440 acres adjacent to the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida/IFAS
Shown above is shoebutton ardisia (Ardisia elliptica), which despite ongoing efforts by volunteers and invasive plant control professionals, remains problematic at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA) and elsewhere. This Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Category #1 invasive pest plant…
It was a wonderfully beautiful day for a hike to the ORCA Observation Tower on Saturday, January 25. Conditions were a bit soggy with the recent rains and tides that have been higher than usual. Thank you to George &…
People display diversity & so do plants in Nature (as opposed to intentional cultivation). Donna Winter (Class of 2016) shared two photos that demonstrate this diversity. She took the picture above of the flower of a Faey’s palafox (Palafoxia faeyi)…
The 2020 Volunteer Nature Stewardship class began on Saturday, January 18, 2020 and included a nature walk at south Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area (ORCA). Special thanks Mate, our walk mascot, the woodle pictured at the lower right. Special thanks to…
Ten years ago on January 16, 2010, we visited Sebastian Inlet State Park. Terry O’Toole, now retired, was our guide … We visited the dunes where we saw perfumed spiderlily (Hymenocallis latifolia). This amaryllis-relative is quite versatile and also grows…
Our Florida state butterfly, the zebra longwing loves it, but lots of gardeners do not. It is common beggarticks (Bidens alba). Common names for this plant are about as common as this plant and include Spanish needles, butterfly needles, romerillo,…
3/11/2018 trip to Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (PINWR), a special tram tour with PINWR & ORCA volunteers … Happy Halophytes, the saltmarsh succulents saltwort (Batis maritima) and glasswort (Salicornia sp.) at Joe Michael Overlook … Lyreleaf sage (Salvia lyrata)…
We saw one washingtonia palm (Washingtonia robusta) at the Toni Robinson Waterfront Trail when Terry Greene (Class of 2019) led a special walk there for us on behalf of the Indian River Land Trust. Also known as the Mexican fan…
Donna Winter (Class of 2016) shared this photograph of the bell-shaped flowers (urceolate) of fetterbush that she took at the south Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area on 1-4-2020 on a walk that she, Gayle Lafferty (Class of 2012), Terry Greene (Class…
Donna Winter (Class of 2016) shared this photo of innocence (Houstonia procumbent) that she took at the south Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area on walk that she led on 1/4/2020 along with Gayle Lafferty (Class of 2012), Terry Greene (Class of 2019),…
Common names work great for birds. Not so much for plants. Recently, the native epiphytic native fern Phlebodium aureum, which usually growing in the “boots” (old leafstems) of cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto), was labeled to be rabbit foot fern (Davalia fejeensis) in signage…
We saw two “asters”, daisy-like plants, on our visit to Toni Robinson Waterfront Trail (TRWT) on 12-8-2019 led by Terry Greene (Class of 2019). One of them was the prevalent and perennial climbing aster (Symphyotrichum carolinianum), shown above. Once known…
