Zephyranthes atamasca – Atamasco-Lily

A clump of Zephyranthes atamasca, the atamasco-lily, blooming in my yard in March. It is one of the oldest plants in my collection having been continuously with me, either in pots or in the ground, since 1988 (26 years). Thus, it is as long-lived as it is beautiful.

Zephyranthes atamasca is a diminutive bulb in the amaryllis family (Amaryllidaceae) native to the southeastern United States. It occurs in the extreme southwest corner of Virginia and then extends through the Carolinas, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, and northern Florida. In addition to the listed natural range, there is also a disjunct population in Maryland. The Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants lists it in peninsular Florida only in Marion and Hernando counties. However, it extends at least as far south as Hillsborough County, where I have seen it in wet-mesic forests in Hillsborough River State Park.

Plants begin active growth with the arrival of cool autumn weather and continue their growth through the winter and early spring. The first flowers may open as early as February but full flowering occurs in March or April. With the arrival of warm weather, the plants go dormant for the summer. Our two native Zephyranthes species, Zephyranthes atamasca and Zephyranthes simpsonii, are frequently confused with the non-native, white-flowered Zephyranthes insularum or the non-native, pink-flowered Habranthus robustus. But the native Zephyranthes have very thin, linear leaves and are winter-growing, whereas the non-natives have wider leaves and are summer-growing. If it's July and your Zephyranthes has a thick clump of green foliage, it's not one of our two native Zephyranthes!

Zephyranthes atamasca is an extremely desirable and showy little plant that produces sweetly fragrant, relatively large flowers reminiscent of small Easter lilies. Fortunately, it is very easy to grow in moist soil in dappled shade to full sun. A single bulb will quickly form a large clump of dozens of bulbs and propagation is simply a matter of dividing a clump and separating the bulbs. Seeds are relatively short-lived and should be sown soon after ripening. They require no special treatment and germinate promptly. The seedlings, unlike the parent plants, are in no hurry to go dormant and they seem anxious to grow as long as possible and to build up as large a bulb as they can. If watered freely and provided with rich soil, the little seedlings can flower surprisingly quickly with seeds sown in April flowering in March or April of the following year. Zephyranthes atamasca may be grown in the ground but it must be protected from the encroachment of taller or larger plants. And it may also be readily grown in pots where it can compete with the showiest potted plants when in full bloom in the spring.

Image and text © 2014 Rufino Osorio

Flaveria linearis – Yellow Top

A beautifully grown flowering plant of Flaveria linearis photographed in the native plant garden of Ryan Leavengood, a member of the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society.

Flaveria linearis is a common, easily grown perennial found in open, sunny areas in pine flatwoods and coastal situations from Jackson County in the Panhandle, south to the Monroe County keys. It is easily grown from seeds as well as vegetatively by division or cuttings, the latter readily rooting in a glass of water or a pot of moist soil. Its cultivation is undemanding and requires nothing more than moist, but well-drained soil, and a half-day or more of full sun. It tends to be short-lived in cultivation, especially if grown in very rich or heavily fertilized soil.

Although it bears small flower heads, Flaveria linearis puts on an attractive show due to the sheer number and brilliant golden-yellow color of the flower heads. Plants in flower are irresistable to a wide variety of insects including flower beetles, native bees, and butterflies. After flowering, the plants get a somewhat unkempt appearance due to the old dried flower heads but a little judicious pruning soon leads to a burst of fresh, bright green, new growth.

Flaveria linearis may be grown in flower beds, cottage gardens, bee or butterfly gardens, wildflower gardens, or along the sunny edges of shrub borders or tree plantings. Because it can tolerate much adversity, it may also be grown in tough urban situations as well as sites where construction has disturbed the soil and there is much rubble present. It naturally occurs in coastal sites and is thus also recommended for coastal gardens. The bright yellow flower heads and its long stems make Flaveria linearis a good plant for cut flowers. And, while it has no medicinal or herbal uses that I know of, its growth habit and appearance permit its use in herb gardens, where its bright green leaves will constrast nicely with silvery-leaved herbs. Its wide natural range from Florida's Panhandle to the Floria Keys indicates that it is an adaptable plant capable of being grown throughout the entire State of Florida. Yet, in spite of its vigorous, carefree nature, it is well-behaved in most gardens and is rarely, if at all, ever weedy due to aggressive self-seeding. Its ease of cultivation, showy golden flower heads, and benefits to native insect wildlife, highly recommend Flaveria linearis for any garden that can accommodate its needs, including those of novice gardeners or gardeners with little experience growing perennials, wildflowers, or native plants.

