Cabbage Palm

Pine Flatwoods, Oak Hammock, Swamp

(Sabal palmetto) Also called "swamp cabbage," this palm is named for the "cabbage," the large leaf bud growing at the top of the trunk. The interior stem, once harvested and cooked, is a delicacy called heart of palm. Removal of the heart, however, causes the immediate death of the tree. The old, dry brown leaf bases may remain on some trunks. Called "boots," these provide watering holes for tree frogs, anoles, and other wildlife. On other mature trees only a thick rind, marked with rings where the old sets of leaves have fallen off, is present.

Carolina Ash (Fraxinus caroliniana)

Swamp

Carolina ash, fairly common in our swamp, is also called pop ash or water ash. Like the red maple the ash tree has opposite leaves but, unlike the simple maple leaf, the ash has a compound leaf divided into 5-9 leaflets. Male and female flowers grow on separate trees in very small clusters, sometimes appearing before the leaves. The broad samaras, or winged fruits, provide food for wildlife. Ash trees are often confused with hickories which have alternate compound leaves. Flowers in spring.

Live Oak (Quercus virginianus)

Oak Hammock, Swamp

A 40-50" tall tree with a low, dense rounded crown spreading out to more than 100", the live oak silhouette is easy to recognize. Often draped with Spanish moss, cardinal air plants, ball moss, and butterfly orchids, these epiphytic plants only use the oak tree for support and as a means to reach more sunlight. Once a staple of our native American diet, live oak acorns are a nutritious wildlife food source. The shedding of the older leaves starts as the new leaf growth begins in February in our area.

Coastal Plain Willow

Swamp

(Salix caroliniana) Small (30-35"), slender trees, willows grow throughout the swamp and along our boardwalk. Long 8" leaves, silvery white and waxy underneath, dangle from the spreading, slightly drooping branches of the willow. Male catkins and female catkins grow on separate trees. Female flowers mature into a long cluster of small fruits containing plumed seeds widely dispersed by the wind. Flowers in spring.

Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris)

Pine flatwoods

Once common throughout North and Central Florida, longleaf pines were tapped to provide tar, pitch, and turpentine for the early settlers. Today the lumber, a strong and durable wood, is used in the building and construction trade. Longleaf pine seedlings curtail their growth at the "grass stage" (short seedlings with moist needles) for as long as 6 years, then shoot up quickly to keep the tree bud out of reach of the next low lying lightning fire in the pine flatwood community. Needles, 10-15" in length, grow in clusters of three or sometimes four.

Red Maple (Acer rubrum)

In late winter and early spring, before the leaves appear, clusters of tiny red maple flowers bloom throughout the swamp. The samara, the common winged "helicopter" fruit of the maple, contains seeds which provide food for songbirds and other wildlife. Of all the trees on the east coast the red or swamp maple has the greatest north-south distribution. Flowers late winter - early spring.

Ball Moss

Pine Flatwoods, Oak Hammock, Swamp

(Tillandsia recurvata) Like Spanish moss, ball moss is not a moss but a flowering plant in the bromeliad family. Ball moss is a nitrogen fixing plant that can convert atmospheric nitrogen (unusable to plants) into a form that plants can use. Once a ball moss plant lands on the ground it begins to fertilize the soil for nearby plants. Sometimes seen hanging on telephone lines, ball moss is the only North American epiphyte to grow in this manner. Small purple flowers bloom spring – fall.

South Florida Slash Pine (Pinus elliotti var. densa)

Pine Flatwoods

The most common South Florida pine, the slash pine grows to 100" with a characteristic dense rounded crown. Pine Flatwoods need periodic fires, often caused by lightning strikes, to maintain their pine tree habitat. The fast growing second growth stands of slash pine form a large part of the pine forests across Florida. Dark green glossy needles, about 12" long, grow in bundles of 2 or 3 needles. The wood is hard and durable, most often used for pulp wood for paper production.

Butterfly Orchid

Oak Hammock

(Encyclia tampensis) SPECIES ALERT! Florida Endagered Plant List A native epiphytic orchid of Florida, the butterfly orchid grows from the southern – of the state peninsula down through the Florida Keys. The very fragrant 1" orchid flowers have a magenta spot on the lowermost white petal. Butterfly orchids grow from round bulblike stems, often in thick clumps, on live oak trees. Blooms from June – August and occasionally throughout the year.

