Jasminum dichotomum thru Mikania scandens

Species Name	Common Name
Jasminum dichotomum	Gold Coast Jasmine
Kyllinga pumila	Low Spikesedge
Lantana camara	Lantana
Lantana involucrata	Wild Sage
Lepidium virginicum	Peppergrass / Virginia Pepperweed
Liatris chapmanii	Chapman's Blazing Star/ Chapman's Gayfeather
Liatris tenuifolia	Shortleaf Gayfeather / Scrub Blazing Star
Licania michauxii	Gopher Apple / Ground Oak
Linaria canadensis	Blue Toadflax
Ludwigia decurrens	Winged Primrose / Willow Primrose
Ludwigia peruviana	Peruvian Primrose Willow
Lygodesmia aphylla	Rose Rush
Lygodium microphyllum	Old World Climbing Fern
Lyonia ferruginea	Rusty Lyonia / Rusty Staggerbush
Lyonia fruticosa	Coastal Plain Staggerbush
Macroptilium lathyroides	Wild Bushbean
Magnolia virginiana	Sweetbay Magnolia
Mangifera indica n	Common Mango
Melochia spicata	Bretonica Peluda
Mikania scandens	Climbing Hempweed

 

 

Jasminum dichotomum Gold Coast Jasmine Jasminum dichotomum is a non-native (naturalized), evergreen climbing member of Family Oleaceae (The Olive Family). It can grow to 8 m in height. The plant growing in the Smith Preserve is a twining vine that sprawls over other vegetation. Leaves are opposite, oblong and glossy. As shown above, the leaves are susceptible to leaf spot. Gold Coast Jasmine has clustered mauve-colored buds that open into white flowers on mauve-colored stems (peduncles). Each flower has six to eight petals that produce a sweet perfume-like fragrance. Fruits are small, round, black berries with two lobes. Seeds are eaten by birds and raccoons. Originally from tropical West Africa, this species of jasmine was introduced to Florida as an ornamental plant in 1920 and spread from gardens in the 1970s. Today, the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council considers Gold Coast Jasmine a Category I invasive exotic. It is altering native plant communities by displacing native species and changing community structures and/or ecological function in hammocks and forests.   Return to top

 

 

Kyllinga pumila Low Spikesedge Kyllinga pumila is native and can be both an annual and a perennial. It, like other sedges is a member of Family Cyperaceae. This species lives in moist environments and grows in clumps. It grows in the Smith Preserve between the elevated entrance road and the filter marsh. The low spikehedge has smooth leaves that are flat to v-shaped. As shown in the photographs above, the inflorescences (cluster of flowers) are not quite spherical in shape. Three to five bracts support each inflorescence. Each inflorescent is composed of 50 to 150 flowers. According to the Institute for Regional Conservation, the South Florida Status of Kyllinga pumila is "Imperiled." "Imperiled" means Kyllinga pumila is facing a high risk of becoming extinct. The cause is likely habitat destruction. Return to top

 

 

Lantana camara Lantana Lantana camara is a non-native, naturalized, invasive perennial member of Family Verbenaceae. The plant is a woody shrub that ranges from .9 to 1.8 m tall. The stems and leaves are covered in rough-hairs. The leaves are oppositely arranged, oval in shape, and have toothed edges. When crushed the leaves produce an unpleasant aroma. The flowers are tubular and clustered. Clusters are yellow and orange or yellow and violet. In both cases, usually yellow flowers are in the center of the clusters, but as the plant below found in the southern part of the preserve shows, this is not always the case . The green fruits (shown at left) ripen to purple and then black. Lantana camara blooms year round and attracts many butterflies. If eaten, the leaves are toxic to livestock and the unripe fruit is toxic to humans. This plant is grown as a hedge plant and has a wide variety of medicinal and practical uses. Birds and other animals that consume lantana fruit distribute the seeds. This species is listed as a Category I invasive exotic species by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council. It is invading and disrupting native plant communities in Florida. Return to top

 

 

