Since moving to St. George Island (just South of Apalachicola, Florida) in January, 2021, Deb and I have spent many hours, many days visiting our local Dr. Julian G. Bruce State Park, which occupies the east end of the island. Deb dedicates herself to walks the beaches, covering miles each day.
I stroll the beach also, but frequently Deb will drop me off at near the far East end of public access, at Sand Hill Campground which features the origin of Gap Point Trail. This is a broad path leading to a primitive campsite at the north end of the spit, but the important feature for me is the East Slough Trail, which takes off from Gap Point Trail, making a loop back to the West. Following East Slough for about a mile along and through bayside marshes, walkers arrive at picnic shelters that mark the lot where the beach, the car, and eventually Deb, await.
We’ve travelled extensively since settling on the Island, but return here after each voyage, managing to spend most of the year on St. George. During the months we are on the Island, we’ve made scores of visits to the Park, and I’ve posted many TikTok videos that record my plant encounters, documenting my own learning curve (which remains at a beginner’s level). This means my pace is not that of a hike, rather the halting progress of exploration. I’ve become very familiar with the landscape, so familiar with elements along the path that individual plants are acquaintances. I visit them regularly, checking in, wondering how they’re faring. Who’s in flower or in fruit, increasing, or in decline? Just coming to identify the players has been challenging. But for availability of some core resources, that would be even more difficult. The Wunderlin & Hansen Guide, Clewell’s Panhandle flora, and the Hammer wildflower book have been crucial (see Citations at the end of the page). Perhaps even more importantly, you have access (wherever there’s WiFi or a cell signal) to a remarkable resource, the ISB Atlas of Florida Plants, which documents all plants recorded in our flora, including common names, synonyms, photographs, distribution maps, and herbarium specimens. Importantly, for this particular topic, a crucial document supporting my enlightenment has been a Checklist for Plants of Saint George Island State Park, created several years ago by FSU Botanist Loran Anderson.
In imagining how I might share what I learn during those experiences, in some way interpret this nature walk, it occurs to me there are various formats that might be useful, from taxonomic, to geographic, to seasonal.
It makes sense, therefore, to group information and short video clips based on different approaches. 1) Immediately below I’m posting orientation videos, clips that show you something about the trail system (a loop of about 1.5 miles), listed from East to West. 2: Following that, there is a Seasonal section with links based on month of the year. 3) Finally, there’s a Plant Atlas, which includes information, still photos, and videos of the various plants you might encounter (organized by plant family)
Walking the Gap Point & East Slough Trails (East to West, from the Campground)
Walking the East Slough Trails(West to East, from the Beach Picnic Shelter Parking Lot)
SEASONS: Some visitors will come this way only once in their lifetimes, on a given day destiny determined, in a given Season. That’s led me to the seasonal concept, posting links to a selection of TikTok videos organized by the month they were filmed, inter leafing the years sequentially by date. Yes, each year is somewhat different, plant life on a date in one year does not replicate what you might encounter that same date the succeeding year. But daylength is the same on any particular calendar date each year, and plants are masters of daylength, so I accept the annual calendar as a solid base. That means we start in January, named for Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, marching then through the twelve months. Here, you can JumpTo: Months on the Nature Trail: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December. Epilogue. The Beach: A Sampler of Beachfront walks. The Area: Some plants along area waysides. An Atlas of Plants you may encounter in the Park. References
JANUARY
January, here on the Gulf Coast, holds some promise of Spring. The days have become perceptibly longer, and we may have made it to this point without a freeze. But one solid freeze seems mandatory each winter, a cold night or two in December, January, or even February, with temperatures bottoming out around 25 F. That usually wipes the autumnal slate pretty clean, leaving certain annuals skeletonized, ensuring final disappearance of sparse fall color (Poison Ivy, Aronia, etc.), and welcoming full color for fleshy fruit, such as orange-red berries of Ilex vomitoria and the glossy-black version of Ilex glabra. Rather than attempting to describe the scene further, I’ll show you what I find through links that take you to TikTok video posts here in the chronology, but with added still photos in the Atlas.
2 January – 2023: Winter, such as it is: Winter on St. George – checking out the State Park on 2 January 2023. Loran Anderson: Grieving over the death of Loran Anderson, a congenial and effective communicator regarding everything to do with plants in North Florida. I only wish I had more than just a few forays with him. End of the Chrysoma season: A plant of Chrysoma that yet maintains freshness in leaves of flowering stems. Check out the next video that shows the later stages. Going to Fruit: Following on the previous video, here (more in the open) we see Chrysoma plants that are further along in the die-back of flowering stems. Frostweed: Crocanthemum, already in flower at the start of the New Year (2 January) here in the State Park on St. George Island. These plants went through a solid freeze just over a week ago.
