Waltheria indica thru Zeuxine strateumatical

Species Name	Common Name
Waltheria indica	Sleepy Morning
Ximenia americana	Tough Bumelia / Hog Plum / Tallowwood
Xyris sp.	Yellow-Eyed Grass
Youngia japonica	Oriental False Hawksbeard
Yucca aloifolia	Spanish Bayonet
Zanthoxylum fagara	Wild Lime
Zeuxine strateumatica	Soldier Orchid

 

 

Waltheria indica Sleepy Morning Waltheria indica is a small, native, semi-woody, short-lived shrub or subshrub member of Family Sterculiaceae (The Cacao Family). It grows in disturbed dry and well drained moist habitats. It has a weak taproot and well-developed lateral roots. Sleepy morning grows to a height of 2 m and has a stem diameter of up to 2 cm. Specimens seen in the Smith Preserve are much smaller. A plant usually has a single, strong, upright stem, and branches near the ground. As shown in the second photograph above, the stems and leaves are covered with light gray, velvety hairs. Leaves are alternate and narrowly rounded to nearly heart-shaped. They are 2 to 12 cm long and 1 to 7 cm wide. The leaf edge is serrated, and the leaf gradually narrows to a pointed tip. As shown in the photographs at left, the flowers are yellow to orange with five petals. Flowers are fragrant, 6 mm wide, and crowded together in axillary clusters. Flowers open late in the morning, giving Waltheria indica its common name "Sleepy Morning". Plants bloom year round. Each 2-mm seed capsule holds one tiny, black, egg-shaped seed. Sleepy morning is considered to be a weed in much of its range, but it is rarely aggressive enough to be considered a major problem. Although it is host for a number of insects harmful to agricultural crops, it is also browsed by all types of livestock. Also, its roots, leaves and flowers are used medicinally by some cultures. Return to top

 

 

Ximenia americana Tough Bumelia / Hog Plum / Tallowwood Ximenia americana is a native, perennial, woody shrub or small tree member of Family Olacaceae (Ximenia or Olax Family). It lives in the understory and its sprawling growth is vine-like. It can reach a height of 6.1 m or more. The tree is semi-parasitic on the roots of other trees, but it does not harm the host. Within the western hammock of the Smith Preserve, a hog plum tree grows under a large oak. As shown in these photographs, leaves are oval shaped, alternate, and yellowish-green in color. They have a leathery texture and an entire margin. Leaves smell like almonds and are 3.2 to 6.4 cm long and 1.6 to 2.5 cm wide. As shown at left, stems have sharp 2 cm long spines at leaf axils. Hog plum blooms September to October. Flowers (shown below) are small (8 mm), fragrant, 4-petaled, creamy white, and hairy inside. Shown here, fruits are oblong, lemon-yellow or orange-red, fleshy, 2.5 cm long and 2 cm wide, and edible. Fruits and the seeds they carry are dispersed by animals. The fruits have a plum flavor and can be eaten raw or used to make juice, jam, jelly and beer. The pulp of the seed and fruit contain hydrocyanic acid, and seeds should not be chewed. Young leaves can be eaten after thorough cooking. Bark and roots are used in tanning. Wood is used for firewood and charcoal. Leaves, twigs, bark, roots, and fruit are used for treating a wide variety of maladies. As shown at right, hog plum in the Smith Preserve provides habitat for a variety of different species of bromeliads.   Return to top

 

 

Xyris sp. Yellow-Eyed Grass There are 20 species of Xyris in Florida. All are perennial and members of Family Xyridaceae. Members of this genus typically grow in depression marshes and shallow ponds. The plants shown here were photographed in the dry marsh in the Smith Preserve on March 5, 2012. There were no yellow flowers present. Only the dry flower spike, called the"pinecone on a stick," remained. Species are identified by the shape of the leaves. The genus name "Xyrus" is derived from the Greek word, "xyron", which means "razor" and refers to the edges of leaf edges. Return to top

 

 

