Judy P's Tickle Trunk

……or Florida Botany 101

I recently took in a nature hike at Crystal River Preserve State Park where we focused on naturally occurring plants. It is winter now but there are still a lot of plants in bloom. I learned lots but then promptly forgot it all again . Thank heavens for google.  Here are some pics from our hike, which was just a walk down a country lane – it is amazing the variety of stuff that can be seen just growing  along the side of the road.

The beach sunflower (helianthus debilis) is as pretty as any flower you would plant in your flower bed.

Beach sunflower.

These curious cycads, called Coontie plants, are fascinating. They have been around since before the time of dinosaurs (200 million give or take a couple of years) The coontie is dioecious which means the male and female cones form on separate plants.

Cones and fruit of the Zamia Floridana (Coontie plant.)

Almost looks like giant orange corn kernals.

I think these wildflowers are a type of clover. I didn’t record their name.

Pretty in pink.

As usual, I find the dead things just as interesting as the living:

Frondless palm.

The Florida coastal marshes can be quite beautiful if you can ignore the gators.

Palms near the gulf coast.

Our guide

Park warden.

had a very keen eye and pointed out many flowers I would never have noticed on my own. Can you see the white lily in this bog?

Believe me, it is a lot easier to see once you know it is there.

Is this a swamp lily or a spider lily? Only your botanist knows for sure.

This sweet acacia looks soft and fuzzy and you just want to reach out and pet it.

Sweet acacia flowers. This plant is rumoured to be a camel favourite in the middle east (thanks Sue for that tidbit).

But be careful – the bush has huge toothpick like thorns.

Beware – you could impale yourself on this one.

We saw more than just wildflowers. This pupae at first appeared to be a dry leaf on a roadside bush.

I’d hate to see what comes out of this case; it is at least an inch and a half long.

The only disappointment of the day was the privet berry. I already had one in my mouth before I was told that they are not poisonous.

These pretty berries have a big seed, very little juice and they taste like purple cardboard.

After seeing that I may be a risk to my own health,  I was advised that the next meeting of the Florida Native Plant Society will have a lecture on edible wild plants. I am excited to go.

© Judy Parsons 2016

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