Lantana involucrata Wild Sage Lantana involucrata is a native shrub member of Family Verbenaceae (The Verbena Family). Wild sage grows in full sun, can live ten or more years, and blooms year round. It grows 1 to 2 m in height, has yellowish bark, and brittle wood. The leaves are aromatic, producing a spicy, sage-like scent. As shown in these photographs, the flowers are small and tubular, arranged in compact terminal heads. The fruits are clusters of purple to blue-black drupes 3 to 4 mm in diameter, each containing one seed. People use wild sage as a condiment in cooking and the oil for making cosmetics and liquors. Leaves have medicinal uses for treating rashes, insect bites, and congestion. Wild sage provides food and cover for wildlife, and is considered one of the best nectar plants for attracting butterflies. Return to top

 

 

Lepidium virginicum Peppergrass / Virginia Pepperweed Lepidium virginicum is a member of Family Brassicaceae (Mustard Family), and is native to most of North America. It grows to a height of 10 to 50 cm. Its upper leaves are small and coarsely toothed. Lower leaves are larger and have deep, sharply cut margins. The oldest flowers are borne towards the base of a raceme (a shoot that has many branches), while new flowers are produced as the shoot grows. As shown, the flowers are quite small, only about 2 mm at their widest part. A green fruit forms after each flower. Fruits are oval-shaped flattened pods. The shape of the pods give this species its genus name Lepidium meaning "little scale." Pods dry with age and turn brown, as shown in the first photograph. All parts of the plant are edible and taste like pepper, which gives this species its common names "peppergrass" and "pepperweed." This species is the larval host plant of a variety of white butterflies, including but not limited to the Great Southern White and the European Cabbage White.   Return to top

 

 

Liatris chapmanii Chapman's Blazing Star/ Chapman's Gayfeather Liatris chapmanii is a native, perennial member of the Asteraceae Family. It grows in the scrub portion of the Smith Preserve; the species is known to be restricted to growing in deep sandy soils. As shown in the first photograph above, the basal rosette is dense and has a whorled appearance. These leaves are the largest on the plant. They are linear and range from 5 to 15 cm long. Photograph 2 above and Photograph 1 below (taken by Sheri Arnold, Conservancy of Southwest Florida volunteer ) show a late August liatris blooming event in the Smith Preserve. As shown in the second photograph immediately above this paragraph, Chapman's blazing star plants have leafy, hairy, stiff stems that grow to .6 m and taller. Liatris chapmanii can be distinguished from other members of the genus because it has leaves along the flower stalk, well above the basal rosette, and it produces flowers below the top of the flower stalk near these leaves. The flower buds are densely clustered florets that are tightly attached to the flower stalk. Each bud contains about six individual flowers. As shown in the third photograph above, when the flowers open, they are a bright lavender color. The flowers are very attractive to bees and butterflies for pollen and nectar. The seeds are produced in fruits that are 4 to 6 millimeters long. Seeds have feathery bristles with tiny barbs and are distributed by the wind. Return to top

 

 

Liatris tenuifolia Shortleaf Gayfeather / Scrub Blazing Star Liatris tenuifolia is a native member of Family Asteraceae (The Aster Family). It is a perennial with linear leaves that become smaller up the flowering stem. The plant has mostly glabrous (smooth and free from hair) stems, appressed-ascending cauline (growing from the stem) leaves, and few-flowered flower heads. The species name "tenuifolia" is derived from the Latin word "tenu(i)" meaning "thin, slender" and "foli" meaning "a leaf" and refers to the thin leaves of the plant. Flowers are 5-lobed, violet to lavender in color, and clustered on erect spikes. Upper flowers open first. The plant grows 1.2 to 1.8 m tall. Bloom time is variable. Although reported as blooming in mid summer, late summer, early fall, and mid fall, the webmaster took the flowers shown here at the Smith Preserve in March. The identification of the basal leaves (Photograph 1) was made by Roger Hammer (author of Everglades Wildflowers) in collaboration with Keith Bradley in March 2015. The identification of the flower head (Photograph 3) was made by Richard Wunderlin (author of Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida), at the request of Roger Hammer in March 2012. All three of these photographs look very similar to those in the online Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants for Liatris tenuifolia var. quadrifolia. Return to top

 

 