26 January – In 2025, I posted several videos: Turpentine harvest: Slash pines were used for turpentine harvest decades ago. The nails you see are aged relics on which workers hung Herty Pots, terracotta vessels that collected resin for processing. Ilex glabra: In the shrubby understory of open pine forest on St. George Island, we find Ilex glabra in full fruit, and Fetterbush, Lyonia lucida, already in flower. Quercus geminata: Oaks in the Pine understory, St George Island. Aronia: A small colony of the Rosaceous, open shrub Aronia – state park on St. George Island. Marsh Daisy: The daisy, Symphyotrichum tenuifolium, flowering and fruiting among the black rushes of marshes in the state park on St. Heorge Island. Baccahris: Final fruiting stage of Baccharis halimifolia, one of few dioecious composites – growing at the edges of marshes. St. George Island. Salt-water Baccharis: Baccharis angustifolia, which grows in salty water around marshes. Nearby is the more common Baccharis halimifolia (I know I continue to say “hamilifolia”, but it is truly halimifolia.) Yaupon: Ilex vomitoria is a common shrub here on St. George Island, and along the coast
FEBRUARY
MARCH
9 March – 2023: Ilex vomitoria at the beginning of flowering in the State Park on St. George Island. It’s dioecious, so pistillate flowers (female) are borne on separate shrubs from the staminate (male) flowers. Blackberries: Rubus, in various stages of flowering, in the State Park on St. George Island. Blue-eyed Grass: Sisyrinchium, called Blue-eyed Grass, is a group of New World plants in the Iris family.. You can see the 3 fused stamens ringing the style. Nature Collective suggests these plants would better be named “yellow-eyed non-grass” Dwarf Milkwort: Encountering a few isolated specimens of Polygala nana. If (like me) you wonder why this chartreuse-yellow Polygala is called “nana” while a bright orange one is “lutea”, we find that Linnaeus named Polygala lutea, including the plant in his 1753 Species Plantarum. That means he likely never saw that plant with fresh flowers, and also never saw this one. So he wouldn’t have known there were more truly yellow-flowered species. A half-century later, Michaux described and published this plant, the dwarf “nana”, as a variety of “lutea”. Later yet, de Candolle elevated “nana” to the specific level. It’s also called Candyroot because when chewed there’s said to be a licorice flavor – but it isn’t really edible, and might be an emetic. The seed are ant dispersed.
14 March – 2022 – Vaccinium: A compact Vaccinium in full flower on St. George Island. Note the narrow, longish urceolate corolla, with a tiny fringe made by the 5 lobes. Yaupon: Ilex vomitoria coming into flower – probably a male plant. Remember Ilex are dioecious- bearing pollinate and pistillate flowers in separate plants. Horrid Thistle: Cirsium horridulum, Horrid or Bull Thistle, is said to be native to the Eastern US, though it behaves like a weed. Blackberries: In this Rubus flower, partially obscured by stamens, you still can see the globular green pistils with their long green styles. Poison Ivy flowers: People have differing levels of reaction to Poison Ivy – thankfully, I show very little response to brushing against stems and foliage. and I did scrub down with water and sand from an adjacent puddle. Oak flowers: An oak comes into flower – so far I found no female flowers, but will check the tree again to see if any can be found. Bayberry flowers: Yesterday at the State Park, St George Island. Myrica is in bloom, and these are pollen-bearing flowers (male). The pistillate flowers are typically borne on separate plants.
17 March – 2022: Yaupon, Male flowers: Staminate (male, pollen-bearing) flowers of Ilex vomitoria. Being dioecious, this shrub will bear only male flowers. Check out the following video to see flowers on a female shrub. Yaupon, Female Flowers: Female Ilex vomitoria flowers. Note the pistil with its plump, green ovary and golden stigmas. Frostweed: Keys will ask you to check abaxial leaf surfaces, in that vestiture (hairs) is an important key character for Crocanthemum in contemporary treatments (Helianthemum in older treatments). Anderson identifies this plant as C. corymbosum (Cistaceae) Smilax tendrils: A neat Smilax that’s common in our area generates paired tendrils from the leaf petioles – a fascinating morphology.
