Tosohatchee is famous for its its springtime displays of irises. As we had hoped, we found some in bloom during this visit.
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Dixie iris; prairie iris (Iris hexagona, Iridaceae)
Native
The irises were probably several weeks shy of peak blooming. We found quite a few in the wet ditches along Beehead Rd, Power Line Rd, and Fish Hole Rd. Most were single blossoming plants, but there were a few groups of iris. Emerging iris leaves were everywhere, waiting to bloom.
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Fourpetal St.John's-wort (Hypericum tetrapetalum, Clusiaceae)
Native
Native
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Sand blackberry (Rubus cuneifolius, Rosaceae)
Native
Native
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Small butterwort (Pinguicula pumila, Lentibulariaceae)
Native
A tiny, carnivorous plant. Traps insects on its sticky, basal leaves. A relative of yellow butterwort, shown later in this post.
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Purple thistle (Cirsium horridulum, Asteraceae)
Native
Native
Well-named thistle; horribly thorny!
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Yellow butterwort (Pinguicula lutea, Lentibulariaceae)
Native
These carnivorous plants were also found in the same place on February 10, 2014.
The upper left photo shows the location of the yellow butterwort group (lower right in photo) along St. Nicholas Rd (looking towards Power Line Rd).
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Shiny blueberry (Vaccinium myrsinites, Ericaceae)
Native
Native
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American snowbell (Styrax americanus, Styracaceae)
Native
Native
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Yellow jessamine (Gelsemium semperviren, Gelsemiaceae)
Native
Native
This blossom was on the ground near the picnic tables on the short road/trail running east from Fish Hole Rd. Since we didn't find any yellow jessamine vines in the area, we suspect the blossom was picked elsewhere and dropped here.
Note the basket-weave appearance of the throat, a characteristic of yellow jessamine blossoms.
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Creek in Springtime
This creek crosses Fish Hole Creek Rd (it might even be Fish Hole Creek!). New, bright-green leaves are emerging on the pond cypress in the left foreground.
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Coastalplain willow (Salix caroliniana, Salicaceae)
Native
Native
Shown here are the male catkins. The female catkins (not shown) produce fuzzy, cottony seed heads.
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Common blue violet (Viola sororia, Violaceae)
Native
Native
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Butterweed (Packera glabella, Asteraceae)
Native
An early spring wildflower. This specimen was located at the southern end of Fish Hole Rd, just before the road goes under SR 528. Butterweed stems are tall, smooth, ribbed, hollow, and succulent. We saw a few patches of butterweed near SR 520 and the St. Johns River.
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