Image and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Manihot esculenta 'Variegata' – Variegated Cassava

Manihot esculenta 'Variegata' photographaed at the vegetable garden of Mounts Botanical Garden, where it was being grown as an ornamental accent plant.

Image and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Pentas lanceolata 'Gloria's Heirloom Pink'

Pentas lanceolata 'Gloria's Heirloom Pink'

Pentas lanceolata is an evergreen perennial or subshrub native to Africa and Yemen that is commonly used as a flowering landscape plant in frost-free areas and as an annual or houseplant in colder regions. Old-fashioned cultivars are rather large plants that grow to about 4 feet tall and wide, whereas modern cultivars tend to be more compact. Its common names are listed in a variety of references as Egyptian star flower or Egyptian star cluster, but, at least in south Florida, it is never known by those names and it is always referred to by the common name of pentas.

Pentas is very easily cultivated in well-drained but moist soil in full sun to light shade and it is easily propagated from seeds or cuttings, with the cuttings rooting easily in either a glass of water or soil. Poorly drained soils promptly lead to root rot and it struggles in excessively dry soil, thus, it is best to keep it moderately moist and to avoid extreme garden situations. It is much cultivated for the attractive flowers, which are borne throughout the year and come in shades of white, pink, red, magenta, and lavender. The flowers will last about five days when cut and placed in a vase of water and pentas is sparingly used as a cut flower and in flower arrangements.

Pentas is also highly recommended for butterfly gardens as a nectar plant. Unfortunately, modern cultivars are not particularly attractive to butterflies and, if used in butterfly gardens, one needs to seek out the large, old cultivars. One of these is 'Gloria's Heirloom Pink'. It is a selection found by the outstanding native plant gardener, Gloria Hunter, in the 1950s on the island of Palm Beach. It is a vigorous plant with bright pink flowers and in my garden it is a great favorite of honeybees and gulf fritillary, monarch, and queen butterflies. This cultivar is sparingly found in cultivation in the West Palm Beach region, mostly in the gardens of native plant enthusiasts with whom Gloria has generously shared cuttings.

Pentas lanceolata 'Gloria's Heirloom Pink' with a gulf fritillary butterfly (Agraulis vanillae).

Although pentas has been cultivated in the untold thousands throughout southern Florida, it has not shown invasive tendencies and it has been found outside of cultivation in Florida only in Miami-Dade County. I have seen such wild plants growing in moist, partially shaded, rocky places in Miami-Dade County but they had reverted to their wild form and were scarcely recognizable as pentas. The plants were rather spindly, wispy things barely a foot tall and with dull whitish flowers. I found this unusual since cultivated plants that revert to their wild form are usually more vigorous than the cultivated forms but these were decidedly less vigorous. Also, and perhaps the reason pentas has not shown invasive tendencies, they appeared short-lived, were never found in large numbers, and occurred in sites only where there was little or no competition from other plants.

Images and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Yellow Flatsedge – Cyperus croceus

A large, robust plant of Cyperus croceus growing in a patch of pineland heliotrope (Heliotropium polyphyllum) in my front yard.

Cyperus croceus is a common native perennial that has been recorded from all but 12 counties in Florida. Since it occurs in a wide variety of habitats, including marshes, hammocks, sand scrub, sandhills, flatwoods, and disturbed areas, it likely occurs in every county in Florida. In urban areas, it can be found as a weed of neglected lawns, in fields, and along roadsides. It is also one of a group of natives that occurs spontaneously in my yard, especially in sunny areas where there is exposed soil devoid of mulch. Its common name is usually listed as "Baldwin's flatsedge," which is derived from a synonym for this species: Cyperus baldwinii. I prefer the more descriptive common name of "yellow flatsedge," derived from the species epithet, croceus, which means "saffron yellow." But bear in mind that the spikes are greenish when young, brownish when mature, and only somewhat yellowish for a brief period in between.

