Space Coast Wildflowers: Panhandle, Apr 30

This was our 8th visit to the panhandle area to photograph wildflowers. The results shown here are divided into 5 parts:

1. Lake Panasofflee Conservation Lands
2. Hickory Mound WMA
3. Florida Caverns
4. Along SR 65
5. Hotel and St. Marks NWR

In spite of the droughty conditions, this was a very productive trip--I added 10 new species to my species list. They are: Prunus caroliniana, Solanum capsicoides, Matelea pubiflora, Phlox pilosa, Rosa palustris, Allium canadense, Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Viburnum nudum, Verbena halei and Clematis crispa.

Many thanks to Roger Hammer who identified several of the plants for me.

All species shown are Florida natives unless otherwise stated.

Part 1. Lake Panasoffke, Apr 30

Since Lake Panasoffkee was on our way to the Florida panhandle, Roger Hammer suggested we make a brief stop there to photograph the endangered trailing milkvine, Matelea pubiflora. A friend of his from that area had flagged the plants and provided detailed directions. Panasoffkee is off SR 44 a few miles west of I-75. We found several other plants of interest along the entrance road.

Entrance (off SR 44)

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Butterflyweed; butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa, Apocynaceae)

Stem leafy, hairy, sap not milky.
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Pricklypear cactus (Opuntia humifusa, Cactaceae)

Recently there has been some name changes. This cactus is now called Opuntia austrina, or, perhaps, O. humifusa var. austrina. It's confusing!

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Carolina desertchicory (Pyrrhopappus carolinianus, Asteraceae)

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Florida greeneyes (Berlandiera subacaulis, Asteraceae)
Florida endemic

This species has lobed leaves and yellow disk flowers. The only other greeneyes in Florida is soft greeneyes, Berlandiera pumila, which has non-lobed leaves and reddish disk flowers.

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Oakleaf fleabane (Erigeron quercifolius, Asteraceae)

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Pocket gopher mounds

My father, who grew up in pineywoods and sandhills country in north Florida, called the furry little creatures "salamanders." I don't believe he ever actually saw one--just the sandy mounds.

Pocket gophers are found in sandy soils throughout north Florida and southern Alabama and Georgia.

Following are excerpts from the University of Florida IFAS Extension:

"The southeastern pocket gopher, is also known as the sandy-mounder in Florida. Sandy-mounder has been modified into “salamander” in some local dialects in the Southeastern US. The pocket gopher is a rodent well adapted for its life underground. It has very small eyes and ears and large claws on its powerful front legs. The term pocket refers to the fur-lined cheek pouches that the gopher uses to carry food.

"Gophers dig extensive tunnel systems and are rarely seen on the surface. The average tunnel length is 145 feet. The soil gophers remove while digging their tunnels is pushed to the surface to form the characteristic rows of sand mounds. The pocket gopher feeds on the tap roots, crown roots, fleshy rhizomes, bulbs, and tubers of a wide variety of plants in its natural environment. Bahiagrass tubers appear to be a preferred food based on the contents of food caches. Gophers also have an unfortunate fondness for sweet potatoes, peanuts, sugarcane, alfalfa, and peas."

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Shrike snack

Loggerhead shrike (aka "butcher bird")

From Wikipedia: "Shrikes are known for their habit of catching insects and small vertebrates and impaling their bodies on thorns, the spikes on barbed-wire fences, or any available sharp point. This helps them to tear the flesh into smaller, more conveniently-sized fragments, and serves as a cache so that the shrike can return to the uneaten portions at a later time."

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Carolina laurelcherry (Prunus caroliniana, Rosaceae)

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Hercules-club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis, Rutaceae)

A spiny tree or shrub native to the southeast U.S. Sometimes called "toothache tree" or "tingle tongue" because of the numbness of the mouth, teeth, and tongue induced by chewing on its leaves or bark (thus relieving toothache). It was used for such medicinal purposes by both Native Americans and early settlers.

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Tread-softly, finger-rot (Cnidoscolus stimulosus, Euphorbiaceae)

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Pinewoods milkweed (Asclepias humistrata, Apocynaceae)

The prostrate growth habit and large leaves with pinkish veins makes this an easy milkweed to identify.

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Netted pawpaw (Asimina reticulata, Annonaceae)

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Soda apple; cockroachberry (Solanum capsicoides, Solanaceae)
Not native

Vicious, yellow spurs.

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Grassleaf lettuce (Lactuca graminifolia, Asteraceae)

Basal leaves are grass-like and may be either lobed or not lobed. The top right-hand image above shows the basal leaves, which are lobed in this case. Sap is milky.

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Trailing milkvine; sandhill spiny pod (Matelea pubiflora, Apocynaceae)

Classified as endangered in Florida.

Slender, prostrate, vinelike herb; found in sandhills. There are 6 species of Matelea in Florida. The Mateleas are relatives of milkweeds (Asclepias). Heart-shaped leaves, milky sap, and spiny seed pods.

