440 acres adjacent to the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida/IFAS
Sharp-eyed Trich Kruza (Class of 2015) spotted the tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) in the foreground of this photo taken at Treasure Hammock Ranch, where we visited on 3-3-2019. Lots of this weedy, non-native milkweed was flourishing in the pasture, but…
Butterweed (Packera glabella) is named for its butter-yellow flowers. Cressleaf groundsel is another name for the widespread wildflower that grows through the central and southern U.S. It also sometimes is commonly called yellowtop (but so are some other plants). Butterweed flowers…
This vine was dangling from a tree at Treasure Hammock Ranch when we visited on 3/3/2019 and likely would have gone unnoticed were it not for its signifcant fruits … From the outside the fruit resembles a good-sized avocado, but…
Rancher Mike Sexton graciously hosted a group of us at Treasure Hammock Ranch on Sunday, 3-3-2019 and showed us around his favorite pasture, where he played as child, in the midst of cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto) and live oaks (Quercus…
The devastating damage caused by the deadly combination of laurel wilt and the redbay ambrosia beetle is unmistakable and is shown above in a photo taken in May of 2008 on Highway A1A. This invasive disease carried by an invasive…
The Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory Volunteer Nature Stewardship Program started to “celebrate” National Invasive Species Week a bit early on 2/16/2019 with a talk by Dr. Amanda Hodges, University of Florida Associate Extension Scientist & Doctor of Plant Medicine Program Director,…
Florida privet (Forestiera segregata) is flowering again. Wild olive is another name for this sturdy native plant often found volunteering along mosquito impoundment dikes and in the midst of ornamental hedges underneath places where birds perch. Birds seem to love…
The weather for the hike to the Observation Tower on Saturday, 1-26-2019, was dank & drizzly, but we were rewarded by the brief presence of playful reddish egret, a species know for its clownish hurting behavior, and a much longer…
It’s tenuous … The scientific names of plants seems to change more and more — with the advent of DNA analysis. Seems like every time I look at the Florida Plant Atlas, the scientific name of the plant has been…
Tallow wood (Ximenia americana) has many common names such as tallow plum, tallow nut, sea seaside plum, and sea lemon. The fruits of this sprawling, thorny large shrub or small tree (to about 20′) are bright yellow drupes. Inside the…
Tallow wood (Ximenia americana) is a thorny sprawling shrub or small tree (usually) of dry places and is shown above along the beginning of the trail at the south Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area. Its genus name, Ximenia, honors Francisco Ximenez, a…
The Wabasso scrub, which we visited on 11/11/2018, is not all dry. In the midst of dry scrub pretty near the beginning of the trail was a fern-filled wetland. Since of focus was scrub and Florida scrub-jays, it was identified…
A plant gall is an abnormal outgrowth of plant tissue caused by a “gall-maker”, which could be an insect, mite, virus, nematode or fungus. The inter-relationship between plant and gall-maker is complex, very specific, and developed over eons. The relationship…
Live oak trees (Quercus virginiana) have been producing so many acorns this year that Florida Today has written a story about it. Live oaks produce acorns every year, but, when they produce an especial abundance, a “bumper crop”, it is…
Swamp fern (Telmatoblechum serrulatum) is prevalent in moist places at the Cypress Bend Community Preserve (CBCP), just like at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA). It is pictured above in dappled shade along the CBCP trail. Toothed midsorus fern is…
Donna Winter (Class of 2016) pointed out fourpetal St. Johns-wort (Hypericum tetrapetalum) at the Wabasso scrub on our walk there on 11/11/2018 led by Jane Schnee. Sometimes it is called St. Peter’s wort, mistekenly. We also have seen this plant…
Coastalplain goldenaster (Chrysopsis scabrella) was flowering fabulously when Jane Schnee led a Florida Scrub-Jay walk for us on 11/11/2018 at the Wabasso Scrub, a 110-acre conservation area owned by Indian River County. We also saw this plant at…
Donna Winter (Class of 2016) sent this marvelous close-up of a forked bluecurls (Trichostema dichotomum) flower that we saw at the Wabasso Scrub on a 11/11/2018 early morning visit led by Jane Schnee (Class of 2010). This plant is…