Younger, smaller plants have a graceful, rather delicate appearance.

As one can well imagine, a plant that readily grows in both the wet soils of marshes and the dry sand of sandhills, in full sun to light shade, is effortlessly cultivated and it can often be established by simply scattering seeds in an open, sunny area. It is, as far as I know, never intentionally cultivated but I could see it being used as a 1–2 foot (0.3–0.6 meters) tall groundcover in a dry, sandy site where little else will grow well. It adapts very well to being mowed and I have seen lawns consisting mostly of Cyperus croceus in older urban neighborhoods. Wildlife value appears to be limited but it may serve as a larval food plant for Diploschizia impigritella, the yellow nutsedge moth. In wetland areas, its tiny, seedlike fruits are eaten by waterfowl and the foliage may be eaten by geese.

A close-up view of an early-stage inflorescence.

Although it can be a bit weedy, yellow flatsedge grows in clumps and lacks underground rhizomes. Thus, it is easily weeded out by slicing the bottom of the plant from its roots. So long as no vegetative portion remains attached to the roots, it will not grow back. A few plants, here and there, add variety, texture, and interest to native plant gardens and, so long as bare soil is covered with mulch, leaf litter, or other plants, it rarely presents a serious weed problem. However, plants can form sizeable clumps, as seen in the first image above, and so it should be kept a safe distance from small or delicate wildflowers.

Images and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Parthenocissus quinquefolia – Virginia Creeper

A Virginia creeper, Parthenocissus quinquefolia, has ripened its fruit in early spring. The combination of red stalks and dark purple fruit is an indication that the fruits are adapted for dispersal by birds. I can assume bird dispersal because birds can see red but most mammals cannot. Thus, bird-dispersed fruits tend to have red colors somewhere in the infructescence. Often, the fruits themselves are red but in other cases the leaves, bracts, stalks, and/or calyx may be red. In some bird-dispersed plants, the seeds themselves may be red and in a few instances, such as Jamaican caper (Capparis cynophallophora), the fruits split open to reveal a red inner lining.

Virginia creeper is a very hardy plant that is tolerant of a wide variety of conditions. This particular plant was found growing in an alley on a south-facing garage wall near West Palm Beach's city center.

Image and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Johnny Poke Seed

Early last year, I collected a few seeds from a pokeweed, Phytolacca americana, that had spontaneously arisen among some saw palmetto palms (Serenoa repens) in a local park. The seeds were duly planted and I selected one seedling to pot up and, eventually, plant in the ground in my front yard. That plant happily grew and produced an enormous number of fruits, much to the delight of the local mockingbirds. Unfortunately, its large size was threatening its more delicate neighbors so I consigned it to the compost bin.

This spring, I noticed its progeny popping up here and there. The photograph above shows a plant growing in my neighbor's yard along our mutual fence line. The picture below is a close-up of the flowers of that same plant. Another plant showed up on my property about 100 feet (30.48 meters) from where the parent plant had been removed. And speaking of the parent plant, a seedling came up inches away from the site of the original plant and that seedling is now about 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall and beginning to flower and fruit. It looks as if pokeweed is here to stay in my yard and, with the help of some feathered friends, perhaps other yards and vacant lots in the neighborhood.

Update: Since this blog post was published on 22 June 2013, the pokeweed established about 100 feet (30.48 meters) from the parent plant died. When I pulled it up from the ground, its root system had rotted, presumably as the result of the torrential, record-breaking rains that Palm Beach County had this spring and early summer.

Images and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Wild Columbine – Aquilegia canadensis

Wild columbine is a common wildflower throughout the eastern and central portions of Canada and the United States. In eastern North America, it reaches its southernmost limit in Jackson, Liberty, and Washington counties in Florida, where it is a state-listed endangered species. Wild columbine is often promoted as a hummingbird plant and hummingbirds do indeed visit the flowers; however, plants in bloom will also attract native bees as well as hawk moths and sphinx moths.

The plant in the photograph above was given to me as a seedling last year (from a garden in Vermont!) and opened its first flowers this week. Wild columbine will grow and flower in south Florida; however, it usually behaves as an annual or short-lived perennial that seldom lives past one or two years of age.

