TOTALLY NDR: FL isn't full of only things that will eat or poison you

[Dani]

Though, I do know that some of these are toxic, they are also beautiful.

I started taking pictures of the spring time flowers I ran across during turkey season. I thought they'd be pretty interspersed with my turkey posts but then I didn't make the posts like I had planned and didn't want to overload my turkey post with just flowers. So I thought, how about a post of just the flowers that I ran across during the spring? I had as much fun (overall...some of them have been frustrating) trying to ID the flowers in the afternoons after I got home as I did seeing them, though there are a few I have yet to ID.

Zephyr lilies aka Atamasco lilies aka Rain lilies

Confederate Jasmine

A native wild azalea, though I am unsure of the exact variety

A wild vining rose...I think this is Cherokee Rose...I would love this on my property in the back between me and my neighbors

Wisteria

These I was excited about because they were so pretty. I even took a cutting. Turns out it is a Tung Oil tree. Non-native and every part of it is toxic so the cutting got thrown in the garbage. But it sure is pretty.

Red clover and Rain Lilies....they make the sides of roads in the woods so pretty

Fringe Tree

Blue-eyed Grass...another favorite of mine. The blooms last only for a day from what I read.

A phlox of some variety

Stinging nettle

This one I was super excited about because it is a native Flame Azalea that I planted in my yard six years ago. It's the first time it has bloomed. I missed the main event, but was thrilled to see it had bloomed.

Bladder worts...a carnivorous plant

Sundew...another carnivore

Arrow Root

Wood Sorrel

Carolina Horsenettle...it is a nightshade and also toxic to mammals

Coral Honeysuckle

Honeysuckle

A flea bane I believe

Sneezeweed

Strawberries

A Crotalaria aka Rattlebox. I think a native one but not certain.

Pineland Water Willow

Common Venus Looking Glass

Yellow Milkwort

Orange Milkwort

Blue Toadflax

Starrush Whitetop

Savanna Iris (I think)

Innocence

Swamp Leather Flower

Butterfly weed or a milkweed of some variety

I think this is Sensitive Briar

Spiderwort

Indian Pink...a shade lover

These are a couple that I haven't yet figured out, so if anyone has thoughts on what they are, I am open to knowing....the tall stalk was about 5 feet tall.

Thought I'd share with y'all some things that won't actively try to kill or eat you [laugh]

Dani

 

[Pete McMiller]

Wow Dani, beautiful photos. Very nice job.

 

[Huntindave McCann]

Geeze, must be in the twilight zone this morning. Either that or the Ladies Garden Club. [w00t] [w00t]

Dani,
Thanks for sharing your photos. Back way back when I was still using 35mm film, I also took many picks of the flowers and insects on them. Natures beauty does indeed surround us.

 

[Nick Zito]

How many of those are poisonous though???

 

[roy brewington]

Beautiful pics. Can,t help but think every step i,d take along that road shoulder there would be a rattler hiding amongst the pretty plants!

 

[Eric Henry]

Wonderful pictures. Thank you for sharing. Nothing like this in California that I'm aware of, at this time. Everything is really beginning to brown up out here.

 

[Larry Eckart]

Dani,
How in the world do you know or find out the names of all these beautiful flowers?

It looks like spring is the time to be in Florida.

I certainly couldn't last a summer.

Larry

 

[Dani]

C'mon Dave....don't hate. I am just trying to help you out. You now know you have so many options of pretty and different flowers for a flower arrangement for your rotting out bowl you have been turning that you pilfered a chunk of from somewhere. Oh I mean punky bowl. Soooo you are welcome

Only a few of those are toxic but they won't hurt you unless you pop em in your mouth. Unlike the critters down here that prefer to pop people and other critters in THEIR mouths.

Larry, IDing many of those has been a challenge and I am not good enough at botany to get to specific species level on some of the plants. However, I can get close using a combination of sources. I have a paper ID book of eastern flowers, google images is a huge help, there are a few native Florida wildflower sites and when I have been in doubt, making posts elsewhere sometimes gets me close. My uncle lives in NC and he has been home convalescing and we have been sharing flowers back and forth. I found a really good native north carolina wildflower site. If you are interested, I can look through our texts and find the link for you.

Thanks y'all!

 

[Dani]

Oh yeah Larry, you might find FL summers bearable if you were on the coasts. Every time I cisit my mom in Jax or Debby in Cocoa, I remember how much cooler the coast is than Tallahassee only because of the constant sea breeze they have that I don't. Todays 87 in Cocoa was quite nice with the 12 mph wind.

 

[Jeff Reardon]

Oh yeah Larry, you might find FL summers bearable if you were on the coasts. Every time I cisit my mom in Jax or Debby in Cocoa, I remember how much cooler the coast is than Tallahassee only because of the constant sea breeze they have that I don't. Todays 87 in Cocoa was quite nice with the 12 mph wind.

For us northerners, there is no version of 87 degrees that is "quite nice", no matter what the sea breeze is doing. (I will say that 87 in Phoenix, AZ, was a much different animal than the 87's I have experienced in ME, MA, NJ, CT, FL, AL or MI.

The scariest climate change prediction I have seen is that by 2050 Maine might see as many 90 degree days as NJ does today. It makes me think it's time to migrate to Newfoundland or Iceland.

 

[Carl]

87 is a mild spring day down here!!

 

[Tony Young]

Love it! I found something really cool for identifying unknown plants (and animals) with my phone. It's an app called Seek - it uses your phone location and while you view the plant through the camera, it figures out what you're looking at. It's not 100% but it does pretty well. I've used it on hikes in the NC mountains where everything is new and different from the coast where I live.

 

[Dani]

Thanks Tony! I'll check it out.

Jeff, I have an aunt that agrees with you. In fact they are likely moving to Alaska to get away from the heat that they dealt with in MT and NM.

But 87 with a nice stiff breeze, some shade and an ice cold drink....add a fishing pole and some fish....not much finer. Though, if I am working outside in 87 I much much prefer waaaaaay cooler.

 

[Todd Duncan Tennyson]

Dani,

It looks like you have cornered the wildflower market down there.

Did you take those over a few weeks, or was that all from a single jaunt into the wild? So many species!

We've just transitioned into the Monsoon season over here in SE Asia. So we are seeing some new
types of flora that was in shutdown mode during the dry season.