Youngia japonica Oriental False Hawksbeard Youngia japonica is a non-native, herbaceous, annual, weedy member of Family Asteraceae (The Aster, Daisy, or Sunflower Family). Plants live in sandy pinelands and disturbed sites, often form clumps, and grow to heights of 60 cm. A short taproot anchors each plant firmly in the soil. Lower stems are very hairy. As shown in the first photograph, oriental false hawksbeard has mostly basal leaves that are deeply lobed in the lower half of the leaf. Leaves are arranged in a loose rosette at the plant base. The leaves resemble those of Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion). Leaves are pale green, sparsely hairy on top and bottom, 10.2 to 25.4 cm long, and 3.8 to 7.6 cm wide. Erect flower stalks are branched at the top with up to thirty clustered flower heads. As shown in the photograph at left, each flower measures 1 cm across and has many petals. Flowers are yellow and the margin of each petal has small teeth. Flowers resemble those of Taraxacum officinale (Dandelion), but the flowers of Taraxacum officinale are more than twice as large (2.54 cm across). Oriental false hawksbeard plants bloom year round and are pollinated by insects. As a flower matures, it produces achenes (dry fruits that each contain one seed). Each achene has a ring of fine bristles that acts like a parachute, allowing the seed to be carried by the wind. In this way the seeds are distributed. Return to top

 

 

Yucca aloifolia Spanish Bayonet Yucca aloifolia is a native, colonial, evergreen, perennial, semi-woody member of Family Agavaceae (The Agave Family). It thrives in sandy areas, has an erect trunk that is 7.6 to 12.7 cm in diameter, and grows to a height of 1.5 to 6.1 m. The plant produces new offshoots near the base of the trunk, forming a thicket. Its leaves are tough, overlapping, dark green, long and lance-shaped, sharp-tipped, and .6 m in length. Its common name "Spanish Bayonet" originated from its very sharp leaf.   The flower stems are leafless and have terminal clustered flowers. Flowers are large (12.7 cm across), white, bell-shaped, and nodding. Each flower has three petals and three sepals. The fruits (berries) are red with black seeds. After flowering, the trunk stops growing and one or more lateral buds form. The uppermost bud becomes a new terminal shoot. Other buds become branches. Flowers are edible and can be eaten raw or cooked. Return to top

 

 

Zanthoxylum fagara Wild Lime Zanthoxylum fagara is a native, evergreen shrub/tree member of Family Rutaceae (The Rue or Citrus Family). The trunk has rough texture, gray bark, and grows to a diameter of 25 cm. In full sun, the wild lime grows as a tree up to 7 m in height; as an understory plant, it is more bush-like, as shown above in the first photograph. As shown in the second photograph, leaves are alternate and pinnately compound with 7 to 9 or more oval leaflets. Each leaflet is 5 cm wide. Crushed leaves smell like lemons. The third photograph shows an enlargement of the leaf stem shaft. As can be seen, the shaft is winged between leaflets. Wild lime branches are irregularly-shaped with hooked spines, as shown in the enlarged image at right. Male and female flowers are on separate plants and are clustered in the axils of leaves. Flowers are greenish-yellow and tiny (2 mm). Female trees produce round, tiny fruits as shown in the last two photographs. Once mature, shiny black seeds cling to the brownish husk. Zanthoxylum fagara is a prized wood for cabinetry, the larval host of Papilio cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail Butterfly), and a significant source of food and cover for other wildlife.   Return to top

 

 

Zeuxine strateumatica Soldier Orchid Zeuxine strateumatica is a non-native, annual or short-lived perennial ground orchid member of Family Orchidaceae (The Orchid Family). The plants shown here grow on slightly elevated moist land bordering the south rim of the Smith Preserve Filter Marsh. They bloom December through February. The roots are clustered at nodes of an underground stem. As shown in the first photograph above, the above-ground plant stem has a sheath of five to twelve spirally arranged, erect, green and bronze, long, narrowly lance-shaped leaves. As shown in the second photograph, a fully grown soldier orchid is quite small, 4 to 25 cm in height. The third photograph above shows a terminal spike of flowers beginning to emerge from the sheath of leaves. The fourth photograph shows a fully emerged flower spike. Each inflorescence can include a few to more than 50 flowers. Each flower is only 5 mm wide. As can be seen in the close-up, the flowers are yellow-lipped white flowers that are crowded together. It is thought that soldier orchids arrived in Florida in contaminated Eremochioa ophiuroides (Centipedegrass) seed imported from China sometime prior to 1936. The species name strateumatica is Greek for "company" or "army", and describes the crowded flower clusters. Return to top

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

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