Asimina reticulata thru Cenchrus gracillimus

Species Name	Common Name
Asimina reticulata	Netted Pawpaw
Asparagus setaceus	Asparagus Fern
Averrhoa carambola	Starfruit / Carambola
Baccharis halimifolia	Saltbush
Bacopa monnieri	Water Hyssop
Balduina angustifolia	Coastalplain Honeycombhead / Yellow Buttons
Bidens alba	Beggarticks
Boerhavia diffusa	Red Spiderling / Wineflower
Buchnera americana	Bluehearts
Bursera simaruba	Gumbo Limbo
Callicarpa americana	American Beautyberry
Cassytha filiformis	Love Vine
Catharanthus roseus	Madagascar Periwinkle
Cenchrus gracillimus	Slender Sandsbur

 

Asimina reticulata Netted Pawpaw   Asimina reticulata is a medium size perennial shrub that grows to 1.5 m in height. It belongs to the custard-apple family, Family Annonaceae. The leaves are oblong and leathery. It blooms in late winter and early spring. The bloom is creme colored and has a fragrance similar to honey. Blooms attract bees, butterflies and other insects. The edible pawpaw fruit is shown in the third photograph. Pawpaws are the host of the Eurytides marcellus (Zebra Swallowtail) caterpillars.   Return to top

 

 

Asparagus setaceus Asparagus Fern Asparagus setaceus is fern-like, an evergreen, and long-lived. It is a perennial ornamental plant, native to South Africa. It grows in the understory and has erect and spreading non-woody stems, small narrow leaves, and small flowers. Its fruit is shown in the second photograph. These berries are mildly toxic to humans. Return to top

 

 

Averrhoa carambola Starfruit / Carambola   Averrhoa carambola is a non-native, perennial tree member of Family Oxalidaceae (The Wood Sorrel Family). The tree is native to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. In the Smith Preserve, several starfruit trees grow along the west tortoise fence, perpendicular to 14th Ave, and adjacent to a house. The plant's common name, "starfruit" is due to the star-shape created when fruit is cut in cross-section, shown at left. As shown in the photograph at far left, the uncut fruit has distinctive ridges running down its sides. The entire fruit is edible and is food for bats and all other fruit-eating animals.     Return to top

 

 

Baccharis halimifolia Saltbush Baccharis halimifolia is a native, perennial, tree/shrub, growing to 4 m and belonging to Family Asteraeae. As shown in the above photographs, its leaves have coarse teeth. Saltbush plants are dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. The female flowers are snowy white with a cotton-like texture as shown above. The two photographs below show the male flowers. Plants bloom in the fall. It is a wetland plant that grows in the Smith Preserve along the edge of the filter marsh. Saltbush is used for food and cover by mammals and birds, and its abundant nectar attracts butterflies. Return to top

 

 

Bacopa monnieri Water Hyssop Bacopa monnieri is a non-native perennial plant that was planted near the Smith Preserve pond after the property was cleared of non-native invasive plants. It is common in marshy areas of India, China, Taiwan, Florida, and Hawaii. Bacopa monnieri is a member of Family Scrophulariaceae (The Figwort Family). It is a succulent that forms mats. These plants have opposite, spatulate leaves, and white, pink or violet flowers. Flowers have 4-5 petals and are about 6.35 mm wide. The flower center is greenish-yellow and edged in red. Bacopa monnieri is the larval host plant of the Anartia jatrophae (White Peacock) butterfly. Return to top

 

 

Balduina angustifolia Coastalplain Honeycombhead / Yellow Buttons   Balduina angustifolia has yellow, daisy-like flowers that lose their petals and look like buttons. Yellow buttons blooms year round. Many insects and other invertebrates enjoy the nectar of the flowers. Some that have been photographed in the preserve are Nemognatha spp. (Blister Beetle), Thick-Headed Fly, Apis mellifera (honey bee), and Chlorochlamys chloroleucaria (Blackberry Looper). Return to top

 

 

Bidens alba Beggarticks Bidens alba is a very aggressive weed with an erect stem and a strong taproot. Young plants have simple, opposite leaves. As a plant matures, its upper leaves become compound and composed of 3-9 saw-toothed oval leaflets. Over time, branches sprawl and roots develop wherever the branches make contact with the ground. The flowers grow in clusters and each has five white petals and a yellow center. The 0.6-1.3 cm long black needle-like seeds have 2-6 barbed hooks on the ends. Seeds are clustered and resemble exploding fireworks. A single plant can produce 3,000-6,000 seeds. The seeds are spread by wind, water, and by being transported on the clothing of people and the fur of animals. Bidens alba blossoms are a favored nectar source for many species of hairstreak butterflies. Return to top

