by hoot-admin | Dec 12, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
Lichens are actually made up of a fungus and an algae growing together in a mutually beneficial relationship. The fungus gets water and minerals from the air and the material it is growing upon. It also provides structure and protection for the algae. The algae...
by hoot-admin | Dec 11, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
A mushroom, or toadstool, is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. Here’s a patch of decomposing mushrooms by the Alafia River. Source: Wikipedia Location: Alderman’s Ford Nature...
by hoot-admin | Dec 10, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
To call the unique railroad vine a fast growing ground cover is almost an understatement. Like a turbo-charged express train, it makes tracks so rapidly you can almost watch it grow. The other common name is Beach Morning Glory. This Florida native plant is in the...
by hoot-admin | Dec 8, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
Trinette Arboricola is one of the most-used landscaping plants in South Florida — easy to propagate, easy to grow, indifferent to many challenging circumstances, and growing happily in light conditions ranging from shade to sun. It serves as foundation...
by hoot-admin | Dec 7, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
The tropical hibiscus ‘Cherie’ offers sherbet orange flowers with deep rosy pink centers. Each ruffled golden orange petal transitions to rosy pink and then red towards the base. This medium sized tropical hibiscus is vigorous and blooms over an extended...
by hoot-admin | Dec 6, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
Cinnamon fern grows like a big shuttlecock from the ascending tips of thick, creeping semiwoody rhizomes. At first the fiddleheads are cinnamon brown and covered with a dense wooly pubescence, but the fronds turn pale green as they unfold and mature. Cinnamon fern is...
by hoot-admin | Dec 4, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
The longleaf pine is one of the largest and best-known southern yellow pines. History records indicate that some of the choicest stands of longleaf were set aside by the English Crown for the exclusive use of the British Navy. These trees were ideal for the masts and...
by hoot-admin | Dec 3, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
Cypress-vine is a very attractive twining morning-glory with smooth stems, lacy leaves and scarlet flowers. The flowers are tubular and flare out at the mouth into a five-pointed star. Cypress-vine is an excellent source of nectar for butterflies and hummingbirds....
by hoot-admin | Nov 30, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
A vigorous twining vine, the native trumpet honeysuckle has delicate but striking trumpet-shaped crimson blooms set against a background of dark green, smooth leaves. The flowers are particularly attractive to hummingbirds but are not fragrant. Evergreen in Florida,...
by hoot-admin | Nov 29, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
Rice button aster is the most common and widespread aster native to Florida. Rice button aster is a perennial, but in winter, it goes dormant, emerging again as a dense rosette of leaves on the ground when warm weather returns. In South Florida, blooms will begin to...
by hoot-admin | Nov 28, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
There is no better harbinger of fall than goldenrods. Their bright yellow blooms can be spectacular and their generally robust nature makes them stand out wherever they occur. These blooms are excellent nectar sources for pollinating insects. No garden should be...
by hoot-admin | Nov 25, 2017 | The Year in Flowers
St. Andrew’s Cross is a common St. John’s Wort with flowers that have only four petals. The petals of this Florida native are arranged in an “X” pattern, where the petals are not equidistant from each other. Source: Native Florida Wildflowers...
