Tosohatchee WMA, February 11, 2013

Tosohatchee always surprises. Two new plants for this blog: yellow butterwort and yellow jessamine. As in other visits to Tosohatchee, wildflower hunts were limited to the roadsides and near-roadsides.

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Hedge false bindweed (Calystegia sepium, Convolvulaceae)

Native

North side of Beehead Rd. Arrow-shaped leaves.

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Canadian toadflax (Linaria canadensis, Plantaginaceae)

Native

North side of Beehead Rd. This linaria has long spurs.

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Smallfruit beggarticks (Bidens mitis, Asteraceae)

Native

North side of Beehead Rd. This wildflower is easily identified by its bracts: outer ones are green and spatula shaped, inner ones are speckled and translucent.

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Leavenworth's tickseed (Coreopsis leavenworthii, Asteraceae)

Native

North side of Beehead Rd. Identified by translucent bracts.

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Narrowleaf blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Iridaceae)

Native

West side of St. Nicholas Rd.

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Yellow butterwort (Pinguicula lutea, Lentibulariaceae)
Native

A carnivorous plant. Tiny insects are trapped on the sticky basal leaves and digested. Found about a dozen plants on the east side of St. Nicholas Rd, near the ditch. In this same general area, on January 20, 2012, we found a lavender-colored butterwort: small butterwort, Pinguicula pumila.

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Yellow jessamine Gelsemium semperviren, Gelsemiaceae)

Native

Found on the south side of Power Line Rd, not far from the intersection with St. Nicholas Rd. This is the first time I've seen yellow jessamine in Tosohatchee, although it's probably present around margins of swamps. Yellow jessamine has been in bloom along SR 520 and SR 528 since about mid-January.

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Tosohatchee WMA, January 13, 2013

Found a few new Toso flowers: floating bladderwort, common blue violet, false garlic, and soldier's orchid.

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Blackeyed susan (Rudbeckia hirta, Asteraceae)

Native

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Smallfruit beggarticks (Bidens mitis, Asteraceae)

Native

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Floating bladderwort (Utricularia inflata, Lentibulariaceae)

Native

Found a lot of bladderwort in several ditches near Charlie Lake.

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Common blue violet (Viola sororia, Violaceae)

Native

First time I have seen blue violets in Toso.

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Crow poison; false garlic (Nothoscordum bivalve, Alliaceae)

Native

First time I have seen this in Toso. Found along east side of St. Nicholas Rd. According to the authorities, the flower has no scent.

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Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata, Lamiaceae)

Native

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Wooly sunbonnets; pineland daisy (Chaptalia tomentosa, Asteraceae)

Native

Note the distinctive basal leaves.

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Stiff sunflower; rayless sunflower (Helianthus radula, Asteraceae)

Native

Another plant with distinctive basal leaves. These had gone to seed.

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Soldier's orchid; lawn orchid (Zeuxine strateumatica, Orchidaceae)

Not native

On the west side of Fish Hole Rd, near Power Line Rd.

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Thistle seeds

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Unidentified yellow flower

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Reflections in Charlie Lake

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Scrub Ridge Trail, November 25, 2012

The wildflowers shown here were found near the entrance to the Scrub Ridge Trail from SR 3, Merritt Island NWR.

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Juba's bush (Iresine diffusa, Amaranthaceae)

Native

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Simmonds' aster (Symphyotrichum simmondsii, Asteraceae)
Native

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Muck sunflower (Helianthus simulans, Asteraceae)

Not native

This sunflower is primarily distinguished from its close relative, swamp sunflower (H. angustifolius),  by the width of its leaves. According to Flora of North America (eFlora.org), H. angustifolius is 50-150 cm tall; leaves are 8-15 cm long and 0.15-0.5(-1) cm wide. H. simulans is 150-260 cm tall; leaves are 9-22 cm long and 0.7-4 cm wide.

The leaves shown here are about 11 cm long and 1.5 cm wide, thus identifying them as H. simulans.

Both species have leaves with margins rolled under; however, because of the very narrow width of leaves in H. angustifolius, the rolled margins nearly obscure the underside of the leaves.

See Muck Sunflowers, October 7, 2012, this blog.

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Cruickshank Sanctuary, November 21, 2012

A few early winter finds.

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Groundsel tree; saltbush (Baccharis halimifolia, Asteraceae)

Native

The seeds have all flown away...

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Narrowleaf blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium, Iridaceae)

Native

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Tall jointweed (Polygonella gracilis, Polygonaceae)
Native

A tentative identification.

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Feay's palafox (Palafoxia feayi, Asteraceae)
Native, Florida endemic

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Unidentified pea

These unidentified pea pods split into two spiral shells.

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