Image and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Two Flat Sedges – Cyperus haspan and Cyperus odoratus

Cyperus odoratus.

Flat sedges, members of the genus Cyperus, are rarely grown even though 35 native species occur in Florida, along with an additional 19 non-native species. Flat sedges are mostly wetland plants found in moist pine flatwoods, bogs, marshes, swamps, and along the margins of streams, ponds, and lakes. They also occur in artificial impoundments and ditches. A few species occur in dry sandy areas, such as sand scrub. Some species, both native and non-native, are extremely weedy and perhaps this has given the whole genus a bad reputation. Their flowers are individually insignificant and come in various shades of green or brown; however, they are aggregated into often conspicuous, sometimes even attractive, inflorescences.

I am currently growing, as potted plants, two native flat sedges. The first, shown above, is Cyperus odoratus (fragrant flat sedge). It is a common weedy annual found nearly throughout Florida. The second, shown below, is Cyperus haspan (leafless flat sedge). It is unusual in that the leaf blades are usually reduced to an inconspicuous sheath and its culms appear to be leafless. It is a perennial species that, like Cyperus odoratus, is a common, rather weedy, sedge found nearly throughout Florida.

Cyperus haspan

Cyperus haspan

Nearly all flat sedges are effortlessly grown so long as they are provided with moist soil and plenty of sunlight. Usually, their cultivation presents only two significant problems. Each plant is capable of producing hundreds or thousands of seeds, each one of which seems to readily germinate. And flat sedges are identified on the basis of minute, technical, recondite characters and are very difficult for most gardeners to identify. As a consequence, it is often difficult for non-botanists to know whether a given flat sedge is a native species or an introduced, non-native species.

Images and text © 2013 Rufino Osorio

Corchorus siliquosus – Slippery Burr

Corchorus siliquosus bears an elongated capsule with four toothlike appendages at its apex (note the unripe capsule in the lower left side of the image).

Slippery burr, Corchorus siliquosus, is a native short-lived perennial or subshrub recorded from south Florida in Collier, Miami-Dade, and Monroe counties, including the Florida Keys. It is an inconspicuous plant due to its thin, erect stems with short side branches and small leaves and it tends to blend in with the surrounding vegetation. Although normally growing 1–3.3 feet (0.3–1.0 meters) tall, it can flower and set seed when only a few inches tall. At about 0.4 inches (10 millimeters) wide, the flowers are too small to make a showy display but they are extremely attractive due their brilliant yellow color and numerous stamens. The flowers are ephemeral, opening around 2:00 or 3:00 P.M. and closing the next morning, but large, healthy plants will produce numerous flowers over a long period in the summer and extending into autumn or winter. The flowers are soon followed by elongated capsules 2–3 inches (5–8 centimeters) long filled with numerous small black seeds. Unfortunately, the charms of Corchorus siliquosus in flower are soon diminished by the conspicuous, numerous, and rather unsightly seed capsules. However, since plants tend to decline after a year or two, gardeners must let it go to seed if they wish to have it persist from one year to the next.

Corchorus siliquosus is a somewhat weedy plant of open, disturbed sites. This is both good and bad as far as its cultivation is concerned. It is a good thing because, like most weedy plants, it is very easily cultivated in just about any sunny spot with well-drained soil. It is bad because it produces a prodigious number of self-sown seedlings and can soon overtake a large sunny garden bed if larger or more aggressive plants are not present to keep it in check. In spite of its weedy nature, I enjoy its little flowers in the late summer and autumn garden, where they shine with a fiery glow on crisp, clear, sunny afternoons and thus always keep one or two plants going in the yard. Propagation presents few problems and Corchorus siliquosus may be easily grown from cuttings. It is also easily propagated from seeds but patience is sometimes required since the seeds can sometimes be slow and erratic in their germination.

There are three other species of Corchorus in Florida, one other native and two that have been introduced from the tropics. Corchorus siliquosus is distinguished from all other species in Florida by its long seed capsules that abruptly end in four small, toothlike protuberances at the apex. Corchorus siliquosus is a plant of the North American tropics from southern Florida and the West Indies as well as from Mexico to Panama. Although today it is regarded as native to Florida, John Kunkel Small regarded it as naturalized from the West Indies. There is a possibility that both views are correct with plants in the Florida Keys and Everglades National Park being native and those from disturbed ruderal sites elsewhere in Florida representing inadvertent introductions resulting from human activities.