APRIL
4 April – 2023: Shrubs: Exploring, understory, evergreen shrubs on Saint George Island. Here we see the end of flowering of Lyonia lucida, and the very beginning of flowering for Ilex glabra, two of the common evergreen understory shrubs here in the isolated pine forest at the State Park. Others are Myrica cerifera, Baccharis (B. halimifolia & B. angustifolia, both nearer to salt water), Ceratiola, Ilex vomitoria, and Vaccinium. Dwarf Blueberry: The absence of stipitate glands on abaxial leaf surfaces marks this as Vaccinium darrowii, according to current keys. Blackroot: Pterocaulon pycnostaychium (Blackroot) is readily identified by decurrent leaf tissue coursing down the stems, alternating as dark green adaxial and white-hairy reflecting the abaxial leaf surface. The heads are are arranged in this spike-like condensed inflorescence, producing disk flowers only. Gallberry flowers: At the South end of the ‘Nature Trail’ a cluster of Ilex glabra with flowers opening – a bit ahead of the population we saw just a mile away (near the campground). Note the variable “merosity” of the petals (as well as sepals, stamens, and carpels), with ondividual flowers bearing 5 to 7 of each part (that is, 5-merous, 6-merous, 7-merous).
5 April – 2022 – Lyonia: Named for Scottish plantsman and specialist in American flora John Lyon, has that typical urceolate Ericaceous flower type, producing dry capsular fruit. This plant keys to Lyonia lucida, the most common species in our region. Oak pollen: You’ll need to inspect emerging oak branches carefully to identify the bare pistils that will mature as acorns following pollination and fertilization by wind-borne pollen. Turpentine Harvesting: Slash Pine was a major resource for the Naval Stores industry, as a source of resin for extraction of turpentine that was used for wood preservation and treatment, and even for other purposes – like medical treatments
7 April – 2023: Chrysoma and Polygonella (Polygonum): Checking out the character of two perennials in the SGI state park dunes. This video splices in footage from the previous fall flowering of Chrysoma pauciflosculosa (in November) and also the October flowering and fruiting Polygonella polygama (Polygonum polygamum). When I recorded the fall images of October Weed (Polygonum), I wasn’t focusing on the fact that these plants are dioecious, which means one plant will make only male (staminate) flowers, while the other will make female (pistillate) flowers. So the fruiting plant I showed is likely distinct even when the pistils are not yet enlarging.
9 April – 2022. Royal Fern: Regal, or Royal Fern, Osmunda regalis (spectabilis), is common in the wet habitats over on the mainland, but it’s uncommon to encounter sas uch a beautifully developed specimen here on St George Island. Bayside Marshes: Panning the view from this boardwalk path, you see the hind dune (the beach is just to the far side of that), the narrow sliver of forest, and the the marsh that is part of the bay and the estuarine reserve. Stinging Spurge: Cnidoscolus stimulosus will send you flying for relief. The name, derived from Greek for “nettle thorn”, is well applied. It’s a New World genus of about 100 species. Oak pistillate flowers: A Live Oak rife with developing acorns at the State Park on St. George Island. Smilax growth forms: Smilax showing two differing morphologies – one compact and densely branches, the other cane-like with extremely long tendrils. Both produce inflorescences, but the compact growth is much more prolific in that regard. Pan View Dune to Forest: Dune structure and plant establishment are well-studied and highly predictable for Coastal Plain barrier islands. The biology of Coastal Plain beaches is rich and fascinating. Blackberries or Dewberries?: Fruit are beginning to ripen, so this might be Rubus seed. A simple comparison with samples could lead to conclusions, or you could plant the seed to see what comes up! Some biologists specialize in identifying seed, for ecological and for archaeological studies
22 April – 2022: Male Smilax flowers: Smilax, all male flowers (same plant as filmed a few days ago). Stay tuned – this is the first of theee clips. Descriptions confirm Smilax to be dioecious, thus you expect a single plant to have all male (staminate) flowers. But to encounter only staminate flowers, plant after plant, is bewildering. Smilax female: Finally a cluster of pistillate flowers. This umbel of female flowers (though surrounded by a separate vine with clusters of male flowers) is surely on a vine with other female flowers, since it Smilax is dioecious. That means we expect each separate plant to produce only male (staminate) or female (pistillate) flowers. This tangle of vines must include at least one female. Smilax flowers: Comparing male and female flowers “Following up on this male/female Smilax issue. Here we see both kinds of flowers together. Smilax, again: a vine with several clusters of female flowers. Smilax is dioecious, which means you encounter plants with only male flowers and others that bear only female flowers (therefore, these are the fruiting individuals) Anecdotally, from very scant observation, it seems the St. George Island populations are the overwhelmingly male. Only through diligent search do I encounter plants bearing female flowers. Gallberry flowers: Gallberry (Ilex glabra) appears to vary from the script. I seem to encounter plants that are strictly dioecious but others that are monoecious (plants showing both staminate and pistillate flowers.) The foliage is quite tidy, like an open, loose boxwood. The plant is native throughout coastal Eastern North America, and strikes me as the most common understory shrub in our region (by aspect at least). Check the 26 January videos to see mature fruit.
