The pea family, Fabaceae, is quite diverse. When we visited Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (PINWR) on 10-8-2023, we saw grey nicker (Guilandina bonduc), a yellow-flowered, robust, and thorny vine. Never would you confuse it with hairypod cowpea (Vigna luteola),…
Category: Vine
Peas #1
The pea (a.k.a. bean or legume) family, Fabaceae, is the third largest plant family and includes a plethora of vines, herbs, shrubs, and trees. It is sometimes called by its older name, Leguminosae, and includes around 20,000 species and 750…
Great Grapes
Wildlife loves muscadine grapes (Vitis rotundifolia). This high climbing, woody vine is native to the southeastern U.S. to Texas. Its species name rotundifolia refers to the round shape of its leaves. Its climbs via tendrils and in hammocks grows up…
White Twinevine & Monarchs
Most folks associate monarch (Danaus plexippus) and queen (Danaus gilippus) butterflies with milkweeds.Florida is home to 21 native milkweeds, Asclepias sp. and one weedy, non-native, tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica). Like milkweed, white twinevine (Funastrum clausum) is a member of the…