Image and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Symphyotrichum georgianum – Georgia Aster

This exceptionally deep violet-purple form of the Georgia aster is the cultivar 'N3 Purple Haze'.

Georgia aster (Symphyotrichum georgianum) is a colonial, rhizomatous perennial with flowering stems 1.5–3 feet (50–100 centimeters) tall. It is listed by the USDA as occurring in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, and South Carolina. In Florida, it is a rare plant that is listed as occurring only in Leon County by the Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants.

On March 17, 2006, I acquired a small plant of the deep violet-purple cultivar 'N3 Purple Haze' and planted it in a sunny site in well-drained sandy soil. It quickly spread by way of underground rhizomes to form a patch that covered about 1.5 square feet (0.4572 square meters). To my surprise, the colony has never grown beyond those 1.5 square feet even though there are no obstacles or larger plants preventing its spread. Thus far, it has not been attacked by the aphids, caterpillars, mealy bugs, scales, nematodes, grubs, or viruses that prove so troublesome in south Florida.

New stems of Georgia aster emerge in early spring.

Georgia aster flowers abundantly and spectacularly but it is among the last of the wildflowers to bloom in my garden and begins to flower at the end of October or the beginning of November. The only other wildflower in my garden that blooms later are my clones of Symphyotrichum concolor (eastern silver aster) from Miami-Dade County, which do not flower until the end of November or even December. After flowering, the stems dry up and I remove them. Unlike some asters, the stems of Georgia aster tend to recline, or even lie on the ground, with age. Gardeners who desire a more formal appearance can trim back the plant in mid-summer, a treatment that results in shorter, more erect flowering stems.

Like most rhizomatous perennials, Georgia aster is easily propagated by splitting off and potting up new growths in the spring. My single plant has never set viable seed, which indicates that Georgia aster is self-sterile. This year I've acquired a second clone and I'm hoping to obtain viable seed next year. The new clone has flowers of the typical color for the species, deep blue rather than purple-violet, and I'm hoping that, by crossing the two, I will get progeny whose flowers will come in a range of blue, violet, and purple colors. Craig Huegel has images of plants with the typical deep blue flowers at his blog, Native Florida Wildflowers.

Images and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Cuttings

The image above shows my preferred technique for propagating plants from cuttings. I use small plastic cups that are 2 inches (5 centimeters) wide across the top. After inserting the cutting in the soil, I loosely wrap it up with plastic to maintain high humidity and the cuttings are placed in a frosted east-facing window. This provides bright light, which stimulates the cuttings to root more readily, while avoiding excessive sunlight that would scorch or bake the cuttings. Except for woody, hard-to-root cuttings, I do not use any rooting hormones.

Once the cuttings are well rooted, I'll harden them off by removing the plastic wrap and slowly acclimating them to full sun. Then I'll move them into bigger pots (unlikely) or plant them directly in the ground (much more likely). I prefer to place small cuttings like these into the ground for three reasons. First, the small pots, with their equally small quantities of soil, use up far less resources than larger pots. Second, they are much more easily handled than larger pots and create far less of a disturbance in the garden than does the planting of a larger plant. Lastly, small young plants adjust better to life in my sandy South Florida soils than do large plants. Often, large plants originally flourish but eventually perish when their roots, accustomed to living in a large pot of rich, organic potting soil, fail to adjust to growing in Florida sand. I also like this system because both the plastic pots and the plastic wrap can be reused indefinitely.

For curious readers, the plants above are, from left to right: Plectranthus parviflorus 'Sapphire Dream', which is being rooted in water; two cuttings of Calamintha coccinea (synonym: Clinopodium coccineum); and two cuttings of Piloblephis rigida 'Juniper'. All three are members of the mint family (Lamiaceae). The Plectranthus is a variegated cultivar of a plant originally native to South Africa and Swaziland. The Calamintha is native to Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi. The Piloblephis is native to peninsular Florida and the Bahamas. Piloblephis rigida 'Juniper' is a cultivar originating from plants growing wild in Palm Beach County that has a very dense and crawling growth habit with mature plants forming a solid groundcover only a few inches high and resembling a prostrate juniper.

