plantsinflorida

Cross-Leaved Milkwort

Cross-leaved milkwort (Polygala cruciata) is a unique and fascinating plant native to Florida’s wetlands, prairies, and moist pinelands. This perennial herb is easily recognizable by its cross-shaped leaf arrangement and vibrant purple-to-pink flowers, which bloom from spring through fall. The plant typically grows to about 1 to 2 feet tall and prefers sunny, moist environments.
Cross-leaved milkwort plays a significant role in the local ecosystem by providing nectar for various pollinators, including bees and butterflies. It is also a part of the diverse flora that helps maintain the health and stability of wetland habitats.
Conservation of these habitats is crucial, as they are threatened by development and changes in land use. Protecting areas where cross-leaved milkwort thrives ensures the survival of this and many other native species.
Photo Credit: Lynn Marie
Read more

Stinkhorn

The Stinkhorn, a fungus commonly found in Florida backyards and wooded areas where there is decomposing matter, is an unusual specimen, to say the least. This mushroom, which is in the same family as puffballs, is a non-poisonous, stinky fruiting body that is reported to smell like carrion and sewage. Typically, the stinkhorn is seen in its fruiting body stage, developing an elongated shape (consider the stinkhorn’s genus, Phallus.) and colors a shade of green and bright red. There are several types of stinkhorn found in Florida, but the photos below are of the Columned Stinkhorn.
Despite the stinkhorn’s grotesque appearance and stench, the fungus plays an incredibly important role in Florida ecosystems. Just as bees use flowers for nectar and spread pollen, the stinkhorn uses flies and other insects to spread its spores. The stinkhorn develops a section upon the top of the fruiting body in which it contains its stinky mass of spores. The offensive stench attracts all sorts of insects which in turn come to feast on the gleba (the spore mass). Unknowingly, the insects now carry the spores within them, which they then spread to different areas via their excrement. A fascinating example of symbiosis in our very own backyards.
Though the stinkhorn may smell disgusting, the fungi are instrumental in the function of a healthy ecosystem and should be left alone to live out its short life cycle. Moreover, even if one wishes to remove a fungus from their yard, the mycelium
below the fruiting body is extensive and highly resilient to fungicides, making their complete eradication impossible. Best to leave the little stinkhorn to its important work as a decomposer.
Photo Credit: Aymee Laurain
Author: Sarina Pennington
Read more

Lichens

Lichens-
🌿 These fascinating organisms are a unique symbiotic partnership between fungi and algae or cyanobacteria. There are three different types, all seen in this image. 🍃
Crustose Lichens: These lichens form a tightly adhering crust-like layer on the substrate such as rocks or bark. They are often found in harsh environments like deserts and high-altitude regions.
Foliose Lichens: Foliose lichens have leaf-like structures and are typically loosely attached to the substrate. They can be found on trees, branches, and soil and are often more sensitive to environmental changes.
Fruticose Lichens: Fruticose lichens have a branching or bushy structure and may be upright or hanging from substrates. They are often found in various habitats, including forests, tundras, and coastal areas.
🔍 Lichens can be found almost everywhere, from the Arctic tundra to tropical rainforests and even on bare rock surfaces! Their ability to thrive in diverse environments makes them excellent indicators of air quality and environmental health. 🌎
💡 Fun fact: Lichens are pioneers in ecological succession, breaking down rocks and paving the way for soil formation, which allows other plants to grow. 🌱
Next time you’re out exploring nature, take a closer look at these unsung heroes of the ecosystem! 🕵️‍♂️ #LichenLove #NatureFacts #Biodiversity 🌿🔍
Read more

Miami Lead Plant

The Miami lead plant is one of the few federally protected plants in Florida due to the 99% loss of the pine rockland habitat in southern Florida. This deciduous shrub species stands about five feet tall and is found among slash pines and poisonwood. Only six populations of Miami lead plants are known to Dade County. This endangered species is endemic to Miami-Dade County.
The Miami lead plant is most recognizable for its 6”-8” flower spikes, which are either lavender or white and bloom from spring to summer. The “flowers” are one singular petal attached to the glandular calyx.  Seeds are produced in a flat pod. The lead plant’s native pollinators consist of flies and bees but cannot travel far due to spotty growth. The leaves alternate with leaflets and take a scalloped shape with bristled tips. The stalk and stem are hairless.
To bring the Miami lead plant back from extinction, plant conservationists are first focusing on rebuilding the rockland habitat. Prescribed fires are the most useful tool in reconstituting pine rocklands, and the controlled burns are done every 3-7 years. With close management of water sources, containment of exotic plant species, and prescribed burns, the Miami lead plant has a hopeful future on Florida soil.
Photo Credit: Dan Kon
Author: Sarina Pennington IOF Volunteer
Read more

Coral Bean

If you want to attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden, plant coral bean (Erythrina herbacea). The Florida native plant can grow into a small tree in Southern Florida and grow 6 feet tall in Northern and Central Florida before it freezes.
The brilliant red flowers bloom in spring and sometimes in the fall. In the fall, seed pods appear and will turn dark before opening to reveal dazzling red seeds. The seeds a poisonous to pets and humans. Coral bean prefers well-drained, sandy soils and is moderately salt tolerant. Propagation is from cuttings or scarified seeds.
Photo Credit: Aymee Laurain
Read more