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Rose-rush (Lygodesmia aphylla, Asteraceae)
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Florida alicia (Chapmannia floridana, Fabaceae)
Florida endemic

This specimen was found in the early afternoon, so it is a bit wilted.

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Purple passionflower (Passiflora incarnata, Passifloraceae)

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Adam's needle (Yucca filamentosa, Agavaceae)

Part 2. Hickory Mound WMA, Apr 30

The entrance to Hickory Mound WMA is a dirt road off US 98, about 14 miles west of Perry. An abandoned quarry is near the entrance.The following wildflowers were found beside the entrance road.

Downy phlox (Phlox pilosa, Polemoniaeae)

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Showy milkwort (Asemeia violacea, Polygalaceae)
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Swamp rose (Rosa palustris, Rosaceae)

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Narrowleaf blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Iridaceae)
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Southeastern sneezeweed (Helenium pinnatifidum, Asteraceae)

Part 3. Florida Caverns, May 1

Rain was forecast for this day, so we decided to postpone the search along SR 65 and, instead, head up to Florida Caverns, where we could at least have shelter in the visitors center. All the species shown here were found along the walkway from the parking lot to the visitors center.

Carolina wild petunia (Ruellia caroliniensis, Acanthaceae)

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Woodland pinkroot (Spigelia marilandica, Strychnaceae)

This pretty flower was abundant along the walkway to the visitors center. On a previous visit, the park ranger called it "indian pink."

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Mayapple (Podophyllum peltatum, Berberidaceae)

In Florida, mayapple is found only in Jackson Co., where the Florida Caverns SP is located.

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Meadow garlic (Allium canadense var. canadense, Alliaceae)

This wild garlic was abundant along the walkway.

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Bluejacket; Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis, Commelinaceae)

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Hairy leafcup (Smallanthus uvedalia, Asteraceae)

This was another abundant plant along the walkway to the visitors center. On a previous visit, the park ranger called it "bear -paw" or "bear's foot" from the shape of the leaves.

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Needle palm (Rhapidophyllum hystrix, Arecaceae)

This small, native palm was a landscape plant growing next to the visitors center.

Part 4. Along SR 65, May 2

This was the main event. Usually we see a large number of wildflower species in the Apalachicola National Forest along SR 65. There are many forest roads, where we can pull off the highway and look more closely for wildflowers. However, we did not see many species this trip, probably due to the long drought conditions in this area.

Pale meadowbeauty (Rhexia mariana, Melastomataceae)

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Inkberry; gallberry (Ilex glabra, Aquifoliaceae)

This 9-petaled flower had me stumped. I thought maybe I had found a new species! However a friend of Roger Hammer quickly identified it as Ilex glabra. Apparently the number of petals is variable. I've now found photos of specimens with 6 to 9 petals.

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Possumhaw (Viburnum nudum, Aquifoliaceae)

This appears to be a young plant, not yet branching.

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Spring ladiestresses (Spiranthes vernalis, Orchidaceae)

The specimen in the images above and left just barely spiraled.

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Yellow colicroot (Aletris lutea, Nartheciaceae)

There are two yellow colicroots along SR 65. The other one is golden colicroot (A. aurea). The two are separated by the length of the perianth: A. lutea has a relatively long perianth (2-3 times as long as wide at the mouth), while the A. aurea perianth is relatively stumpy (1-1.5 times as long as wide at the mouth). The long, narrow perianth of this specimen identifies it as A. lutea. Blooming colicroot was abundant on this visit.

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Golden crest (Lophiola aurea, Nartheciaceae)

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Carolina yelloweyed grass (Xyris caroliniana, Xyridaceae)

This photo captured a bee just arriving (or just leaving?).

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Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata, Lamiaceae)

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Helmet skullcap (Scutellaria integrifolia, Lamiaceae)

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American bluehearts (Buchnera americana, Orobanchaceae)

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Wand mullein (Verbascum virgatum, Scrophulariaceae)
Not native

We saw many of these plants growing close to the roads.

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Button rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium, Apiaceae)

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Orange milkwort (Polygala lutea, Polygalaceae)

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Tracy's sundew (Drosera tracyi, Droseraceae)

The showiest flower in the Drosera genus.

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Brazilian vervain (Verbena brasiliensis, Verenaceae)
Not native

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Savannah meadowbeauty (Rhexia alifanus, Melastomataceae)

Part 5. Hotel Area and St. Marks WMA, May 3

We stayed at the Best Western hotel on US 98, south of Crawfordville. In the swale on US 98, a few hundred feet east of the hotel, we found prickly poppies. We had seen many patches of them along US 98, but this was our first chance to get close to them. In the vacant land east of the hotel, I found a blue flowered plant, later identified as Texas vervain. Finally, we explored a short distance along the dirt entrance road into St. Marks NWR.