Space Coast Wildflowers: March 2014

This is our third trip to the Lake Wales Ridge. Found two wildflowers new to this blog: Quillwort arrowhead (Sagittaria isoetiformis) and Western tansymustard (Descurainia pinnata).

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Cypress

Bright spring leaves.

This and the following two wildflowers were photographed at the Blue Cypress boat ramps south of Felsmere.

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Peruvian primrosewillow (Ludwigia peruviana, Onagraceae)
Not native

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Oakleaf fleabane (Erigeron quercifolius, Asteraceae)
Native

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Old Vero Beach Rd

This is our usual first stop in Lake Wales Ridge country.

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Skyblue lupine (Lupinus diffusus, Fabaceae)
Native

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Florida greeneyes (Berlandiera subacaulis, Asteraceae)
Native, Florida endemic

This Berlandiera species has lobed leaves and yellow disk flowers. The other Berlandiera in Florida, soft greeneyes (B. pumila), does not have lobed leaves, and its disk flowers are red to maroon.

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Carolina wild petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis, Acanthaceae)
Native
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Apalachicola toadflax (Linaria floridana, Plantaginaceae)
Native

Three species of Linaria are found in Florida. Apalachicola toadflax (L. floridana) has a short spur emerging from the base of the flower; Canadian toadflax (L. canadensis) has long spurs. The spurs are just barely visible in some of the above photos. The less common Texas toadflax (L. texana) is found in N. Florida and in the panhandle.

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Florida sensitive brier (Mimosa quadrivalvis var. floridana, Fabaceae)
Native

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Primitive Campground

The following two wildflowers were photographed here.

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Quillwort arrowhead (Sagittaria isoetiformis, Alismataceae)
Native

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Garberia (Garberia heterophylla, Asteraceae)
Native, Florida endemic

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Big Bay Loop Trail

The following two wildflowers were photographed here.

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Coastalplain honeycomb head; yellow buttons (Balduina angustifolia, Asteraceae)
Native

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Bigflower pawpaw; scrub pawpaw (Asimina obvata, Annonaceae)
Native, Florida endemic

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Hickory Lake Scrub

The following nine plants were photographed in this area.
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Sand spike-moss (Selaginella arenicola, Selaginellaceae). Native

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Deer Lichen

Note the "red soldiers" in right-hand photo.

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Small's jointweed; woody wireweed; sandlace (Polygonella myriophylla, Polygonaceae)

Native, Florida endemic, Endangered-State, Endangered-US

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Short-leaved rosemary, false rosemary (Conradina canescens, Lamiaceae)
Native

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Bluejacket; Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis, Commelinaceae)
Native

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Western tansymustard (Descurainia pinnata, Brassicaceae)
Native

This one was a puzzle for a while. It didn't look like anything I had seen before. I looked through all the photos of yellow flowers in Taylor's "The Guide to Florida Wildflowers," and did not find a match. The flowers were the only thing I had to go on (in my hurry, I had failed to photograph the leaves or stems). Then I realized that small, yellow, 4-petaled flowers might indicate mustard. So I searched for common name = "mustard" in the online Plant Atlas and found it. Western tansymustard is very widespread, growing throughout North America in varied habitats. It is especially successful in deserts and can appear in disturbed, barren sites. This particular plant was found at the edge of an abandoned orange grove.

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Tough bully, tough bumelia (Sideroxylon tenax, Sapotaceae)
Native

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Tallow wood, hog plum (Ximenia americana, Ximeniaceae)
Native

At just the right angle, the blossoms look like furry, staring, long-fanged ogres!

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