26 April – 2022: Smilax female flowers: Yet another encounter with pistillate Smilax flowers. Remember, this plant is dioecious, so a single plant will produce umbels of flowers that are either all pistillate (female) or staminate (male). I continue to record them, hoping for some devine inspiration that will help me understand their innate taxonomies. Gallberries, uneaten: Last year’s crop of Gallberries (Ilex glabra) seems untouched. This current year’s crop of Dewberries is consumed as quickly as the fruit mature. But the various kinds of holly berries remain on the bushes. They must not be highly desirable.
28 April – 2022: Pterocaulon – Blackroot: “Pterocaulon pycnostachyum, a native member of the daisy family that defies the typical look. Each element embedded in the hairs is a cluster of disk flowers – a capitulum in daisy terms. Yaupon, Young fruit: Ilex vomitoria is distinctly dioecious- fruit being produced on shrubs that bore pistillate flowers only, while other individuals produced strictly staminate (male) flowers.
MAY
6 May – 2022: Borrichia: Borrichia frutescens (Sea Daisy) is just coming into flower. You can find plants growing at land’s edge, adjacent to marshes, rooted in salt-water soil.”
9 May – 2023: “False Rosemary” is a name given to the several species of Conradina, a mint native to the Southeastern US. Two species occur in our area, the widespread Conradina canescens, with a surface texture that is greyed by epidermal hairs (the meaning of the term canescent) and Conradina glabra, a rare variant that is more glabrous (lacking hairs). The foliage and flowers resemble those of Rosemary, but lack that characteristic fragrance. Moreover, Conradina flowers have 4 stamens, while Rosemary flowers bear only two. (Note: Rosemary, often treated in its own genus, is now treated in the genus Salvia.) Hypericum cistifolium: Records show over 20 Hypericum species native to Franklin County. This particular taxon, which has begun to flower over the past 2 weeks, matches descriptions and ISB Plant Atlas images of Hypericum cistifolium. It has a slim, woody stem, rounded, oblong-lanceolate leaves with entire, revolute margins and a prominent keeled adaxial main vein, 5 leafy, unequal sepals, 5 petals, and a trifid stigma. The Seashore Mallow, Kosteletskya pentacarpos, just coming into bloom on St. George Island. Dodder: Encountering a small colony of what seems to be Five-angled Dodder, Cuscuta pentagona (Cuscuta campestris). It’s a parasitic member of the Morning Glory family. A nice pink Conradina: Sharing another specimen of Conradina canescens, this one with a deeper pink color to the corolla.
15 May – 2023: Swallowwort: Hard to keep track of the name of this plant. I first learned it as Seitera, then found it was Cynanchum angustifolium. Small even included it in Pursh’s genus Lyonia (which is invalid, that name taken by the Ericaceous Lyonia). Now I’m learning to call it Pattalias palustre. A main goal of Scientific Nomenclature is to stabilize names for plants, but the common name, Gulf Coast Swallowwort, has proven more stable. Rhexia nashii: First encounter with the lovely Rhexia nashii on Saint George Island. This is growing at the edge of a reticulated ephemeral pond that actually has standing water during wet spells. The soil is still a bit boggy, even though we’ve gone 3 weeks without significant rainfall. Blueberries: Vaccinium (as well as Gaylussacia and Lyonia) sprout anew and aggressively from roots and basal stems following fire in the pine flatwoods. It reminds me of some of the manzanitas (Arctostaphylos) in SoCal, the ones with burls that allow them to resprout following fire. Sand Live Oak: Quercus geminata is one of many Southern plants described and named by John Kunkel Small, famous for his prodigious work with plants of the Southeast, and not forgotten in Florida due to his environmental book From Eden to Sahara: Florida’s Tragedy. A Strict Goldenrod: The simplest Solidago to key is this one, Solidago stricta. The dichotomies rely on foliage characters, with the plant being glabrous a significant characteristic.