Licania michauxii Gopher Apple / Ground Oak Licania michauxii is a native, evergreen, ground-cover/shrub member of Family Chrysobalanaceae. It grows to a height of .3 to .6 m, but is usually less than .3 m. Gopher apple is an upland plant that grows in clumps and reproduces with underground rhizomes. As a result of these rhizomes, the plant regenerates after a fire. As shown in the photographs, its leaves are simple and alternate and the plant stems are reddish-brown. Each leaf is shiny and has an elliptical shape. The leaf top is a lime-green color and the leaf bottom is pale green and fuzzy. Each leaf is 2.5 to 12.7 cm long and 1.3 to 3.8 cm wide. The leaves in the middle section of the stem are often larger than those above or below them on the stem. Leaves have entire margins. Gopher apples bloom in late spring though summer with small, white terminal clusters of flowers. The fruit is a 2.5 cm long green elliptical drupe that turns purple when ripe. As its common name implies, this plant's sweet, juicy fruit is a popular food of gopher tortoises. Other wildlife, as well as humans, also enjoy the fruit. Return to top

 

 

Linaria canadensis Blue Toadflax Linaria canadensis is a native, biennial member of the figwort family, Scrophulariaceae. The first year, it grows leaves, stems, and roots. The second year, it flowers and produces seeds. It is a slender plant that grows 10-20 cm tall in open, disturbed, sandy soils. The leaves are slender and it has erect flowering stems. As shown above, the flowers are violet and white with five rounded lobes, two are anterior and three are posterior. The flowers are 10-15 mm long. People use blue toadflax as a treatment for hemorrhoids. The Junonia coenia (Common Buckeye Butterfly) uses blue toadflax as its larval host. Return to top

 

 

Ludwigia decurrens Winged Primrose / Willow Primrose Ludwigia decurrens is a native annual or woody perennial member of Family Onagraceae (The Evening Primrose Family). It grows up to 1.8 m in wet habitats and lives in the Smith Preserve Filter Marsh next to the observation gazebo. The plant is erect and its leaves are alternate and entire. As shown in the middle photograph above, each leaf is linear, hence the common name "willow primrose." Its stem is very distinctive with four wings, hence the common name "winged primrose." Note: photograph 3 shows three of its four stem wings. As shown at left, flowers have four to five (usually four) yellow petals. The last photograph shows that below each flower is a seedbox that can be up to 19 mm long. Winged primrose has allelopathic effects on other plants. This means the plant produces chemicals that inhibit the growth of other species. Return to top

 

 

Ludwigia peruviana Peruvian Primrose Willow Ludwigia peruviana is a non-native, naturalized, perennial member of Family Onagraceae (The Evening Primrose Family.) It is a woody shrub that blooms all year, grows 3 to 4 m tall, and thrives along pond margins. In the Smith Preserve, it forms dense stands along the banks of the filter marsh. Peruvian primrose willow has alternate hairy leaves, and as is shown in the fourth photograph, the stems are hairy too. These photographs show flowers with four petals and four sepals, but the species can also have five petals and five sepals. Although honeybees and other insects are attracted to the blooms, the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council lists Ludwigia peruviana as a Category 1 invasive exotic that is altering native plant communities by displacing native species. Because it is so invasive, plants are periodically removed from the Smith Preserve. Return to top

 

 

Lygodesmia aphylla Rose Rush Lygodesmia aphylla is a native, perennial member of Family Asteraceae (Asters). Its habitat includes dry sandy soils, flatwoods, and scrub. Its stems are erect and rush-like, and the sap is milky. A plant can grow to be to 1 m tall, but all of the photographs shown here were of much shorter individuals. Rose rush leaves are reduced to narrow scales along the stems and to a few narrow basal stem blades. It loses the basal leaves early in its growing cycle. Stems have solitary terminal flowers with one flower produced at a time. As shown in these photographs, the flowers in the Preserve are purplish-blue and lavender, but rock rose flowers can also be light rose-lavender, pink, and white. The petals are squared off and toothed at the end edges. The number of petals varies. Each flowers is about 3.5 cm wide. Rose rush flowers open late in the morning and each one lasts several days. The last three photographs show an individual flower opening up for the day. After a few days, a flower goes to seed and the wind carries away the fluffy white seed head. While in bloom, the flowers attract a variety of pollinators. Return to top

 

 