Wildlife photographer Bob Montanaro enchanted us with his updated program, The Secret Life of the Florida Scrub-Jay, on 11/10/2018. He explained that Florida Scrub-Jays require open, sandy areas with scrub oaks from 3 – 6′ tall and only 1 or 2 tall…
Inches matter! In Florida, a slight change in elevation can bring a dramatic change in plant community. This phenomenon is evident at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) and was obvious at the Cypress Bend Community Preserve (CBCP) when we…
Cooler “fall” temperatures finally arrived for a 10-27-2018 group walk at the Cypress Bend Community Preserve (CBCP), a 47.25 acre property owned by Indian River County on the beautiful banks of the St. Sebastian River. Nearly all (43 acres) of…
Unripe fruit graced the dwarf huckleberry (Gaylussacia dumosa) when we visited Cypress Bend Community Preserve on May 5, 2018. The Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) is home to shiny blueberry (Vaccinium myrsinities) but not huckleberry. What is the difference between…
False indigo, bastard indigo, bastard false indigo, and leadplant are among the many common names for Amorpha fruticosa, a plant found in nearly every state — and throughout Florida — in moist places. We saw this plant in flower when…
Rough hedgehyssop (Sophronanthe-hispida) is a tiny perennial plant that grows in dry pine flatwoods in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi. It is endemic to the coastal plain of the southeastern U.S. Look carefully to find this white-flowered plant growing along…
Woodsgrass (Oplismenus setarius) is a native grass that grows in the “woods”. It prefers shaded, moist places and thrives under the thick canopy of live oaks (Quercus virginiana) at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area. Some botanists refer to it as Oplismenus…
Last year this giant land crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) decided to check out “higher ground” and clambered up the railing to our first floor. Also known as the Great Atlantic land crab, these semi-terrestrial crabs live in burrows — crab holes…
Judith Fillipich, Ellie Klebonis, Diane Morgan, Fran Robinson, John Warner, Thomas “Tom” Wilson, and Dotty Workman enjoyed a walk to the Observation Tower at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) on 9/9/2018. The wild coffee (Psychotria nervosa) was full of…
It’s not the goldenrod that’s irritating your respiratory tract. The pollen of goldenrod is too big & too sticky to become a human allergen. Pollinators — like this bumblebee — love goldenrod. We should, too, for its beautiful bright yellow…
Winged loosestrife (Lythrum alatum var. lanceolata) seems more prevalent this year, perhaps due to Hurricane Irma spreading it about. Sandee Dawdy (Class of 2016) contacted me at the beginning of the summer to identify a “new” blueish-flowered plant that appeared…
Evidence of rampant and illegal saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) berry harvesting is shown above at south Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) in 2014. Beginning on July 17, 2018 anyone harvesting saw palmetto berries is required to have a Native Plant Harvesting…
It’s a little bit early for lateflowering thoroughwort (Eupatorium serotinum) to be in flower, but this native wildflower was flowering — profusely and in multiple spots — at the Indian River Lagoon Greenway when we visited on 8/11/2018. Also known…
The star of our field trip to the Indian River Lagoon Greenway on 8/11/2018 undoubtedly was the lovely lindenleaf rosemallow (Hibiscus furcellatus) pictured above. Also known as sleepy hibiscus, this member of the mallow family, Malvaceae, is native to the…
The citrus family, Rutaceae, includes more than 1,500 mostly aromatic plants in 150 genera. The fruits of commerce — grapefruit, oranges, tangerines, and like — are in the genus Citrus, are primarily of Asian origin, and are greatly plagued by…
Donna Winter (Class of 2016) emailed this wonderful photo of a clearwing hummingbird moth (Hemaris thysbe) in her garden in Canada — in honor of National Moth Week. This day-active moth is found throughout most of Canada and the eastern…
Lots of people love only some Lepidoptera. It’s the beautiful butterflies that get nearly all of the attention. Moths, the other Lepidoptera, often get overlooked perhaps because most of them are creatures of the night and some of them are…
On our field trip on 7-21-2018 to Treasure Shores Park, we saw American pokeweed (Phytolacca americana) growing in a recently disturbed area not far from the lifeguard station. Last year, this area (shown below) was filled was dead beach naupaka…
