Merritt Island NWR, August 12, 2012

My wife and I drove around Black Point Drive in the Merritt Island NWR this morning. Found a few wildflowers in bloom. Two were new to this blog: Dwarf Canadian horseweed and white sweetclover. We also saw, but did not photograph: pepppervine (Ampelopsis arborea), Virginia saltmarsh mallow (Kosteletzkya pentacarpos), and bushy seaside oxeye (Borrichia frutescens). Peppervine was in fruit; the other two were in bloom.

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American bluehearts (Buchnera americana, Orobanchaceae)

Native

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Beach false foxglove (Agalinus fasciculata, Orobanchaceae)

Native

These were along the drive just beyond the parking lot for the trail to the tower. In past visits, the plants were much taller. Perhaps recent mowings had kept these short. The stems were dark brown, which, in addition to the small lavender flowers, made the plants easy to spot.

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Dwarf Canadian horseweed (Conyza canadensis var. pusilla, Asteraceae)

Native

New to this blog. The purple tips on the phylalaries identify this Canadian horseweed as the var. pusilla. I have mistakenly called this plant "smallhead doll's daisy" in the past; however, that species has larger flower heads and is not found in Brevard or neighboring counties.

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Coastalplain goldenaster (Chrysopsis scabrella, Asteraceae)

Native

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Hairypod cowpea (Vigna luteola, Fabaceae)
Native

This is a very widespread and common species of pea.

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Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Asterceae)

Native

Blossoms are shown here.

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Marsh gentian; seaside gentian (Eustoma exaltatum, Gentianaceae)

Native

These were found where I usually find them--a short distance beyond the parking lot for the trail to the tower.

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Spotted beebalm; dotted horsemint (Monarda punctata, Lamiaceae)

Native

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White sweetclover (Melilotus albus, Fabaceae)

Not native

New to this blog. I have probably seen this species before, but did not bother trying to identify it.

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Narrowleaf yellowtops (Flaveria linearis, Asteraceae)

Native

Each flower head in this species has only one ray floret.

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Great southern white butterfly
on Spanish needles

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Tosohatchee Carphephorus and Celestial Lily, August 8, 2012

My wife, Julie, and I returned to Tosohatchee WMA on this day. The main purpose of this visit was to photograph small details of the Carphephorus that we found on the August 3, 2012 visit. I wanted to determine if we had C. carnosus or C. odoratissimus. There was an area along Fish Hole Rd. (about two-thirds the way to Charlie Lake) that had undergone a prescribed burn this past winter. Carphephorus and many other wildflowers had sprung up there. With the exception of the beautiful celestial lily, all the species shown in this post were found in that recovered burn area.

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Celestial lily; fallflowering ixia (Nemastylis floridana, Iridaceae)
Florida endemic, Endangered

This was a surprise find! After we had completed our main search and we were driving down Power Line Rd back to the entrance, a flash of blue caught our eyes. We backed up and discovered three celestial lilies in bloom on the ditch bank on the south side of the road. Celestial lily is unique in that it opens only from about 4 to 6 p.m. We were lucky to be at the right place and at the right time (about 5 p.m.). Interestingly, its close relative, the rare Bartram's ixia (Calydorea caelestina), does the opposite--it opens for only a few hours in early morning.

The only other celestial lily I had ever seen was in Tosohatchee a few hours before sunset (see Toso, Nov. 17, 2011). That one was growing in the shallow ditch on the east side of St. Nicholas Rd. It was short, so we were surprised that the three we found this time were very tall, about 3 ft. The first one was probably short because it was in an area that got frequent mowing. The tall ones along Power Line Rd were out of the path of the mowers and so were free to grow.

The close-up of the center of the flower shows 3 bright yellow stamens and the style that branches into 6 threads. Note that each pair of style threads straddles one of the stamens.

Celestial lily is found in swamps, marshes, and wet flatwoods.

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Pineland chaffhead (Carphephorus carnosus, Asteraceae)

Native, Florida endemic

There are 5 species of Carphephorus in Florida. Only one of them (C. carnosus) has the following characteristics: wide basal leaves, sharp-tipped bracts (phyllaries), and a hairy stem. Pineland chaffhead is found in wet flatwoods, which describes the area in which we found these growing.

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Nuttall's meadowbeauty (Rhexia nuttallii, Melastomataceae)

Native

The straight anthers and gland-tipped hairs on the hypanthium (2nd photo on right) help identify this plant as R. nuttallii. Since it was late in the day, the slightest touch caused the petals to fall off.

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Orange milkwort (Polygala lutea, Polygalaceae)

Native

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Thoroughwort (Eupatorium sp., Asteraceae)

Native

Seventeen species of Eupatorium are found in Florida. It will take more study for me to pin this one down. I've been calling similar plants Mohr's thoroughwort (E. mohrii), but that might not be correct in this case.

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Semaphore thoroughwort (Eupatorium mikanioides, Asteraceae)

Native, Florida endemic

Leaves are thickish and stiff.

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Oakleaf fleabane (Erigeron quercifolius, Asteraceae)

Native

 

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Skyflower (Hydrolea corymbosa, Hydroleaceae)

Native

Skyflowers were growing in the ditch on the west side of Fish Hole Rd., near the prescribed burn area.

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