Another native member of the pea family (Fabaceae), necklace pod (Sophora tomentosa) has seeds that float. Its yellow seeds are very small, so they rarely find their way into seabean collections.
We have seen this native shrub growing in sunny places along mosquito control dikes at Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, Brevard Barrier Island Sanctuary and Education Center, and Oyster Bar Marsh Conservation Area. It also grows near the ocean on the “back” of beach dunes.
The apt common name, necklace pod, refers to its distinctive quite constricted seed pods …
Its sunny yellow flowers are held in spikes (racemes) and attract pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds….
Native necklace pod (Sophia tomentosa var. truncata) has glossy dark green leaves that are shiny above. Young leaves are slightly hairy but become smooth (glabrous) with time. The non-native variety (Sophia tomentosa var. occidentalis) are very hairy and those hairs impart an attractive silvery coloration.
We saw this plant growing in the midst of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) on the beach dune at the Brevard Barrier Island Sanctuary and Education Center in 2014 on a walk led by Karen Schuster (Class of 2009) …
This salt and drought-tolerant shrub, especially when massed, makes an excellent landscape plant for sunny locations including in the yard of Martha Willoughby (Class of Fall of 1998) where she planted it along a mangrove-protected shoreline along the Indian River Lagoon …
Enjoy the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area 