Blanketflower - Gaillardia pulchella

Blanketflower, or firewheel, (Gaillardia pulchella) is an annual or very short-lived perennial common to much of Florida and the rest of North America.  It is extremely hardy and adaptable, and can be found on coastal dunes as well as open uplands and disturbed sites in interior counties.  In the prairie states to our north where I have used it in restoration projects, it behaves like a perennial, but in Florida, it is rare to have individual plants last more than 12 months.  It persists and spreads, however, by vigorously self-seeding.
Blanketflower overwinters as a rosette of leaves that hug the ground. Some are nearly devoid of teeth, but the vast majority of the leaves are deeply notched and quite distinctive.  They are several inches long, light green in color, and roughly hairy.  Flower stalks emerge in late spring and the plants become more upright, standing 12-18 inches tall without including the flower heads.  They form a somewhat rounded mass. and often become top heavy as the blossoms form - tipping to one side under that weight.
Flowering can occur in most months from spring through fall.  Each bloom is several inches across and very showy. Normally, the ray petals are deep orange in color, tipped in bright yellow, though yellow forms are common and there is quite a bit of variation in the depth of orange present.  The ray petals surround a mounded central disk that is dark orange to nearly red.  These persist well after pollination and eventually become silvery as the seedheads mature and disperse. Like all asters, blanketflower is attractive to a variety of insect pollinators.
This is one of the most widely propagated wildflowers native to Florida and is commonly used along roadsides and in other cultivated wildflower plantings.  It requires high sunlight and sandy soils to prosper, but it can be grown nearly anywhere if not given too much shade or moisture.  In a mixed planting, it can spread too abundantly and shade other, less robust, species, but it is easily weeded if this becomes a problem.  Do not use it in mass plantings unless you are aware that it will die back in late fall and leave your planting bed virtually bare until spring.  I like it best planted with other robust beach-dune species such as beach sunflower (Helianthus debilis) that typically keep their foliage through winter.

Open House at Hawthorn Hill - Saturday, March 22, 9 am - 1 pm

Alexa and I have scheduled our Spring Open House for Saturday, March 22, 9 am- 1 pm.  The new crop of wildflowers should be ready by then -  including the ones featured above: Bartram's ixia, Downy phlox, and Silver aster.  If you are interested in stopping by to purchase plants or just talk wildflowers, let us know.  This sale will precede all of the other Spring plant sales we will be attending. Many of our species are in limited numbers.  If you want a current plant list, let  us know that too.  Hawthorn Hill is in Seminole, Pinellas County.  We'd love to see you!

Sea Purslane - Sesuvium portulacastrum

Sea purslane (Sesuvium portulacastraum) is a common occurrence in coastal dunes and the upper edges of salt marshes throughout Florida and other southeastern states from Texas to North Carolina.  It also has been reported in the Caribbean, Hawaii, and on most shorelines in tropical and subtropical areas worldwide.  A disjunct population is reportedly present in Pennsylvania as well.  Sea purslane is exceedingly tolerant of high salt levels and vagaries in soil moisture.  Its Latin name is derived from its outward resemblance to the garden purslanes (Portulaca spp.), so widely used in home landscapes.
Sea purslane, however, is a prostrate perennial designed for life in the harsh conditions found along the coast.  Its stems and leaves are especially waxy to reduce water loss and the leaves are succulent-like.  Both the stems and leaves often are reddish in color - especially in areas where they receive high light and salt.  This foliage scrambles along the ground, rooting periodically, and forming large mats.  The leaves are high in vitamin C and are salty in taste, therefore, it has been used to treat scurvy and is often added to salads. In some locations, the pulverized leaves are also used to soothe wounds caused by the spines of venomous fish.
The soft-pink 5-petaled flowers are produced year-round in warm areas.  They form along the stems, but open for only a brief period in mid-day.  Do not look for the blooms first thing in the morning.
Sea purslane is an excellent coastal plant to help stabilize dunes, but it is not a very good candidate for home wildflower gardens. It is widely propagated by native plant nurseries affiliated with FANN (Florida Association of Native Nurseries) - primarily for coastal restoration projects. Look for it along the coast, and taste a leaf as you walk by.

Daisy fleabane - Erigeron quercifolius

Daisy fleabane (Erigeron quercifolius) is a herbaceous short-lived perennial found statewide in a variety of open, upland disturbed habitats.  Outside of Florida, it is common in much of the Southeast.  It is often found along roadsides and open fields as it takes quick opportunity to colonize just about any opening or disturbance.
Daisy fleabane is also known as "oakleaf" fleabane as the basal leaves are lobed like some oaks are. In fact, the Latin name means "foliage like an oak."  These leaves form rosettes that are up to 6 inches across. The leaves lie flat to the ground, are somewhat linear and have a deeply notched margin.  They also are often yellow-green on color and are rough to the touch.
Leaves emerge in the spring or overwinter and the basal leaves form colonies of many plants.  Flower stalks emerge from the center of each and reach a mature height of 12-24 inches by early summer.  The flower heads are only 1/4-inch across, but are produced in large numbers.  Each is composed of many thin white ray petals surrounding a rounded yellow disc.  The flowers attract a diversity of small pollinators.