Highlands Scrub Natural Area

Highlands Scrub is just over 34 acres of rare pineland scrub in Pompano Beach in eastern Broward County. It was formerly known as the Jungle and is considered one of Broward and south Florida’s last substantial remaining sand pine scrub communities. This rare type of community, unique to Florida, is one of the most imperiled in the state. With only two percent of this habitat remaining in Broward County, this nice little nature park is extra special.
Highlands Scrub has a large paved and handicapped-friendly hiking trail, pavilion, ample parking, and benches. The trail loops through the site and is well-marked with some of the most informative and easy-to-read interpretive signs. Canopied by sand pines and scrub live oaks, the trail has an underbrush of saw palmetto, scrub oaks, gopher apple, pawpaw, Mexican fire plant, partridge pea, lesser Florida spurge, narrow-leaf silkgrass, and Feay’s Palafox.
Broward County has done great fire management in the Highlands Scrub Natural Area. The positive influence of their prescribed burn practice can be appreciated in the north portion of the property with the new growth of understory plants, such as greenbrier, rosemary, wildflowers including partridge pea and the endangered Curtiss’ milkweed, and the gorgeous silkgrass field.
Amenities:
Information Kiosk
Interpretive Signage
Nature Trail paved
Picnic Area
Seating Area
Author and Photo Credit: Bobby Putnam – IOF Brevard County Lead Educator
Read more

Bluehearts

Bluehearts, Buchnera floridana, are most often found in coastal plains. These native wildflowers do best in fire-maintained ecosystems including flatwoods, pine savannas, and on roadsides. Violet-blue flowers bloom year-round atop 15 – 31 inch tall stems. When dried, the stem turns black.

Read more

Yellow Milkwort

Yellow milkwort (Polygala rugelli) is also known as Rugel’s milkwort. These beautiful annual wildflowers blossom on top of tall thin stems that can reach heights of 1 – 3 feet tall. The leaves are larger near the bottom and smaller and sparser near the top of the stem where the 3/4 – 1 inch dazzling yellow flower blooms. This endemic plant blooms all year in the Florida peninsula but is most prolific in the summer and fall. It reproduces by seeds, some of which are dispersed by ants that take the seeds to their nest. There the ants eat the food bodies known as elaiosomes before discarding the seeds outside the nest where they will take root. Look for Yellow Milkwort in wet pine flatwoods, savannas, and at the edges of marshes.
Photo credit: Aymee Laurain
Read more

Sunshine Mimosa

Sunshine Mimosa
Are you looking for a native groundcover that attracts pollinators and looks beautiful all year long? Sunshine mimosa (Mimosa strigillosa) is a fast-growing ground cover with adorable pink puffballs. It’s sometimes called “powderpuff mimosa”.
A popular trait of sunshine mimosa is the nastic response. When the leaves are touched it alters the turgor pressure in the extensor cells and causes the leaves to retract. When this happens potassium and chloride molecules leave the cells. This leads to osmosis, a mechanism that occurs when water flows towards the higher salt concentration. In this case, water flows out of those cells and reduces the turgor pressure so the leaves will close.
Do you have sunshine mimosa in your yard? What is your favorite quality of this plant?
Photo Credit: Aymee Laurain
Read more

Butterfly Pea

Spurred Butterfly Pea, Fabaceae (Leguminosae) is a native climbing or twining vine that grows up to 6 feet long. Look for this perennial in the wild throughout Florida in a variety of places including in sandhills, pinelands, and coastal plains.

Butterfly Pea is dormant in the winter and pinkish-purple flowers appear from spring through fall in most of Florida. In the southern counties, it blooms all year-round. Long-tailed skippers and northern cloudywings rely on the Butterfly pea for a host plant.

Because it adapts to many soils, Butterfly Pea can be a wonderful addition to your butterfly garden. Train it to climb a fence or use it as a ground cover. It propagates by seed and thrives in part shade or full sun.

Photo Credit ~Dan Kon – The Blue Hole Big Pine Key

Read more

Pine Lily

The striking Pine Lily, Lilium catesbae, is a Long-lived perennial. Pollinators including Swallowtails are attracted to this native plant’s gorgeous flowers.

Pine Lillies grow in the wetlands of prairies, bogs, and pine savannas where they thrive in moist, sandy soils with partly shaded areas. They become dormant in the winter and flower throughout the summer. Sporadic blooms may occur in spring. The flower is the largest lily in the U.S.

The Pine Lily is designated as threatened due to habitat loss, conversion of their native habitats, and fire suppression. The restoration of Longleaf pine forests and regular prescribed burns will give these beauties the opportunity to multiply and continue to dazzle us with their beauty when we encounter them while hiking.

Read more

All Rights Reserved Imagine Our Florida, Inc. Copyright 2019