Enjoy the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area
440 acres adjacent to the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida/IFAS
Nature does nothing uselessly — Aristotle
Nature is everywhere. Enjoy exploring the puzzles & complexities of nature at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area & on this website. You will find some of the plants, insects, and animals that you see here in your yard, along the roadsides, and elsewhere.
Enjoy nature everywhere.
Another seed capable of ocean transport comes from yet another native member of the pea family (Fabaceae), coralbean (Erythrina herbacea). Also called Cherokee bean, this tropical tree grows throughout Indian River County including at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, Captain…
You will find lots and lots of coinvine (Dalbergia ecastaphyllum).seeds on the beach. It is hard to tell if these seabeans have come from “local” Florida plants or have been carried from other places by tropical currents arising in the…
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…
Baybean (Canavalia rosea) is 1 of the 2 vines that grow on the font of beach dunes almost always toward the ocean. This vine grows swiftly and sometimes is said to be the inspiration for the Jack-in-the-Beanstalk story. Hence, it…
Railroad vine (Ipomoea pes-caprae subsp. brasiliensis) is 1 of 2 pioneering beach vines the grow in the front of beach dunes toward the Atlantic Ocean. This fast-growing morning glory, which can grow to be +30′ long, often forms dense mats…
Another native plant with seeds that float for long distances is tallow wood (Ximena americana). You will find this plant growing in sandy places – both beach and scrub. Inside the delicious, fragrant fruit is a seabean, a seed that…
Seabean season is upon us. Seabeans, a.k.a, drift seeds, are seeds that float and are transported by river and ocean currents. Only 1% of all seeds have this floating ability. You can find seabeans throughout the year, but high seas…
Plants often defy their “textbook” descriptions. Saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is no exception. Its species name repens means reclining. The UF/IFAS publication on saw palmetto states “this slow-growing, small palm only reaches 3 to 6 feet in height.” Outliers are…
Silver blue saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is prized by palm collectors in other parts of the world. Saw palmetto is endemic to the southeastern U.S. (Louisiana to North Carolina) and routinely removed during land clearing prior to development. Below you…
The fruit of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) is often called a berry. Technically, it is a drupe, a fruit with a single seed that is enclosed within a hard shell and is surrounded by a fleshy outer layer. Think peach,…
Both “silver”and green saw palmettos (Serenoa repens) can be found growing at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area. They are the same species. What is going on? You cannot tell what’s going on with a magnifying glass or hand lens. You…
Lots of insects visit the sweetly fragrant flowers of saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) including lovebugs (Plecia nearctica). Lovebugs emerge in large numbers twice a year: Late spring (April/May) and fall (August/September). Male lovebugs emerge before the females. Once coupled, the…
Enjoy the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area 