Daisy fleabane is sometimes sold commercially and can easily be propagated from seed collected in the late summer and fall.  It is not fussy as to growing conditions, but should not be grown in shade or in wet soils.  I find it to be a bit weedy, but can be attractive if used in mass with other wildflowers.

Blueflower Eryngo - Eryngium integrifolium

Blueflower eryngo (Eryngium integrifolium) is actually one of many "snakeroots" with blue button-shaped flowers.  It is also sometimes referred to as "bog eryngo" as it is most common in open wet prairies, savannas, and bogs.  This is a species restricted in Florida to the Panhandle counties and a few other counties in northeast Florida.  It is distributed outside of Florida in all the Southeastern states.
Bluefower eryno is easily distinguished from other species in this genus by its arrow-shaped leaves that clasp the main stem and are deeply notched along the margin.  It is a perennial forb.  The basal leaves can be up to 4 inches long and have stalks.  These are evident in early spring.  The main stem arises from these leaves shortly after. It is slender and reaches a mature height of 2-3 feet by summer. The stem produces multiple side branches near the top and the flowers are formed at the top of each.  These are about 1/2 inch across, rounded in shape, and composed of many tiny blue flowers.  Each flower head is subtended by long thin bracts that also are blue in color.
Eryngiums are in the carrot family and a few are used by the larvae of the Eastern black swallowtail butterfly.  Blueflower eryngo, however, has not been reported as one of those species and it is likely not a good candidate for a butterfly garden.  This species has never been offered for sale commercially by any nursery associated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries.  Look for it in late summer in the same type of open wetland that you might find pitcher plants and grass pink orchids.

Early Fleabane - Erigeron vernus

Early fleabane (Erigeron vernus) occurs statewide in Florida, except for the Florida Keys, and from Louisiana to Virginia within the Southeast Coastal Plain.  It is resident to open habitats that are generally moist - pine flatwoods, savannas, roadside ditches, and the edges of ponds.  Though common throughout much of Florida, it seems to be not nearly as well known as its close relative, daisy fleabane (E. quercifolius). Both are common statewide, but only the latter seems to have been included in the plant trade by native plant nurseries, even though early fleabane is a bit more attractive in my opinion. 
Early fleabane is easily distinguished from daisy fleabane by two significant differences.  The first is their difference in blooming season.  Early fleabane blooms only in early spring while the latter has an extended flowering period from summer through fall.  If you find a patch of fleabane in March or April, it most assuredly is early fleabane. The second difference is in the basal leaves.  As the photo above (from Shirley Denton and taken from the University of South Florida ISB site) shows, early fleabane has somewhat succulent basal leaves that lack teeth along the margins (sometimes shallow teeth are present) and are oval in shape.  Daisy fleabane has rough elliptical basal leaves that are deeply toothed.  Even in winter, when neither is blooming, they are easily told apart.
Early fleabane maintains its basal leaves year-round.  They form small colonies on the ground, slowly dividing over time.  It is a short-lived perennial, often a biennial, and produces its 18-24 inch flower stalk in early spring.  The outer white ray petals are thinner and more delicate than in daisy fleabane, and surround a central yellow disc. All fleabanes attract the attention of small pollinators.
Though not sold in the trade, it makes an attractive addition to a wildflower garden. It is easily grown from seed collected in late spring, but needs to reseed in the garden to persist.  Look for it in early spring in moist open habitats and learn to distinguish it from its ubiquitous later-blooming relative.

Tampa Verbena - Glandularia tampensis

Tampa verbena (Glandularia tampensis) is a state-listed endangered species, endemic to just a few coastal counties on both sides of the state in north and central peninsular Florida.  It is a short-lived perennial that most often occurs in light gaps and disturbed openings in woodland hammocks.  I have found it in a number of locations over the years, but always in edges, in areas rooted by wild hog, along trails, and other such places, and often, when I have returned a year or two later, it has either disappeared or moved.Though somewhat adaptable to growing conditions, it seems to most prefer moist soils and partial sun.
Tampa verbena is an upright, evergreen herbaceous species that rarely stands taller than 2 feet.  Given extra fertilizer or in places that get very little sunlight, it can reach 3 feet, but it often becomes weak and droops over.  Multiple stems arise from the ground and mature plants form a very attractive mass. Each stem, however, forms very few side branches. The opposite leaves are arrow shaped and deeply toothed along the margins.
Blooming can occur in most months, but is most prolific in late spring and summer. Like its close (and also endangered) relative, beach verbena (G. maritima), clusters of very stunning light to deep pink (sometimes, almost lavender) flowers form at the ends of each stem.  Each flower remains open for about a week, and individual plants remain in bloom for many months, if given the right conditions. Like others in this genus, the flowers attract pollinators.
Though quite rare in nature, Tampa verbena is rather widely propagated and is very easy to grow from cuttings.  Its ease of propagation, however, is not matched by ease of maintenance in the garden.  I have grown this beautiful wildflower many times and in many places within my landscape, but I have never had it persist for more than two years and it has never self-seeded.  Its attractiveness warrants using it much like an annual, adding new plants when the older ones expire.  In the garden, Tampa verbena will do well in almost full sun and is rather drought tolerant once established.  It does not seem particularly fussy about soil pH. Given a choice, I would give it part sun and a bit of extra moisture - conditions I find it growing in the wild.