Lygogodium microphyllum Old World Climbing Fern In the Christopher B. Smith Preserve, old world climbing fern was spotted in 2023 growing south of the pond and covering much of the native vegetation. This fern climbs up and over other vegetation. The species originated in tropical Africa, southeast Asia, Melansia and Australia. In Florida it is highly invasive. Teri Hoffman, one of the volunteer team members who helps remove invasive species in the Preserve, took these photographs on December 14, 2023. Old world climbing fern is known to smother native vegetation and acts to increase fire risk by allowing fire to spread up the trees along its vines. This plant is listed as a Federal Noxious Weed under the Plant Protection Act. The rachis (stems) twist and twine around other vegetation. The plant spreads by rhizomes at the base of the rachis where it meets the earth and by spores on it fertile leaves. Teri pulled out one of the stems to expose the rhizomes in the first photograph below. Most leaves, like the first one below are infertile. Others are fertile, with the sporangia (as shown on the leaf tips below) carrying the spores. Spores are blown in the wind or carried by animals and on people's clothing and machinery. Return to top

 

Lyonia ferruginea Rusty Lyonia / Rusty Staggerbush Lyonia ferruginea, a member of Family Ericaceae (The Heath Family), is native to Florida scrub, flatwoods, and sandy hammocks. It is an evergreen with crooked stems and branches. Twigs are gray to brown with rusty to gray pubescence (hairs) and scales. Scales and pubescence slough off with age. Leaves are simple, alternate, and elliptical, obovate, or ovate. They are 1 to 9 cm long, .5 to 4 cm wide, dark green above, and rusty and scaly below when mature. When leaves are new (as shown in the third photograph), they are rusty or burnt orange on both surfaces. The upper surface has some pubescence along the midrib and often has impressed lateral veins. The lower surface is pubescent with scales that are gray or rust colored. Leaf margins are entire and turned down. The leaves of Rusty Lyonia do not decrease in size near the top of the branch, as do leaves of Lyonia fruticosa (Coastal Plain Staggerbush). Flowers are white to pinkish and urn-shaped. Fruit is a small brown capsule. A plant can live more than 50 years and grow to 4.6 m or taller. In the Smith Preserve, Rusty Lyonia grows as small irregularly branched evergreen shrub/tree with arching branches. Both Lyonia ferruginea (Rusty Lyonia) and Lyonia fruticosa (Coastal Plain Staggerbush) grow in the Smith Preserve. They are very similar looking. Scales on the lower leaf surface of L. fruticosa are just one size, while L. ferruginea has scales of two sizes. Return to top

 

 

Lyonia fruticosa Coastal Plain Staggerbush Lyonia fruticosa is a native, perennial shrub member of Family Ericaceae (heath family), common in pine flatwoods. There are numerous plants growing in the Smith Preserve. "Fruticosa" means shrubby, and that describes this plant. It is usually under 1.8 meters tall. The stems are erect and slightly angled. As shown at left, the leaves are obovate (egg shaped) to elliptical and have flat margins. The upper surface of the leaves is glossy green and the bottom of some leaves have rusty-colored scales. As shown in the third photograph above, the leaves are smaller toward the end of flowering shoots. Lyonia fruticosa is often confused with Lyonia ferruginea (Rusty Lyonia) but the leaves of Lyonia ferruginea are uniform in length to the end of the flowering shoot. Coastalplain Staggerbush has urn-shaped white flowers arranged in clusters. Seed heads are shown in the last photograph. This plant provides shelter for wildlife and its flowers attract pollinating insects. Felt Scale Insects, Family Eriococcidae, and Black Sooty Mold are often found living on branches of Coastalplain Staggerbush in the Smith Preserve.   Return to top

 

 

Macroptilium lathyroides Wild Bushbean Macroptilium lathyroides is a non-native, annual member of Family Fabaceae (The Pea Family). Its habitat includes pinelands and disturbed areas, where it grows .6 to 1 m tall. Wild bushbean has compound leaves and branched stems. Each leaf consists of three oblong leaflets that are 3 to 8 cm long and 1 to 3.5 cm wide. As shown in these photographs, the leaves have petioles (stems) that vary in length and the leaves are sometimes lobed towards the base. The bottom of the leaflets are smooth or have straight hairs pointing in the same direction and pressed closely to the leaflet. A similar species, Macroptilium atropurpureum, has the bottom of its leaflets covered with many short hairs that give them the appearance of being covered in velvet.   Left photo: Top of leaf Right photo: Bottom of leaf. The pink to reddish-purple flowers of Macroptilium lathyroides are in a spike-like inflorescence on long, leafless stems. The keel of the flower forms a spiral, with the long petals protruding at odd angles. Seed pods are elongated, narrow, and hairy. Macroptilium lathyroides is the larval host plant for Urbanus proteus proteus (long-tailed skippers.) Return to top