Image and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'Raydon's Favorite'

Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'Raydon's Favorite' is a big bang bloomer that covers itself in flowers in the autumn.

Every year since 1996, Symphyotrichum oblongifolium 'Raydon's Favorite' reliably flowers in my garden towards the end of the year in late October and November. The common name is "aromatic aster" and it is based not on the fragrance of the flowers but rather on the aromatic glandular hairs of the bracts below the flowers.

The flowers are a clear amethyst-lavender color that never fails to attract the attention of butterflies and native bees.

So far, after 16 years of cultivation in south Florida, it has weathered droughts, intense heat and humidity, tropical storms, and hurricanes. And it has done so without ever having been afflicted by a single pest—not even aphids. What is puzzling is that it is a species of the eastern and central United States from where it extends west to Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. The closest that its natural range gets to Florida is North Carolina with reports from Alabama and Mississippi. Yet, it thrives in subtropical south Florida. I have tried growing other cultivars as well as wild forms of Symphyotrichum oblongifolium but all languish and die out after a year or two. But 'Raydon's Favorite' lives on to flower every year and no doubt becomes the favorite of every gardener who makes room for it in his or her yard.

Its cultivation is essentially effortless so long as it is provided with well drained soil and plenty of sunshine, although it appreciates a little water during extended droughts. It spreads vigorously and rapidly from underground suckers and propagation is easily effected by digging up and potting up the young suckers in the spring. Viable seed has never been set in my garden and, like many ecologically conservative perennial members of the daisy family, aromatic aster appears to be self-sterile.

Images and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Hibiscus furcellatus – Sleepy Hibiscus

Hibiscus furcellatus is a large, coarse, shrubby perennial or shrub that bears ornamental, large, dark pink flowers pollinated by hummingbirds and bees. It is remarkable for its wide natural range and occurs from Florida, in the southeastern United States, all the way south to Paraguay and Argentina. It also occurs in the Greater Antilles and, by way of long distance dispersal from Central or South America, it is also native to Hawaii.

In Florida, the petals rarely spread very widely, thus accounting for the common name sleepy hibiscus since the flowers never fully "wake up." Occasionally, the petals will fully spread open but usually only for a short time and then only very early in the morning. Hibiscus furcellatus is easily cultivated from seeds and readily flowers during its first year. Its cultivation is undemanding and it grows equally well in moist or dry soils in light shade to full sun. Although wild plants are clearly perennial shrubs, plants cultivated in my garden have always behaved as annuals and must be grown from seed each year.

Image and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Hibiscus dasycalyx – Neches River Hibiscus

Hibiscus dasycalyx, the Neches River hibiscus, is an endangered hibiscus that naturally occurs in the floodplains of the Angelina, Neches, and Trinity rivers in eastern Texas. There are only about 500–600 plants in the wild and wild populations are threatened by habitat destruction and genetic contamination with the closely related Hibiscus laevis. It is sparingly cultivated and is easily grown from seeds or cuttings in continually moist soil in very light shade or full sun. Its cultivation in South Florida is complicated due to the plant being severely attacked by the Sri Lanka weevil (Myllocerus undatus). The adult weevils cause extensive feeding damage to the leaves and the subterranean larvae feed on the roots.

Image and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Hibiscus aculeatus – Pineland Hibiscus

Hibiscus aculeatus is a perennial hibiscus native to the southeastern United States coastal plain in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, as well as in Hardin County, Texas. In late winter or spring, it produces thick, somewhat woody, ascending to erect stems with alternate, deeply lobed, roughly hairy leaves. It begins to flower soon thereafter and can continue flowering so long as moist to wet conditions prevail. The flowers are comparatively large—note that they are larger than the leaves—and are very showy as a result of their pale yellow to creamy white color with a contrasting maroon-red eye. If pollinated by bees, butterflies, or hummingbirds, they are soon followed by rather large capsules that are covered with coarse, sharp hairs.

