440 acres adjacent to the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida/IFAS
Sea oxeye daisy (Borrichia frutescens) is now full of flowers in the coastal wetlands at Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) and elsewhere. Bushy seaside oxeye and bushy seaside tansy are other common names for this colonial perennial plant of saline…
Why are these white stopper (Eugenia axillaris) fruits yellow and ribbed? It’s likely the handiwork of a gall midge. Not too much is known this tiny insect, long co-evolved with white stopper, that does not have a common name. Its…
An artful strangler fig (Ficus aurea) snakes around the trunk of a sabal palmetto (Sabal palmetto) at the entrance to the Centennial trail at the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (PINWR), the very first national wildlife refuge, on Earth Day…
Marlberry (Ardisia escallonioides) once graced the edge of the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) parking lot, shown above in 2009. Sadly, the pictured plants for the most part have been massacred over the years by invasive pest plant control “professionals”…
White stopper (Eugenia axillaris) trees grow in a thicket at the north Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area in the low hammock on the way to the coastal wetlands. Stopper may refer to how thickets of these trees (and related species) “stopped”…
Strangler fig trees often, but not always, begin their life in the boots (old leafstems) of cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto). They do not literally strangle their host, but they send down substantial aerial roots and out-compete their host for nutrients,…
At the beginning of the (north) Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) trail grows a great grouping of lancewood trees (Damburneya coriacea). They have a very vertical growth habit and can grow to be from 20 – 45′ tall and usually…
Simpson’s stopper (Myrcianthes fragrans) grows as an infrequent, small tropical tree at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA). Look in the handsome hammock areas on the both sides of Oslo Road to spot this native tree, which is characterized as…
Florida gopher tortoise day is April 10, 2020. Gopher tortoises (Gopherus polyphemus) are one of the oldest living species and have been around for more than 60 million years. They dig deep burrows for shelter that can be up to…
Pepperbark, toothache tree, tickle tongue, and prickly ash are among the many common names given to the deciduous temperate tree also called Hercules-club (Zanthoxylum clava-herculis). This native tree was planted at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) in 2001 as…
Red mulberry (Morus rubra), a slender deciduous fruit tree associated with aboriginal activity, is an occasional part of the hammock canopy at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area in moist but well-drained soils. Its alternate leaves range from 4 – 7″…
Common persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) is also called American persimmon. You will find this tree growing near the freshwater wetlands at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) on the south side of Oslo Road. Common persimmon trees are most noticeable in…