30 May – 2023: Poison Ivy: Poison Ivy shows juvenille (vining) and mature (shrubby, flowering) in the local forests. Curiously (I believe due to greater soil moisture), the patch of Pine forest along the west end of East Slough Trail is densely vegetated by Poison Ivy, whereas one hardly encounters this plant in the drier forest closer to Sand Hill campground. Atlantic St. John’s Wort: Hypericum tenuifolium, just a few plants at the trailhead in Sand Hill campsite (later I would discover a large colony south of the campground, populating the inter-dunal areas.) A very similar specimen collected and identified by Godfrey as H. reductum was annotated by Hansen as H. tenuifolium. Godfrey’s 1988 collection was collected at a site recently cleared and posted for sale. It’s about 4 miles from that site (as the Gull flies across the bay) to the SGI state park, where this plant grows. The Wunderlin & Hansen key suggests it’s low and matted, bearing somewhat large fruit, suggesting simliarity to and confusion with H. brachyphyllum. Later I encountered large swaths of H. tenuifolium along ancient dunes near the coast, in Tate’s Hell – not far from the spot Godfrey made his collection.
JUNE
30 June – 2022: Polygala: There are a few freshwater swales on St George Island, amazingly close to marshlands. They harbor small populations of some plants we associate with wet pine flatwoods over on the mainland.
JULY
1 July – 2022: Sea Oats: “Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata) seem to flower less synchronously than I imagine. Let me know if you are aware of populational or reproductive studies that could provide more info. Kosteletskya: Kosteletskya virginica population outliers near a larger cluster in a marshy area (see the next video). If you accept this North American plant as conspecific with its European doppelganger, it is K. pentacarpos. More Kosteletskya: Great to see a larger population of Kosteletskya in a marsh at the state park on SGI. Dodder: Cuscuta (Dodder) is a parasitic flowering plant in the same family with Morning Glory. There are over 200 soecies worldwide (both temperate tropical regions) Sand Squares: Sand Squares: (Paronychia, in the Carnation family) show up on open, sandy soils. Amazing how tough they are when they appear so fragile.
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER
7 September -2022: Ilex vomitoria fruit: Developing while green all summer, fruit are are turning red now. Butterflies visiting Conradina: Heliconids (Dione) in droves, visiting flowers of Conradina canescens in the State Park forest on St. George Island. Black Senna: Seymeria (probably S. cassioides) colonies in pine flatwoods with Conradina canescens and other associates. Note the tightly clusters stamens, with the white, curved style projecting from below.
OCTOBER
14 October – 2022: View of the Forest from outside: The Saint George Island state park allows access to a range of island habitat types. Random Forest plants: A mid-October browse through the ancient dune forest along bayside in the state park on Saint George Island, FL. So many great flowers for what is truly autumn. Chapman’s Liatris: It’s just a bit surprising to find a Liatris (usually L. chapmanii) thriving in deep dune sands, but this plant (and the far-inland near relative L. provencialis) thrives in exposed, sandy habit, here near the shore as well as on the mainland. October Flower: What a delightful plant. Interestingly, it actually holds reasonably well as a cutflower. I call it Polygonella polygama, but the ISB has sunken the taxon into Polygonum, thus giving the awkward binomial Polygonum polygamum.” Muhlenbergia?: An awkward challenge. It’s a grass, with what appear to be awns. But Wunderlin & Hansen key Muhlenbergia separately from Aristida based on absence vs presence of awns, while Taylor’s Guide to Florida Grasses clearly gifts M. capillaris with awns. Let me know!” Beardgrass: At least Andropogon, which when fully mature can look like a bearded mannequin (so the name derivation, ie bearded man, is not so bizarre), is identifiable to genus. After that, however, bets are off.
