Toxicodendron radicans thru Vitis rotundifolia

Species Name	Common Name
Toxicodendron radicans	Poison Ivy
Tradescantia spathacea	Oysterplant / Moses-in-the-Cradle
Trichostema dichotomum	Forked Bluecurls
Tripsacum dactyloides	Fakahatchee Grass / Eastern Gamagrass
Typha domingensis	Southern Cat-tail
Urena lobata	Caesar Weed
Urochloa maxima	Guinea Grass
Vaccinium myrsinites	Shiny Blueberry
Vicia acutifolia	Sand Vetch / Fourleaf Vetch
Vigna luteola	Hairy Cowpea
Vitis rotundifolia	Muscadine Grape / Southern Fox Grape / Scuppernong

 

 

Toxicodendron radicans Poison Ivy Toxicodendron radicans is a deciduous, woody, perennial vine member of Family Anacardiaceae (The Cashew or Sumac Family). Poison ivy can grow as a trailing vine 10 to 25 cm, a scrub up to 1.2 m, and as a climbing vine that firmly attaches itself to a tree by sending out numerous rootlets. The species name radicans means "rooting". Older vines send out lateral branches that can be mistaken for tree limbs. Although the plant can grow in the forest understory, it is not very shade tolerant, and although it is called an ivy, it is not a true ivy. Leaves are alternate and compound. Each leaf consists of three almond-shaped leaflets connected to a common petiole that is usually red. The terminal leaflet has a stem, but the lateral leaflets are nearly sessile. Leaf color can be light green, dark green, or red, depending on the age of the leaf and the season of the year. Mature leaflets are shiny. The leaflets are usually 3 to 12 cm long, but can be up to 30 cm long. Each leaflet has few or no teeth along its edge and its surface is smooth. Toxicodendron radicans spreads either vegetatively or through seeds. The plant flowers from May to July. Flowers are five-petaled, yellowish or greenish-white, and located in clusters above the leaves. As shown in the third photograph above and enlarged at left, the fruit is a green berry, a drupe. It matures from August to November to become grayish-white in color. Inside the drupe are seeds. Since the drupes are a favorite winter food of birds and other animals, seeds are spread in the animals' excreted wastes. The genus name Toxicodendron means "poison tree." The plant's sap contains urushiol, a clear oily organic allergin that when touched, produces an itchy rash that blisters on most people. The leaves release urushiol when they are bumped, torn, or brushed against. To avoid contact with poison ivy, remember the rhyme, "Leaves of three - let them be!" Return to top

 

 

Tradescantia spathacea Oysterplant / Moses-in-the-Cradle Tradescantia spathacea is native to tropical America (West Indies, Mexico, and Central America), not to Florida. It escaped cultivation and is currently established in Florida and Louisiana. In 2007, this plant was listed by the Exotic Pest Plant Council as a Category II invasive species. Species belonging to this list are "species that have shown a potential to disrupt native plant communities. These species may become ranked as Category I, but have not yet demonstrated disruption of natural Florida communities." In southern Florida, these plants are sometimes found along the margins of hammocks and in disturbed areas. This particular plant was growing in the Smith Preserve very near the gopher tortoise fence that abutted a private resident's property. Oysterplant is a succulent herb, belonging to Family Commelinaceae (The Spiderwort Family). It has a cluster of 15.2 to 30.5 cm long sword-shaped leaves. Leaves are dark green on top and violet underneath. Flowers are small, white, and three-petaled. The flowers are nestled in a pair of boat-shaped purple bracts .... thus the common name, Moses-in-the-Cradle. The sap may cause a skin rash; the plant is used as a Cuban folk medicine. Return to top

 

 

Trichostema dichotomum Forked Bluecurls Trichostema dichotomum is an native, annual member of Family Lamiaceae (The Mint Family). It grows to 61 cm in sandy soils and has a square stem. As shown in the second photograph above, leaves are opposite, oblong to ovate, curved upward, 5 cm long, and 1.9 cm wide. The leaf margins are entire. As is shown in the close-up photograph at left of a stem, the plant is covered with tiny glandular hairs that make it sticky to touch. Flowers are fragrant and easily identified by their blue or purple and white, long, thin stamens and styles that curl downward over other flower parts. The genus name Trichostema means "hair-like stamens". As is shown in the photographs below, each flower is blue or purple and white with a lower white lip with blue dots. This lip acts as a landing platform for pollinating bees in search of nectar. As the bee lands on the lip, the stamen powders the bee with pollen. The first photograph below shows two flowers adjacent to one another. The second photograph shows the size of an individual flower. Flowers remain open only during morning hours, and although individual flowers are open for only one morning, others will follow the next day. Forked bluecurls produces many seeds in the late fall and then the plant dies. Return to top

 

 

