Summer Farewell - Dalea adenopoda

 

There are two native prairie clovers with the common name of summer farewell and they are very similar to each other.  I've written previously about Dalea pinnata which is found in xeric open uplands throughout north and central Florida.  This summer farewell (D. adenopoda) occurs in similar habitat in the southern half of peninsular Florida - so there is some overlap in their ranges.  The difference lies mostly in the foliage.  In D. adenopoda, the leaves are normally involute - rolled so that the underside of the leaf is exposed and the upper surface is largely hidden.  The leaves also are much smaller - 1-2 mm wide as opposed to 4-6 mm in D. pinnata.  D. adenopoda was formerly considered to be a variety of D. pinnata, but has since been separated into a unique species.

Both species are identified by their bright red buds, their white flowers and their silvery fuzzy seed heads.  As their common names imply, they bloom in late fall and are especially attractive to native pollinators of all kinds.  Although these are considered to be perennials, I've never had them persist long in a landscape setting.  Sow the seed in exceptionally well-drained soil and transfer the seedlings when small into scrub-/sandhill-type sandy soil in full sun.

The top 3 photos are mine and copied from the Florida Plant Atlas managed by the Institute for Systematic Botany (ISB) at the University of South Florida.  The bottom photo was taken on 30 November at the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest in Polk County.

Bridges’ and Orzell’s bluecurls - Trichostema bridgesii-orzellii

 

In 2025, Alan Weakley published a revision to the taxonomy of the ubiquitous perennial mint, blue curls (Trichostema spp.).  Prior to this, all blue curls native to Florida were lumped together under 1 species, T. dichotomom.  The new revision separated this species into seven - one being the endemic Bridges' and Orzell's blue curls which is also known as the Lake Wales Ridge blue curls, T. bridgesii-orzellii.  As this latter common name implies, this species is restricted to sand pine scrub, sandhills and scrubby flatwoods on and adjacent to the Lake Wales and Winter Haven Ridges.

There are generally only subtle differences between this species and others - especially T. suffrutescens - scrub blue curls.  In both species, the buds are purple-black to dark blue purple, the corolla is dark blue or blue-purple to blue or blue-purple, and the anthers are dark blue or blue-purple to blue or blue-purple. There are differences in their growth form as scrub blue curls tends to be less than 3 feet tall and branches often near its base while Lake Wales Ridge blue curls grows to 3 feet and does not significantly branch near the base.  In their publication  Dr. Kevan Schoonover McClelland, Elon University, Dr. Alan Weakley, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and graduate student Derick Poindexter, University of Carolina-Chapel Hill, published in the journal Phytotaxa, describe differences in the odor of the foliage. I do not have that experience.

The photos above were taken on 30 November by me at the Lake Wales Ridge State Forest in Polk County.

Water Dawnflower - Stylisma aquatica

Unlike other members of this morning glory genus, water dawnflower (Stylisma aquatica) is a wetland species with pink instead of white flowers. It occurs throughout the western Panhandle. It also is vouchered from much of the Southeastern Coastal Plain from eastern Texas to southern North Carolina.  Throughout this range it occurs in open seasonally wet depressions.

Water dawnflower is a perennial that dies back to the ground in winter. When it emerges in spring, it becomes a sprawling vine like other members of this genus.  Its elliptical leaves alternate on the 4-foot long stems and the small pinkish flowers are produced from May through summer in the leaf axils.  I have no experience with this species, but other members are pollinated mostly by bees and I suspect that's true for this one.

Dawnflowers are diminutive morning glories and rarely propagated by commercial nurseries.

These photos were taken by my friend, Floyd Griffith, and used by permission.

Southern Milkweed - Asclepias viridula

Southern milkweed (Asclepias viridula) is native to some scattered north Florida counties and a few sites in neighboring counties in Alabama and Georgia.  It is listed as a state threatened species and is nowhere common.  It occurs in moist to wet open habitats. In Florida, it is most often encountered within wet prairies and bogs within the Apalachicola National Forest.  

Southern (aka green) milkweed is a perennial that dies back to the ground in winter and reemerges in the spring.  Its thin wiry single stem eventually reaches a mature height of about 2 feet.  Its thin leaves are opposite on the stem - which easily differentiates it from whorled milkweed (A. verticillata) as well as the huge difference in habitat preference. The whitish-green flowers occur near the top of the stems within the leaf axils.   Like other milkweeds, it is pollinated mostly by butterflies and small bees.  It also serves as a host for milkweed butterflies.