 

 

Boerhavia diffusa Red Spiderling / Wineflower Boerhavia diffusa is a native, weedy member of Family Nyctaginaceae (The Four O'Clock Family). As shown in the fourth photograph, its fruit is small and sticky. Each fruit has one seed. Since the plant grows only a few inches off the ground near where animals look for food, red spiderling fruit is distributed to new locations by sticking to feathers and fur.   Red spiderling is an herbal medicine taken for pain relief, as a way to improve and protect eyesight, as a diuretic, and as a way of lowering blood sugar in diabetics. In India, its leaves are used as a green vegetable.     Return to top

 

 

Buchnera americana Bluehearts Buchnera americana is a perennial member of Family Scrophulriaceae (The Figwort Family). As shown at right, plants have slender erect stems, growing to heights of 80 cm. Stems are covered with small hair-like projections. Plants have underground rhizomes. Leaves are narrow and opposed (growing in pairs) and sprout directly across from one another. Lower leaves are larger than those higher on the stem. Flowers are 5-lobed, nearly symmetrical, and violet or white. Plants bloom year round. This plant was blooming on April 3, 2015 on a sand berm adjacent to the dry marsh at the Smith Preserve. This species is hemiparasitic, which means it may obtain some nourishment from a host tree by attaching to its root system, but it is also very capable of photosynthesizing on its own. During stressful conditions like drought, plants may increase their parasitic behavior. Under these circumstances, a large group of plants can damage small trees. Bluehearts are the larval food of Junonia coenia (Common buckeye). Return to top

 

 

Bursera simaruba Gumbo Limbo Bursera simaruba is called the tourist tree because its bark is red and peeling. The bark peels in papery sheets that smell like turpentine. Leaves are pinnately compound with five to nine leaflets. Flowers are tiny, and creamy to greenish-white in color. Birds eat the fruit (shown in the third photograph). The plant is economically and ecologically important. It is one of the most wind-tolerant trees. Gumbo limbo are called living trees because a small branch will root. The tree’s resin is used as glue, varnish, and incense. It was the traditional wood used for the manufacture of carousel horses. The resin and leaves have been used for medicines.   Return to top

 

 

Callicarpa americana American Beautyberry Callicarpa americana is a perennial shrub in Family Verbenaceae. It is native shrub, often grown as an ornamental. It grows 1 to 2 m tall, but can reach 3 m if conditions of soil and moisture are optimal. Its leaves grow in pairs or in threes, and the margins are coarsely toothed except near the base and tip. The flowers are tiny, pink, and in clusters at the base of the leaves. This plant is easily recognized by its large clusters of purple (sometimes white) berries. Birds eat the berries and seeds; deer eat the berries, seeds, and foliage. These animals distribute the seeds in their excrement. Photograph 4: Courtesy of Sheri Arnold, Conservancy of Southwest Florida volunteer. Return to top

 

 

Cassytha filiformis Love Vine Cassytha filiformis is a native, leafless, climbing, twining, parasitic vine. It grows over woody plants and uses them for support, nutrition, and water. The vines shown here were growing on oak trees. Heavy infestations of this vine smother and eventually kill host plants. Linyi Zhang, a graduate student, and a group of undergraduates at Rice University discovered that love vine attacks the chambers of gall-forming insects on vegetation like oaks. The love vine siphons nutrients from the young developing wasp larvae inside the plant galls, leaving the larva inside mummified. Love vine stems are green to orange and smooth. The leaves are minute scales, about 1 mm long. The tiny flowers, as shown at the far left are clustered on short spikes. In full bloom, they are white. The fruits develop next. They are about 5 mm in diameter and are eaten by birds. Love vine seeds are dispersed by birds and strong winds.   Return to top

 

 

Catharanthus roseus Madagascar Periwinkle Catharanthus roseus is a non-native, evergreen plant that grows up to 1 m tall. The leaves are glossy green and hairless and the flowers have five petals. There are cultivars in a variety of colors (dark pink, peach, scarlet, reddish orange, and white.) Dark pink and white flowers are found in the Smith Preserve. In some areas of the world, the species has been cultivated for herbal medicines and as an ornamental plant. If ingested, Madagascar periwinkle can be a dangerous hallucinogen. Return to top

 

 

Cenchrus gracillimus Slender Sandsbur Cenchrus gracillimus is a herb with an ascending stem that is often purplish near the base. The leaf blades are hairy above the angle with the stem. Flower clusters are one to three inches long with burs. The spines on the burs have hooked barbs. Seed dispersal occurs when burs get caught in the fur of mammals and the socks of humans and are transported to new locations. Return to top

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

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