Tripsacum dactyloides Fakahatchee Grass / Eastern Gamagrass Tripsacum dactyloides is a native, perennial, evergreen bunch grass member of Family Poaceae (The True Grasses). It is a distant relative of Zea mays (Maize/Corn). As shown in the first photograph above, Fakahatchee grass foliage erupts from fountain-like clumps that grow to 1.5 m tall and 1.2 m wide. It lives in full to partial sunlight and has a dense, fibrous root system. Its leaves are erect, flat blades up to 1.8 long and 2.5 cm wide. As shown in the close-up photograph above, a blade has many parallel veins and a distinct midrib. When exposed to frost, its normally green leaves turn red and/or bronze. Flowers rise above the leaves on slender stems. As shown below, the floral stems are jointed and support many delicate flowers. When the seeds are mature, the plant breaks apart at the joints and its seeds are released. The seeds provide food for wildlife and the foliage provides cover and nesting areas for birds. Return to top

 

 

Typha domingensis Southern Cat-tail Typha domingensis is a native, herbaceous, perennial, colonial member of Family Typhaceae (The Cat-tail Family). Cat-tails often cover large areas of wetlands, lakes, and rivers, and they are among the most common aquatic and wetland plants. As shown in the first two photographs, the plant has long, slender green stalks topped with flower heads that resemble brown sausages. They grow 1.5 to 2.7 m tall. The leaf blades are stiff, strap-like, rounded on the back, and spiraling in the top half. They grow from the base of the plant and are sheathed together at the base. Typha domingensis has horizontal underground stems that send out roots and shoots from nodes. Flower heads consist of a terminal, spike-like, cylindrical inflorescence of male flowers above a second cylindrical inflorescence of female flowers. Both inflorescences are bright yellow to orange brown in color. Between the two sets of flowers is a naked section of stem 1 to 8 cm long. These plants provide protective cover and nesting areas for birds and other animals. Cat-tail rhizomes are much more valuable as food for wildlife than are the small, hairy seeds. The last two photographs show its seeds. Native Americans used the stalks for matting, bedding material, and ceremonial bundles; leaves and sheath bases were used as caulking materials. All parts of the cattail are edible to people when gathered at the appropriate stage of growth. For example, young flower stalks removed from their sheaths can be boiled or steamed like corn. Cattail pollen and underground stems are substitutes for flour. In the Everglades, an indicator that there is a lot of agricultural runoff of phosphorous are the expanding colonies of cat-tails. Cat-tails are becoming the weapon of choice against water contamination because the plants absorb contaminates. Return to top

 

 

Urena lobata Caesar Weed Urena lobata is a non-native, semi-woody, erect shrub, and perennial member of Family Malvaceae (The Mallow Family). It grows to 3 m in height and thrives in disturbed areas. Each plant has a single stalk with branching stems that give it a bushy appearance. As shown in the first photograph, the leaves are palmate, broadly oval to round with shallow lobes. They have toothed margins and are alternately arranged on the stem. Leaves are 4 to 8 cm long and 2.5 to 10 cm wide. The upper leaf surface is covered in hairs that give it a rough texture. As shown in the second photograph, flowers have five pink petals with dark pink bases. They are born in axillary clusters and are 1 cm in diameter. The plant blooms year round and attracts pollinators. The third photograph shows fruits of a caesar weed plant covered with dew. As shown in the last photograph, the 6 mm fruits have hooked bristles that help them stick to hair and clothing. In this way, seeds are transported. The plant fiber, much like jute, can be spun into strong threads for making burlap and twine. Return to top

 

 

Urochloa maxima Guinea Grass Urochloa maxima, also known by the name Panicum maximum is a perennial bunch grass that belongs to Family Poaceae (The True Grass Family). It is commonly called guinea grass or buffalo grass. Native to Africa, Palestine, and Yemen, it was introduced into the tropics and the rest of the world as a source of animal fodder. It is valuable as a foraging grass and it can be made into hay and silage. Guinea grass is a very productive forage grass in tropical America and South East Asia. In the United States, it is presently found in California, Arizona, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia , Florida, and Hawaii. The plants tolerate fire and drought and grow to a height of .5 to 3.5 m with 5 - 110 cm long stems. Leaf blades are up to 35 mm wide and taper to a fine point. Leaves are 12 - 40 cm long. Each plant can produce 9000 seeds (grains); each grain is ~ 2 mm long. Plants spread very slowly by seed. Birds eat the seeds and use the plant's leaves for nesting. The second photograph above shows flower heads and the photographs below show individual flowers and seeds. Like many grasses in the fall, these grasses dry and turn brown, as shown below: Because of its dense root mats, guinea grass can be used to stop soil erosion on slopes. Plants form colonies under or near trees and shrubs, where they may displace local plants. For that reason, guinea grass is being removed from the Christopher B. Smith Preserve. In South Texas, Sri Lanka and Hawaii, it is considered invasive. Return to top

 

 

