Enjoy the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area
440 acres adjacent to the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory, University of Florida/IFAS
The partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata) at south Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area was ablaze with flowers when we took a very small-group walk to look for Florida butterfly orchids (Encylcia tampensis) on June 27, 2020. Bees pollinate this native annual via…
At the entrance to the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area, now flourishes a big "bush" of beggarticks (Bidens alba). Yes, this plant is weedy and hitchhikes its way around via its 2-toothed seeds that give rise to its species name, Bidens: …
Bee balm (Monarda punctuata) attracts butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. Look how pollen from the anthers of the bee balm sticks to the top of this bulky, native southern carpenter bee (Xylocopa micans), easily identified by its 'shiny hiney'. This…
Flowers 'reward' their pollinators with nectar and pollen. Above a southern carpenter bee (Xylocopa micans), identifiable in part by its "shiny hiney", heads toward a partridge pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata). The nickel to quarter-sized flowers of this member of the Fabaceae…
