Thursday, May 8, 2014

Withlacoochee State Trail: Redbuds, May 6, 2014

Recently a botany researcher from the California Academy of Sciences contacted me seeking seeds from the southernmost redbuds in Florida. I knew there were a few redbud trees along the Withlacoochee State Trail that were close to the southern extent of the range of redbuds, so my wife and I drove over to the WST looking for them. Redbuds are all a couple of months past blooming now, which made them a bit challenging to find. Julie dropped me off at Townsen Lake Regional Park, and I rode my bicycle north along the trail, while she drove on to meet me at a restaurant in Floral City.

The online Florida Plant Atlas shows Hillsborough and Polk Counties as the southernmost counties for naturally occurring redbuds. The ones I found along the WST were in north Hernando and south Citrus Counties, several counties north of the southernmost range of redbuds.

Fortunately, several of the trees had old, dried seedpods from spring of 2013, and which were low enough for me to reach. I was able to collect about a dozen seeds each from two trees

Along the way, I stopped to photograph several wildflowers that are new to this blog.
______________________________________________


Bluestem prickly poppy; Carolina poppy (Argemone albiflora, Papaveraceae)
Native

Habitat: dry soils and disturbed sites.

Located at the intersection of WST and Lake Lindsey Rd near Mile Marker 31. In the background: Annual phlox (Phlox drummondii, Polemoniaceae), not native.
______________________________________________




Wand mullein (Verbascum virgatum, Scrophulariaceae)
Not native

Habitat: roadsides, sandhills, and disturbed sites.
______________________________________________



Eastern redbud (Cercis canadensis, Fabaceae)
Native

This cluster of redbuds is located in the village of Istachatta in a triangle area near Mile Marker 30, where Magnon Dr crosses the trail. There appear to be two clumps of redbuds separated by about 10-20 ft. Each clump consists of multple trunks. This cluster is very showy when blooming in late February. Near the bottom in the right-hand photo, several new seed pods can be seen. There were no dry seed pods within reach, so no seeds were collected from this cluster.

The bottom photo shows the Istachatta General Store, across the trail from the redbuds.
______________________________________________



A redbud tree overhanging the eastern edge of the trail, north of the triangle cluster of redbuds, between Peterson Camp Rd and the Citrus/Hernando County border. Some of the old, dry seed pods were low enough I could reach them. Seeds collected from some of the pods are shown in the right-hand photo.
______________________________________________



I collected seedpods and seeds from a small redbud tree near the gazebo in Floral City (intersection of WST and E. Orange Ave, near Mile Marker 23. The tree appeared to be growing naturally, not part of any landscaping.
______________________________________________


Sunday, May 4, 2014

Tosohatchee WMA, May 4, 2014

A leisurely Sunday morning visit to Toso.
____________________________________________




Nuttall's thistle (Cirsium nuttallii, Asteraceae)
Native
____________________________________________

Coastalplain hawkweed (Hieracium megacephalon, Asteraceae)
Native
____________________________________________

Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata, Lamiaceae)
Native
____________________________________________



White sweetclover (Melilotus albus, Fabaceae)
Not native
____________________________________________

Southern beeblossom (Gaura angustifolia, Onagraceae)
Native
____________________________________________

Oakleaf fleabane (Erigeron quercifolius, Asteraceae)
Native
____________________________________________

Sensitive brier (Mimosa quadrivalvis var. floridana, Fabaceae)
Native
____________________________________________



Lizard's tail (Saururus cernuus, Saururaceae)
Native
____________________________________________

Pickerelweed (Pontederia cordata, Pontederiaceae)
Native
____________________________________________



Rose-rush (Lygodesmia aphylla, Asteraceae)
Native
____________________________________________


Grassleaf lettuce (Lactuca graminifolia, Asteraceae)
Native
____________________________________________

Shiny blueberry (Vaccinium myrsinites, Ericaceae)
Native
____________________________________________

Narrowleaf blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Iridaceae)
Native
____________________________________________


Orange milkwort (Polygala lutea, Polygalaceae)
Native
____________________________________________


stnicholas view
____________________________________________



Carolina wild petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis, Acanthaceae) Native
____________________________________________


Largeflower rosegentian (Sabatia grandiflora, Gentianaceae)
Native
____________________________________________



Baldwin's eryngo (Eryngium baldwinii, Apiaceae)
Native

Along west side of Fish Hole Rd.
____________________________________________



Hedge false bindweed (Calystegia sepium subsp. limnophila, Convolvulaceae)
Native
____________________________________________




Eastern false dragonhead; obedient plant (Physostegia purpurea, Lamiaceae)
Native

Along north side of Power Line Rd.
____________________________________________

Yellow colicroot (Aletris lutea, Nartheciaceae)
Native

Along west side of St. Nicholas Rd, a short distance south of Power Line Rd.
____________________________________________



Butterflies & Thistles

The orange butterfly is a Gulf Fritillary; the black and yellow one is a Palamedes Swallowtail. The small dark brown one is probably some type of Skipper.
____________________________________________