Very few of our 22 native milkweeds are propagated by commercial nurseries affiliated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries.  This one is not a good candidate owing to its specialized habitat requirements, its somewhat unshowy flowers and its general rarity.  If hiking through an open bog or wet prairie in Florida in summer, look for it and just admire it for being what it is.

These photos are used by permission by my friend, Floyd Griffith.

Green Comet Milkweed - Asclepias viridiflora

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Green comet milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora) is one of 22 milkweeds native to Florida. It is unique in appearance and easily recognized from the others.  Found in most counties of north Florida, this species occurs in open well-drained sandy soils. A perennial, it dies back to the ground each winter and reemerges in the spring.  Eventually, it reaches a mature height of about 2 feet by early summer. The stalks are solitary.

The leaves are variable in shape, but mostly lanceolate.  They are opposite on the stems. The flowers are urn shaped and open only at the top.  Up to 5 dozen of these green flowers occur in two-inch clusters in the upper leaf clusters.  Pollinated flowers form long pointed pods about 4 inches long. Like many milkweeds, pollination is mostly accomplished by butterflies.

Like other members of this genus, green comet milkweed is a host to monarch and queen butterflies and like most other upland milkweeds, it is rarely, if ever, offered commercially by any of the native nurseries affiliated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries.  I have never attempted the propagation of this species, but I've found most of our native upland milkweeds difficult to maintain in a nursery or landscape.  Although getting seeds to sprout is easy, keeping them in a pot for any length of time or getting seedlings to survive the transplanting to a landscape is difficult.  That seems to be the problem of getting them into the trade despite the great interest in milkweeds. 

The bottom three photos are used with permission by my friend Floyd Griffith. 

Georgia Indian Plantain - Arnoglossum sulcatum

 

Yet another member of the Indian plantain genus (Arnoglossum spp.).  Georgia Indian plantain  (A. sulcatum) occurs in semi-shaded wetland habitats across much of the Florida Panhandle as well as in southern Georgia and Alabama.  It has been vouchered in one Mississippi county as well.

Like other members of this genus, Georgia Indian plantain dies back to the ground in winter and reemerges in spring.  It reaches its mature height of 4-5 feet by early summer.  The basal leaves are ovate, thick and glossy with a distinct petiole.  These often are absent by the summer blooming season.  The leaves alternate up the stem and become much reduced in size and lack a petiole.  The leaf margins are often edged in red  and are noticeably toothed.

Flowering occurs atop the single stalk in summer.  They are typical for the genus - urn shaped and basically white in color although the tips of the buds are red/rose.  Indian plantains generally attract a wide variety of pollinators and I suspect that Georgia Indian plantain is no exception.

Very few of Florida's native Indian plantains have been offered for sale commercially by nurseries affiliated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries though such species would seem to have a place in landscapes designed for pollinators.  

The lower 3 photos were taken by my friend, Floyd Griffith, and are used by permission.

Variable-leaf Indian Plantain - Arnoglossum diversifolium

Variable-leaf Indian plantain (Arnoglossum diversifolium) is another one of the six Indian plantains native to Florida and one of the tallest.  Although this perennial dies back to the ground in winter, it quickly reaches its mature height of up to 10 feet by early summer.  Native to six central Panhandle counties and two in north Florida, it also is vouchered from Alabama and Georgia. Throughout this rather limited region is occurs in swamps, wet hardwood hammocks, openings in floodplain forests over limestone with clayey, basic soils and a canopy of hardwood trees and bald cypress.  

As its Latin and common name implies, its leaves are variable.  The lower leaves are heart-shaped with squared off bases and blades up to 4 inches long. The leaves alternate up the stem and become reduced in size and more deeply toothed with very short petioles or none at all.  Flowering occurs atop the single stem in summer.  The urn-shaped white flowers are tinged in pink.  These are attractve to a variety of pollinators - especially bees.

Variable-leaf Indian plantain is listed as threatened in both Florida and Georgia and few populations currently occur on protected lands.  Although an interesting and useful plant ecologically, it is not a good candidate for cultivation for home landscapes and has never been offered commercially by nurseries associated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries.  It simply is one of many native plants to be admired if found while walking in a natural wetland.

These photos were taken by my friend, Floyd Griffith and are used with permission.