Vaccinium myrsinites Shiny Blueberry Vaccinium myrsinites is a native, evergreen, erect, perennial, branching, shrub member of Family Ericacea (The Heath Family). It grows to a height of 1 m, but is usually shorter. In the Smith Preserve, several shiny blueberry plants are found in the western portion of the scrub adjacent to slash pines. Shiny blueberry has angular green or reddish-green stems and is rhizomatous (having a horizontal, underground stem that sends out roots and shoots from its nodes). Because it is rhizomatous, it can form very large colonies. In fact, colonies measuring 1 km across and over 1,000 years old are known to exist in the United States. As seen in the second photograph above, the leaves are alternate, ovate to elliptical, and glossy on top. They are leathery, green or grayish-green, about one centimeter long, and have smooth or slightly toothed edges. Under magnification, as shown in the third photograph, there are reddish glands on the bottom of the leaf. These glands are stalked; this is a good characteristic to separate this species from other members of the genus. As seen in the first photograph below, shiny blueberry flowers are in clusters. There can be as many as eight flowers in a cluster. The corolla is urn-shaped or cylindrical and whitish pink or white. As seen in the second and third photographs below, the fruits are spherical, begin green, age to red, and eventually become a black/ blue waxy berry up to nine millimeters in diameter, containing several seeds. They are edible. Birds and mammals enjoy the fruits and disperse the seeds. The Seminoles used shiny blueberry for food as well as for ceremonial and medicinal purposes. Return to top

 

 

Vicia acutifolia Sand Vetch / Fourleaf Vetch Vicia acutifolia is a native, herbaceous, perennial, slender, twining vine member of Family Fabaceae (The Pea Family). The plant lives in moist terrestrial areas. At the Smith Preserve, it was photographed climbing through Eupatorium capillifolium (Dog Fennel) near the filter marsh. Sand vetch has smooth stems that branch at the base. The leaves are pinnately compound, 1.3 to 3.2 cm long, and composed two to six leaflets. The leaflets are narrow, hairy, 13 to 25 mm long and 16 mm wide. Flowers are small, only 6 to 10 mm long and 5 to 6 mm wide when open, and purple in color. The flowers shown in these photographs are not open. If cooked, the seeds are edible, but if eaten raw, they can can cause hepatitis in some people. Return to top

 

 

Vigna luteola Hairy Cowpea Vigna luteola is a native, weedy, herbaceous, perennial, trailing-vine member of Family Fabaceae (The Pea Family). The genus name Vigna was chosen as a tribute to Dominicus Vigna (1581-1647), an Italian professor who wrote a paper about Theophrastus (371-286 BC), a Greek botanist. The genus name luteola means "yellow" and refers to the flower's color. This pea thrives in disturbed areas. The plants photographed here were growing along the drainage ditch on the northern boundary of the Smith Preserve. Hairy cowpea has smooth, hairless stems and alternate, compound leaves with long petioles. As shown in the second photograph above, each leaf consists of three oval to lance-shaped leaflets. Each leaflet is approximately 4 cm long and 2 cm wide. Leaflets have a few hairs. A flower is 2 cm in diameter. The calyx has two lips and a few hairs. Flowers are clustered at the top of tall, angled stalks that stand above the foliage. Plants bloom year round. As shown in the fourth photograph, the legume (seed pod) is 6.4 cm long and very hairy. This characteristic of the legume is probably the origin of its common name, "Hairy Cowpea." Vigna luteola is the larval host of Strymon melinus (Gray Hairstreak), Urbanus dorantes (Dorantes Skipper), and Urbanus proteus (Long-Tailed Skipper). Return to top

 

 

Vitis rotundifolia Muscadine Grape / Southern Fox Grape / Scuppernong Vitis rotundifolia is a native, perennial, climbing, woody vine member of Family Vitaceae (The Grape Family). Muscadines are well adapted to live in the warm, humid conditions of the southeastern U.S. The plant grows in pine flatwoods and dry hammocks. Like all grapes, it needs full sun and good soil drainage. Muscadine grape vines climb and cling with coiled tendrils that wrap tightly around anything they reach. Unlike other grapes, the muscadine tendrils are unbranched, the bark is tight and non-shredding, and its shoots are warty. Old muscadine grape vines can be 15 cm or more in diameter and reach into tree tops more than 30 m. As shown in the photographs, leaves are alternate, simple, green, glossy, heart-shaped, slightly lobed, and have margins with coarse serrations. Each leaf tip tapers gradually to a sharp point. Muscadine flowers are small, green, and arranged in axillary clusters. The plants are dioecious, with male and female flowers on different plants. The blooming season is March to April. Both wind and insects are important pollinators of the female flowers. The fruit is borne in small, loose clusters of three to forty berries (grapes.) These small clusters are much different from the large bunches of fruit most grape species produce. Each muscadine fruit is round, 2.54 to 3.8 cm in diameter, and has a thick, tough skin. It contains a soft musky flavored pulp and up to five hard, oblong seeds. As shown in the photographs below, the fruits begin green and ripen to dark purple. Native Americans used the fruit for a blue dye. The grapes are edible and made into jelly, jam, and wine. The plant has been extensively cultivated since the 16th century. In the Smith Preserve, these plants provide cover and food for a wide variety of animals. Photograph of ripe grapes: Courtesy of Roz Katz, Conservancy of Southwest Florida volunteer. Return to top

© Photographs and text by Susan Leach Snyder (Conservancy of Southwest Florida Volunteer), unless otherwise credited above.

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