 

 

Magnolia virginiana Sweetbay Magnolia Magnolia virginiana is a native evergreen tree and member of Family Magnoliaceae. At the Smith Preserve, it is living near the edges of the filter marsh. This tree is multi-stemmed and can grow to 30 m in height. Its leaves are alternate and without lobes. Each leaf is 6 to 12 cm long, 3 to 5 cm wide, and without notches or indentations. As seen in the third photograph, the top of a leaf is green and the bottom is silvery-white. The bark is smooth and gray on old branches and green on new ones. Creamy-white flowers, 8 to 14 cm in diameter, have as few as six and as many as 15 petal-like tepals (petals and sepals combined.) The flowers have a lemon scent. The mature fruit is an aggregate of seeds that are covered with a thin fleshy red coat. They are a favorite seed of fruit-eating birds. Seeds are spread in the birds' excrement. Return to top

 

 

Mangifera indica n Common Mango Growing inside the Smith Preserve near the gopher tortoise fence along Goodlette-Frank Road, are several mango trees. The identification was confirmed by Ian Bartoszek on December 10, 2017. Ian reported that there are many varieties or cultivars wthin that species. A mango is a non-native, flowering plant that belongs to the same family (Anacardiaceae) as Toxicodendron radicans (Poison Ivy.) Like with poison ivy, some people are susceptible to the plant's juices and develop a rash reaction from the plant's fruit peel and wood. Extracts from the bark, leaves, stems, and unripened fruit are used in oriental traditional medicine as an antibiotic and for other pharmacological uses. Mango fruit is a large drupe, containing a thick yellow pulp, a single seed, and a thick yellowish-red skin when rip. Mango is the national fruit of Pakistan and the Philippines. Mangifera is native to the Indian subcontinent and has been introduced to Florida. Trees can grow to a height and crown width of about 30.5 meters and a trunk circumference of 3.7 meters. The trees in the Preserve are young saplings. As shown below, the leaves are spirally arranged and each leaf is oblong, lanceolate-elliptical, and pointed at both ends. Leaf blades are about 25 cm long and 8 cm wide. Tiny flowers occur in panicles of about 3000 and are whitish-red or yellowish-green. Return to top

 

 

Melochia spicata Bretonica Peluda Melochia spicata is a native member of Family Malvaceae (The Mallow Family). As can be seen in these photographs, the plant is very pubescent (hairy). This specimen was observed growing in the dry filter pond at the Smith Preserve on December 3rd 2014. Flowers are purple, 5-petalled, and bell-shaped. Leaves are oval-shaped, with very short petioles. The species was confirmed from these photographs by Roger Hammer, author of Everglades Wildflowers in an e-mail on December 4, 2014. According to Hammer's 2002 edition of Everglades Wildflowers, p. 81, the species is known to bloom year round. Return to top

 

 

Mikania scandens Climbing Hempweed Mikania scandens is a native, perennial, vine member of Family Asteraceae (The Aster Family). Its habitat includes hammocks, pinelands, and wetlands. At the Smith Preserve, it is growing along the southwestern bank of the filter marsh. Climbing hempweed is a hairless vine that climbs and twines around the stems of other vegetation. The species name scandens means “climbing.” Its leaves are opposite, petioled, triangular to heart-shaped, and sharply lobed. The leaves are hairless and leaf margins are entire or have a few teeth. Leaf length is 1.9 to 3.2 cm and larger in shaded area. When in bloom, which can occur every month of the year, the vine is covered with clusters of flowers. Each flower is a cylindrical head composed of four tubular white to pinkish disk florets. There are no ray florets. Each flower head is about 1.3 cm long and stalked. Flowers emit a scent like that of vanilla, and attract bees, wasps, and butterflies. After it blooms, each floret produces a black achene fruit.   Climbing hempweed has been used as a component in Native American snakebite treatments.   Return to top

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

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