Beauty Berry

Pine Flatwoods, Oak Hammock

(Callicarpa americana) Named after the genus callicarpa, for the brightly colored magenta fruits, the beauty berry is a small, deciduous hairy shrub with many arched branches. Pink, blue, violet, or white flowers grow in clusters along the stem. Remaining on the shrubs long after the leaves drop, the very juicy magenta fruits are an important food for songbirds, armadillos, and other mammals. Flowers spring – fall.

Buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis)

Swamp

Thickets of buttonbush line our boardwalk through the marsh. Flourishing in full sunlight, where shrubs can grow to 12" tall, buttonbush will grow in semi-shade but with fewer flowers. Flowers grow in round pincushion clusters, about 1" in diameter. Ball-like brown fruits filled with seeds stay on the plant through the late fall. Wildlife, including many species of waterfowl, eat the seeds while deer browse the leaves and twigs. Flowers spring – fall.

Cardinal Air Plant (Tillandsia fasciculate)

Oak Hammock

SPECIES ALERT! Florida Endangered Plant List Attacks by the Mexican bromeliad weevil, illegal collecting, and habitat loss are threatening the population of both the cardinal and the giant airplant. Growing in clusters with 25-50 long, stiff leathery leaves, cardinal airplants have numerous purplish flowers surrounded with red floral bracts. Blooms all year especially from spring to early summer.

Ceasarweed (Urena lobata)

Pine Flatwoods, Oak Hammock

SPECIES ALERT! Invasive Exotic

An invasive exotic form the Mediterranean, caesarweed has spread throughout our area. Along with the swamp hibiscus, it is a member of the mallow plant family, displaying the same 5 petal flower shape. Leaves are covered with star shaped plant hairs that give the leaves a rough texture. The dried fruits, covered with miniature hooked spines, snap easily from the plant & stick to clothes and animal fur. A category 2 invasive, this plant has not altered plant communities to the extent that category 1 plants have.

Giant Airplant (Tillandsia utriculata)

Oak Hammock

SPECIES ALERT! Florida Endangered Plant List

Growing to 6" tall, with clusters of 20-75 leaves, each about 30" long, the giant airplant can live up to 20 years. Greenish or purplish floral bracts surround 10-200 flowers. After the airplant produces a single flower spike and releases its seeds, it will die. Seeds are released the following year in late spring. Populations of the giant airplant have drastically decreased.

Lizard’s Tail (Saururus cernuus)

Swamp

Often growing in large colonies via a vast system of underground runners, lizard's tails are a common understory plant in swamp areas. During the blooming season drooping flower spikes of small white flowers brighten the swamp floor. The flowers mature into a string a small nutlets that resemble a lizard's tail, thus giving the plant its common name. Flowers late winter – fall.

Mistletoe (Phoradendron leucarpum)

Swamp

SPECIES ALERT! Poisonous when eaten

A semi-parasitic shrub, mistletoe has chlorophyll and produces its own food but sends its roots into its host tree to derive water and minerals, causing very little injury in the process. Easiest to see in the winter, the evergreen mistletoe grows in 1-3 feet wide clumps on deciduous trees. Small flowers mature into whitish yellow fruits. Birds pick out and eat the sticky seeds in the fruit, only to leave some behind on a tree branch where the seeds germinate and produce new plants.

Para Grass (Urochloa mutica)

Marsh

SPECIES ALERT! Exotic

An invasive exotic species introduced from Brazil (originally from Africa) as a fodder grass for cattle, para grass has spread uncontrollably throughout wetland areas here and abroad. Identified as a category 1 invasive plant on the Florida Invasive Plant List, para grass is common in the marshes along the Myakka River. A long lived plant, with a rapid growth rate, para grass displaces native plant species and lowers plant biodiversity, significantly altering the marsh community.

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)

Oak Hammock, Swamp

SPECIES ALERT! Poisonous

Poison ivy grows in many forms including as a small plant, a climbing vine, or a trailing shrub. Inconspicuous yellowish flowers mature into tiny whitish fruits, an important wildlife food. An oily sap containing the irritating substance urushiol is present in the plant tissue and on the plant surface when bruised. Direct or indirect contact (touching tools, animals, clothes) or inhaling smoke when burning the plant can cause moderate to severe inflammation and allergic complications. Birds are immune to the plant.