21 October – 2022: Goldenrod: Large stands of Goldenrod (Solidage stricta) populate swales amid ancient hind dunes here on Saint George Island, complemented by purple-pink mists of Muhlenbergia capillaris. How do the flowers know that yellow and purple play so well together? Swallowwort: So ISB tells us that the plant we’ve all called Cynanchum angustifolium must now be called Pattalias palustre (because of nomenclatures issues). Watson does not tell us as the reason he coined Pattalias as a generic name. Umberto Quattrocchi (in his World Dictionary of Plant Names) tells us the term refers to a Greek word that describes the prickly antlers of a 2yr stag, or the “prickett” which is the spike that holds a candle upright. “Palustre” refers to a swamp. It’s not “hamilifolia”: So it isn’t witch hazel (Hamamelis) that the leaves of Baccharis resemble, rather a European Saltbush (which was called Halimus) – thus the name Baccharis halimifolia. I continue to fall into this confusion. Fall Flowering: Solidago stricta (perhaps) goes nicely with Liatris chapmanii and Muhlenbergia capillaris here between the old hind dunes on St. George Island” More Thoughts on Fall Flowering: Take 2 on thoughts about flowering of Solidago stricta, Liatris chapmanii, and Muhlenbergia capillaris in the St. George Island bayside interdunal swales. Fritillaries? I did see the Fritillaries visiting Solidago, but in locations where the Liatris isn’t present. Back with Sandspurs: A simple hack to avoid bloodshed and pinpoint pain when removing sandspurs from clothing
NOVEMBER
13 November – 2022: Woody Goldenrod: Following a trail in the Florida State Park near sunset on Saint George Island, headed to check out some populations of Autumn’s gold-flowered Woody Goldenrod, Chrysoma pauciflosculosa. Another patch of Woody Goldenrod: Peak flowering for a glory of the hind dunes, Chrysoma pauciflosculosa. This daisy might have just a few florets per head, but it makes generous panicles rich with those flowering heads. Beach Goldenrod: Solidago stricta is coming into fruit throughout the Florida Panhandle. This Goldenrod is typically wand-like, with flowering (and therefore fruiting) heads appearing somewhat “secund” – which means the flowers form a line along one side of the stem – like bristles of a brush or teeth of a comb. Baccharis fruit: Just now, in mid-November, it’s so obvious that Baccharis is widely present because the massive seed crop makes for a beautiful display. Each flower generates a 1-seeded fruit (all daisies make this kind of fruit, termed an “achene”) that has a parachute-capable pappus – a plume of bristles that allows the fruit to take to the breezes. Muhlenbergia in the wind: Thinking about Grasses and their harnessing of wind for both pollination and seed dispersal, you have be impressed at the level of productivity achieved. But watching videos of recent hurricanes, one has to note that the palms are the last trees to suffer (yes, I recognize large palms as trees).
Ceratiola – what a great plant! There have been several studies on life history of Ceratiola, but it remains an under-recognized shrub. I’m hoping to learn more about them. They are dioecious, and are considered allelopathic. But I haven’t encountered good diagrams of floral and fruit structure. Conradina flower size: Some fairly brazen speculation about flowering of Conradina canescens here in the Florida Panhandle. What a fine plant; what a tough little plant!” Andropogon: Interesting to me that three of the largest families of flowering plants (the grasses, the asters, and the orchids) rely heavily on wind dispersal of seed. Of course there are many grains and asters harvested and dispersed by animals. I know from personal experience that using unsterilized, uncomposted cow manure is asking for a weed bomb. Chrysoma in the Gloaming: Enjoying Chrysoma in the gloaming. What a remarkable plant that crests these ancient hind dunes, and seems abundant on the sun-facing side of more recent hind dunes also.
20 November – 2021: Yaupon: Ilex vomitoria. “Ilex vomitoria (Yaupon) is one of two native hollies that produce caffeine. Used historically for brewed teas, it doesn’t readily induce vomiting…” Woody Goldenrod: Monarchs on Chrysoma pauciflosculosa Marauded by Monarchs”, as well as the common Buckeye butterfly. False Rosemary: Conradina canescens. Endemic to the FL Panhandle, this frail-seeming mint (Conradina canescens) is ever-present in St George Island pine woodlands” Slash Pine: Marshes and Slash Pine. “ Slash Pine, bordering salt marsh on the bay side of St George Island. A large colony of pines was killed by saltwater from Hurricane Michael (2018)”
Epilogue: As you likely noticed, every month isn’t represented. That means fleshing out the year becomes a challenge. But I’ve gained a new respect for tredding the same path repeatedly, and look forward to days not yet experienced. Nature never repeats; it is truly a new world each foray, which means just understanding the basis for changing patterns holds lessons of its own.
Without running ecological transects or setting out plots, I’m not in a position to document any shift abundance, but there is my very anecdotal observation that the understory along East Slough Trail is more lush now than when I first began my walks in 2021. There is a chance this shift relates to observations by Thomas Miller’s FSU team, which suggest the fresh-water horizon on SGI is higher now, floating on an underbelly of salt water intrusion that’s constantly rising with the surrounding sea level. But I’ve also come to wonder if what I’m encountering is understory recovery post-Michael. During that hurricane in October, 2018, much of Saint George Island was underwater. The toll on plant life was most obvious in inter-dunal areas where young pines died, their roots saturated too long in salt water. But there must have been impact along the bayside, knocking back growth of plants no as tolerant as the marsh flora. A few years later, and colonies of perennials will have bounced back – maybe.
ON THE BEACH SIDE:
APRIL
4 April – 2022: Atriplex seedling: If you check back to 16 July in my 2021 postings, you’ll see how extensive these Atriplex seedlings were the previous year. I haven’t seen them return to that level of abundance.
