held the source of the dye secret for years--produced a major cash export from Mexico, second only to silver.

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