Saw Palmetto (Serenoa repens)

Pine Flatwoods, Oak Hammock

A low (6") growing shrub in the palm family, the saw palmetto is named for the sharp "saw like" spiny teeth found along the edges of the leaf stalks. Palmettos grow in clumps with their trunks often sprawling along the ground, forming impenetrable thickets in which wildlife can hide. The ripened, black palmetto fruit was an important food for Florida Indians and black bears. The flowers are a source of honey.

Spanish Moss (Tillandsia usneoides)

Pine Flatwoods, Oak Hammock, Swamp

Neither Spanish nor a moss Spanish moss is a flowering plant that is a member of the pineapple (bromeliad) plant family. Spanish moss is an epiphyte, more commonly called an air plant, that uses trees for support. Air plants are rootless plants, growing on oaks and other trees, that use the scales on their leaves and stems to absorb water, dust, and nutrient particles from the air. An important wildlife plant, several species of bats and songbirds build their nest inside clumps of this moss while other birds gather the moss for nesting material.

Spanish Needles (Bidens alba)

Pine Flatwoods

Common in open areas, this member of the aster family grows to 3" tall. The 1" flowers, with yellow- orange disk florets and white ray florets, the latter dropping off early leaving only the center disk, bloom throughout the year. Black seedlike barbed fruits, nicknamed Spanish needles, stick to clothes, fur, and feathers. Other members of the aster family seen commonly in our area include coreopsis, thistle, fleabane, dog fennel, sweet everlasting, and goldenrod.

Swamp Hibiscus (Hibiscus grandiflorus)

Swamp, Marsh

Hundreds of tall (8-10") hibiscus plants brighten our Tatum Sawgrass Marsh in summer with a spectacular display of large pinkish flowers. Hibiscus plants provide shelter for small birds and other marsh wildlife. Hibiscus flowers last only a day but new blooms open throughout the summer and fall. Each winter the leaves and stems of the hibiscus die back only to re-sprout in the spring. Flowers summer – fall.

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnate)

Swamp

Plants in the milkweed family get their name from the thick, sticky, milky sap that oozes out of torn leaves, stems, or fresh pods. Resins in the sap are toxic when ingested by livestock. For humans the sap is an irritant to the skin and eyes. Butterfly caterpillars feeding on these plants are protected from several species of birds due to these toxins. Swamp milkweed grows to 3" tall in swamps, with pink to rose colored small flowers arranged in umbrella-like clusters. Flowers summer – fall.

Water Hemlock (Cicuta maculata)

Swamp, Marsh

SPECIES ALERT! Poisonous if eaten

Growing to 8" tall, water hemlock grows in swamps, marshes, and along Crowley Creek. Tall straight stems, with the characteristic purple magenta streaks of color, are smooth, sturdy, and branched. Many tiny white flowers, in clusters about 8" across, grow in an "umbel" or umbrella like shape. All parts of this plant, especially the roots, are poisonous, causing reactions that range from mild gastroenteric irritation to death. Flowers spring - fall.

Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Swamp, Marsh, River

SPECIES ALERT! Invasive

Exotic Introduced from tropical America, the water hyacinth has spread quickly throughout wetland areas and is now a category 1 invasive plant species as listed on the Florida State List of Invasive Species. Category 1 invasive exotics alter native plant communities by displacing native species. Round hyacinth leaves sit on top of spongy, air filled stalks. Usually seen floating in streams and marshes, sometimes digging its roots into the mud, hyacinths spread via runners and clog waterways. Flowers spring – fall.

Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera)

Pine Flatwoods, Oak Hammock, Swamp, Marsh

Wax myrtles grow in a variety of habitats, from dry, sandy pine Flatwoods to moist, shady oak hammocks to the swamp and marsh. Dense evergreen foliage provides wildlife cover while the blue berries are an excellent food for warblers and other songbirds. Wax myrtles flower in late winter, with male catkins and inconspicuous female flower "bumps" on separate trees, the latter growing into waxy blue berries that tightly clasp the stem. A nitrogen fixing plant, myrtles can live in infertile soils.