MAY
2 May – 2022: Hydrocotyle: Sliding along the boardwalk through a beach dune in order to get a close look at Hydrocotyle bonariensis and Physalis angustifolia
6 July – 2022: Heterotheca flowers: Flowering profusely along beach dunes on St. George you’ll find nice specimens of the yellow daisy Heterotheca subaxillaris (called Camphorweed). Heterotheca fruit: Following up on the previous post, here we see the differential fruit, with a pappus (the bristly plume) on disk flower fruit and fruit of ray flowers lacking a pappus.
AROUND THE ISLAND and even into Eastpoint
APRIL
1 April – 2022: Verbena halei on US 98. Verbenas (incl. the related genus Glandularia, with its salverform flowers), Clovers, Geraniums, etc. sparkle among flowering grasses in the spring road shoulder – awaiting the blade. Blue flowers: Tradescantia mass flowering. “Spiderwort (seemingly Tradescantia ohiensis) is a captivating herb, the genus named for famed gardener and natural history collector John Tradescant the Elder. and the species named for the Ohio region. Black Medic: I believe the three clover-like plants on weedy St. George Island verges are Medicago lupulina (Black Medic, the small, prostrate plant with yellow flwrs), Melilotus indica (Sour Clover, a 1-2’ tall herb with racemes of small yellow flwrs), and Melilotus alba (White Sweet Clover, an herb reaching 3-4 feet).
6 April – 2022: Sisyrinchium: “Sisyrinchium angustifolium (a regional name for related plants called S. atlanticum further north) blankets mowed roadsides, suggesting the treatment and scheduling benefit their lifestyle. Medicago lupulina: Some clarification on the clover relative, Medicago lupulina – commonly called Black Medic. Note the cluster of curved fruit turn black at maturity. Medicago polymorpha: “And now we have some clarity on the other look-alikes. Until I learn otherwise, I’m pegging this very similar plant as the common Burr Clover, Medicago polymorpha. There are other possibilities, most prominently M. minima (which has entire stipules). Comparing Burr Clovers: Here they are together – Medicago lupulina and M. polymorpha. How, in mixed populations, do these related plants maintain such clear identity? What is the isolating mechanism? Is it pollination biology or could there be incompatibilities, such as sterility barriers?
7 April – 2022: Beach Sunflower: “The Golden Orb for Best All-Around goes to Helianthus debilis, the Beach Sunflower locally known as “Innocence”. This charming, low mounding near-shrub thrives on hind-dunes given over to housing, where it flowers year around. Lepidium: “Thanks to Jacob Jernigan for help in identifying this little mustard. I thought it might be Capsella (Shepherd’s Purse), but Jacob convinced me this is the related genus Lepidium. Even when they fall on a wayside, these mustard seed survive
MAY
4 May – 2022: Grass: Getting my head around grasses. This seems to be Lolium, but I’ll need to reverse engineer the Keys to understand what it is and why. Knocking at the door of a mysterious world.
6 May – 2022:Grass. OK – I can see how a botanist could fall for grasses – and become an Agrostologist. Sand Vetch: (Vicia acutifolia) is a very finely-textured vine that hangs onto light stems, reeds, and grasses for support. Sagittaria: Sagittaria is separated from Echinodorus as being monoecious (having separate male and female flowers), versus the perfect (male & female) flowers you’ll discover in Echinodorus.
9 May – 2022: Air Potato: The highly-invasive Air Potato Vine (Dioscorea bulbifera) climbs luxuriantly along a weedy edge by the bay on Apalachicola. Trailing along the ground below is the weedy Wedelia (now called Sphagneticola). Physostegia: Physostegia purpurea (Savannah Obedient Plant) makes nice stands in sunny, wet areas. It’s in the Mint Family, with characteristic square stems, opposite leaves, and zygomorphic corollas. Cattails, Eastpoint: Saururus cernuus will often be found growing with Typha, loving wet soil, even shallow standing water. Both are readily recognized and were known to early botanists, which means each plant was known to Linnaeus and carries a Linnaean name. Typha pollen is edible, sometimes called “Swamp Gold
10 May – 2022. Canna flaccida: Canna flaccida is Florida’s sole native Canna, with light yellow flowers that open in the evening and fade in the warmth of sunlight the following day. Cannas have a single fertile stamen, only half of which develops as anther, the rest being petaloid. The style is thick, waxy, and petaloid. Loments of Desmodium: Desmodiums (the native D. paniculatum as compared to the introduced and weedy D. incanum) produce legumes (pods) that break into 1-seeded segments – and are, therefore, called “loments”. Blue Flowers in our yard: Unrelated plants with similar coloration…. It’s difficult to describe flower colors, which are multi-tonal, of varied hue, and appear so very different in reflected vs. transmitted lighting
JUNE
11 June – 2022: Hibiscus at the house: Polllination and Fertilization. Perhaps I fumbled the wording – the two “gametes” (rhe sperm nucleus and the egg nucleus) unite to form the diploid “zygote” – which is the first cell of the new generation, the cell that becomes the embryo inside the seed.