As is apparent from its common name, pineland hibiscus frequently occurs in wet pine flatwoods, but it is also found in bogs, savannas, and roadside ditches. Unlike many other southeastern United States hibiscus, it often occurs where there is no permanent standing water and perhaps this is the reason that it is the easiest of southeastern native hibiscus to grow under ordinary garden conditions in a perennial border. Hibiscus aculeatus is extremely drought tolerant and, under adverse conditions, will produce only one or two short stems; however, under ideal conditions, it will form a large, bushy mass with many stems up to 3 feet (0.9 meters) tall and about as wide or wider. Self-sown seedlings have been few and welcomed in my dryish garden but I would imagine that it would spread from seed far more aggressively if provided with continually moist soil in sunny, open areas free from taller competing plants. In autumn or early winter, the deceptively woody stems die back to the ground and, in formal garden situations, will need to be cut down, otherwise, it requires no other maintenance. It is not particularly bothered by pests except the occasional aphid or scale, but rarely to any serious extent. Due to its ease of cultivation and value in attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, it is a welcome addition to the garden and is recommended wherever one can provide a moist, sunny spot for this attractive and easily grown hibiscus.

In Florida, Hibiscus aculeatus occurs throughout the panhandle as well as much of northern Florida, from which it extends south to Lake County. In spite of its northern distribution, it is remarkably adaptable and my original plant, first placed in the ground in February 1996, is still with me, more than 16 years later, in my southern Florida garden. Another common name for Hibiscus aculeatus is comfort root, this being an allusion to the soothing, comforting qualities of its mucilage-containing roots.

Images and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Daylilies

Day-lily flowers are usually bright and showy, but they last but a single day.

On Saturday, May 26, 2012, I stopped briefly at the garden of Robert Hopper and photographed several of the half dozen or so cultivars of day-lilies that he is growing. Garden day-lilies are derived from species of Hemerocallis, a genus native to Eurasia. One species with orange flowers, Hemerocallis fulva, is an extremely aggressive and invasive pest plant that has escaped from cultivation nearly throughout the United States and eastern Canada. A second species, Hemerocallis lilioasphodelus, with yellow flowers, is almost as widespread outside of cultivation, while Hemerocallis minor has escaped in Oregon. Due to their tendency to escape from cultivation and become invasive, gardeners should not cultivate day-lilies that regularly form seed pods or that form large vegetative colonies from underground rhizomes. Fortunately, modern hybrid cultivars have less of a tendency to become invasive since they usually do not readily form seeds and they commonly grow in better behaved clumps.

This day-lily cultivar has cheery yellow flowers and is growing with the native Florida greeneyes (Berlandiera pumila).

Images and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Opuntia humifusa – Common Prickly-Pear

Opuntia humifusa, the most common prickly-pear in Florida as well as in eastern North America.

These prickly-pear fruits added an unexpected bit of color on a January hike at the Juno Dunes Natural Area in Palm Beach County, Florida.

Image and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Mentzelia floridana – Poorman's Patch

Mentzelia floridana photographed at the Juno Dunes Natural Area in Palm Beach County.

Poorman's patch, Mentzelia floridana, is a weakly erect, often climbing or sprawling, perennial typically found in hammocks, shell middens, and dunes. It bears striking, bright yellow flowers about 1.5 inches wide throughout the year. The plant is covered with tiny hooked hairs, by which means the leaves and fruits stick to feathers, fur, and human clothing. I have never seen it cultivated although it is not clear why not since it has small but showy flowers and its preference for dry or rocky soil would indicate that it is drought tolerant. Mentzelia floridana has a very limited natural range and is known only from the Bahamas and Florida. However, within Florida, it is a common plant found throughout the coastal areas of the peninsula. In southern Florida, it can also be found well inland.

Image and text © 2012 Rufino Osorio

Cypripedium acaule – Pink Lady's Slipper

 

Michael Compagno, an attorney at the South Florida Water Management District, took this striking photograph of the pink lady's slipper in June of this year while hiking a trail in Isle Royale National Park in Michigan. The plant grows in a wide variety of conditions, from lightly shaded to full sun and from wet to dry. However, it has three absolute requirements: highly acidic soil, freedom from the competition of taller plants, and rather cool summer temperatures. Here it is growing with a rich assemblage of plants that includes Clintonia borealis, Cornus canadensis, Coptis trifolia, and Trientalis borealis.

Image © 2011 by Michael Compagno. All rights reserved. Used with permission.