At the end of a walk at Captain Forster Hammock Preserve (CFHP) on 2/29/2020, some of the laggards came across a prolific plant along the edge of the trail. Thanks to Donna Winter (Class of 2016) for finding out its…
Category: Captain Forster Hammock Preserve
Spectacular Spikes
Coralbean (Erythrina herbacea) sports striking spikes of tubular scarlet flowers throughout the winter and early spring. Hummingbirds and long-tongued butterflies nectar on its flowers. Flowering seems to be earlier on Orchid Island than on the mainland. This showy native plant…
Weeds of Wednesday: Tread-Softly
Stinging hairs cover the leaves, stems, flowers, and seed capsules of tread-softly (Cnidoscolus stimulosus). Also known as finger-rot, the hairs of this native plant contain irritating compounds that cause intense stinging and itching. A nasty rash of red pustules often…
A Tale of 3 Peas
When we visited Captain Forster Hammock Preserve on a marvelously breezy day, 4-13-2019, we saw lots of butterflies and lots of "peas". The pea family, Fabaceae, includes about 20,000 species of trees, shrubs, vines, and herbs in more than 700…