Hibiscus ovary. A follow-up to the previous video, showing the “superior” ovary, which is only visible once we remove petals and the base of the androphore (the tubular column formed by the united stamen filaments.
12 June – 2022: Crinum americium: Back after a month’s absence, checking on plants that should be coming into flower.. Here we see a lovely Crinum americanum and a population of Kosteletzkya, still present, but challenged by rapid development on the Island.
24 June – 2022: Play on Pink: Crinum americanum. A play on Pink along the East edge of our yard here on St. George Island. The white Crinum, with its red-pink filaments is a showstopper in front of the Kosteletskya, bearing elegantly soft pink corollas, accented by the Sabatia, with deep pink petals that merge to share a chartreuse eyespot. Crinum americium: “As mentioned in the previous post, here are the two Crinum buds the day of their opening. The buds developed pointing straight upward, and only this day had they repositioned.
27 June – 2023: The Scarlet Hibiscus: One of our most striking shrubs, Hibiscus coccineus. Each flower is a gift for the day. Gone tomorrow, the impact is seen on quickly-debeloping fruit
JULY
24 July – 2022: Quercus geminata: Quercus geminata (in this example) is distinguished by a tendency to form acorns in pairs, thus the reason for the specific epithet “geminata”, which tells us something is twinned
AUGUST
8 August – 2022: Resurrection Fern: Southern Live Oaks along the coast support a good cover of Pleopeltis (Polypodium) polypodioides , one of many plants called Resurrection Fern
SEPTEMBER
11 September – 2022: Beggar Ticks: Bidens alba, a Composite that is both common and easily identified. Flowering year around, this daisy is common along road shoulders and other disturbed areas. Poor Joe: Diodia virginiana (2 sepals), compared to the ver.y similar Hexasepalum teres (4 sepals), and the somewhat more distinctive Spermacoce prostrata (with hairy, splitting fruit). Thanks to Jacob Jernigan for help with sorting out the species.
13 September – 2022: Pectis: Our SGI Mowed Meadow supports a fairly rich flora of tiny plants that seem to thrive under the rule of mechanical blades. This compact daisy (Pectis prostrata) carpets sections of verges in late summer. Under a lens, you’ll see the mating of each modestly-ligulate floret to an involucral bract. Even being so singular in appearance, it’s still difficult to get to the genus using a family key. Rust Weed: The tiny Rust Weed (so called because plants turn rusty in color at maturity & death) is distinct enough to hang out in a classification netherworld (in a tiny family Tetrachondraceae) that’s one of over a score of others in the Lamiales. Those more distant relatives include mints, scrophs, verbanes, and bignons. But Polypremum is a Cinderella – “in my own little corner in my own little chair….”; Scoparia: A selection of some tiny plants that populate the Mowed Meadows of our road shoulders. The introduced yellow-flowered Scoparia dulcis (Plantaginaceae), the native Portulaca pilosa (Portulacaceae, in the Caryophyll order with cacti and pokeweed), the Rubiaceous Hexasepalum teres. (which is in the Gentian order, not the mints), and two plants in the Lamiales (the mint order): the white Polypremum procumbens and the pale lavender Phyla nodiflora.
OCTOBER
26 October – 2022: The Greeter: A misshapen but welcoming & berry-laden Ilex vomitoria beckons visitors to the entry (and best known sunset viewing location) of Saint George Island.
PLANT ATLAS
FERNS
APOCYNACEAE – the Dogbane family
ASTERACEAE – the Composites, i.e. Daisies
CISTACEAE
CLUSIACEAE
CONVOLVULACEAE – the Morning Glories and Bindweeds
ERICACEAE
FAGACEAE
LAMIACEAE – the Mints
MELASTOMATACEAE
OROBANCHACEAE
SOLANACEAE
REFERENCES:
Clewell, Andre F., 1993. Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Florida Panhandle, Florida State University Press, Tallahassee.
Hammer, Roger L., 2018. Complete Guide to Florida Wildflowers, Falcon Guides.
Wunderlin, Richard P. and Bruce F. Hansen, 2011. Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida, University of Florida Press, Gainesville.
Link to this Page: https://botanyincontext.com/seasons-on-the-sgi-nature-walk/