Only four of our members joined Chris Meyer for this walk on the property edging the Myakka River. The small number was disappointing since so many members had expressed interest in walking there.
Most of us had visited the site before and we found it wetter this time. Several areas along the trails were ankle-deep in water. (Nothing like some of the "Walk in Water" field trips we made in years past.) Many of the plants we saw on the last trip were higher now and, as is always the case, some of the springtime plants we saw blooming then had lived their life cycle and died away.
The most interesting plant that we saw this time was the Mangrove Rubber Vine, Rhabdadenia biflora, that was draped over a thick stand of Mangrove trees. It is the first time Al and I had seen it in our area. The white blossoms look much like the blossom of the Loblolly Bay.
| Mangrove Rubber Vine, Rhabdadenia biflora |
Mangrove Rubber Vine flower |
83 species listed.
| Common Name | Scientific Name |
| Arrowgrass | Triglochin striata |
| Aster, Saltmarsh | Aster sabulatus |
| Ballmoss | Tillandsia sp. |
| Balsam apple | Momordica balsamina |
| Beautyberry | Callicarpa americana |
| Bequilla | Sesbania herbacea |
| Black Needle Rush | Juncus roemerianus |
| Bloodleaf | Iresine diffusa |
| Blue maidencane | Amphicarpum muhlenbergianum |
| Blue Mistflower | Conoclinium coelestinum |
| Brazilian Pepper | Schinus terebinthifolius |
| Broom Sedge | Andropogon glomeratus |
| Buttonwood | Conocarpus erectus |
| Camphorweed | Heterotheca subaxillaris |
| Chalky bluestem | Andropogon virginicus var. glaucus |
| Coontie | Zamia pumila |
| Cordgrass, Salt Marsh | Spartina alterniflora |
| Cordgrass, Sand | Spartina bakeri |
| Cowpea | Vigna luteola |
| Dogfennel | Eupatorium capillifolium |
| Eclipta; False Daisy | Eclipta prostrata |
| Falsewillow, Saltwater | Baccharis angustifolia |
| Fern, Bracken | Pteridium aquilinum |
| Fern, Golden Leather | Acrostichum aureum |
| Fern, Resurrection | Polypodium polypodioides |
| Fern, Shoestring | Vittaria lineata |
| Fern, Swamp | Blechnum serrulatum |
| Fimbry | Fimbristylis sp. |
| Fireweed | Erechtites hieraciifolius |
| Frogfruit ; Capeweed ; Matchweed | Phyla nodiflora |
| Golden Polypody | Phlebodium aureum |
| Goldenrod, Flattop | Euthamia sp. |
| Goldenrod, Seaside | Solidago sempervirens |
| Grape, Muscadine | Vitis rotundifolia |
| Grass, St. Augustine | Stenotaphrum secundatum |
| Guava | Psidium guajava |
| Hempvine or Hempweed | Mikania scandens |
| Horseweed | Conyza canadensis |
| Leavenworth's tickseed | Coreopsis leavenworthii |
| Mangrove, Black | Avicennia germinans |
| Mangrove, White | Laguncularia racemosa |
| Mangrovevine ; rubbervine | Rhabdadenia biflora |
| Marsh Elder ; Beach Elder | Iva imbricata |
| Marsh Fleabane or Rosy Camphorweed | Pluchea rosea |
| Morning Glory, Purple | Ipomoea sp. |
| Myrsine | Myrsine floridana |
| Native Cucumber | Melothria pendula |
| Nutgrass, Yellow ; Chufa Flatsedge | Cyperus esculentus |
| Nutsedge | Cyperus sp. |
| Oak, Chapman | Quercus chapmanii |
| Oak, Live | Quercus virginiana |
| Oak, Water | Quercus nigra |
| Palm, Sabal ; Cabbge Palm | Sabal palmetto |
| Passion flower, Corky-stemmed | Passiflora suberosa |
| Persimmon | Diospyros virginiana |
| Phasey bean | Macroptilium lathyroides |
| Pine, Slash | Pinus elliottii |
| Poison ivy | Toxicodendron radicans |
| Pokeberry | Phytolacca americana |
| Purslane, Sea | Sesuvium portulacastrum |
| Ragweed, Common | Ambrosia artemisiifolia |
| Red Cedar | Juniperus virginiana |
| Saltbush ; Groundsel tree | Baccharis halimifolia |
| Saltmarsh fleabane ; Camphorweed | Pluchea odorata |
| Saw Palmetto | Serenoa repens |
| Smilax ; Greenbriar ; Catbriar | Smilax sp. |
| Snowberry | Chiococca alba |
| Sow thistle | Sonchus sp. |
| Spanish Bayonet | Yucca aloifolia |
| Spanish Moss | Tillandsia usneoides |
| Spanish Needles | Bidens alba |
| Sumac, Winged | Rhus copallinum |
| Sweetbroom | Scoparia dulcis |
| Tasselflower | Emilia fosbergii |
| Thistle | Cirsium sp. |
| Vaseygrass | Paspalum urvillei |
| Virginia Creeper ; Woodbine | Parthenocissus quinquefolia |
| Water hyssop | Bacopa monnieri |
| Wax Myrtle | Myrica cerifera |
| White Indigoberry | Randia aculeata |
| White Milkpea | Galactia elliottii |
| White Star Rush ; Whitetop Sedge | Rhynchospora colorata |
| White Stopper | Eugenia axillaris |