Baldwin's Milkwort- Polygala balduinii

Baldwin's milkwort (Polygala balduinii) is one a just a few white-flowered milkworts native to Florida and the only one with flowers arranged in small circular heads.  This is a wetland species and it occurs nearly statewide.  Its geographic range is limited to the Deep South - Florida to Texas, along the Gulf of Mexico.

Baldwin's milkwort is an annual or biennial, though Roger Hammer lists it as a perennial in his Everglades Wildflowers book.  It emerges in spring and rapidly reaches its mature height of 1-2 feet by early summer.  This species is not much of a foliage plant.  Narrow elliptical leaves mostly disappear by blooming season - leaving only a few sessile leaves along the stem.

Flowering occurs in early summer and can last for several months.  In extreme south Florida, flowers can be found in most months.  The erect stem produces up to a dozen rounded clusters of bright white blooms in a cyme arrangement.  The form looks a bit like several yellow-flowered species, especially P. ramosa and P. cymosa, but no other species like it has white flowers.

Because of its short-lived nature and its wet soil requirement, it is unlikely that Baldwin's milkwort will ever be offered by commercial nursery sources, though it is a very handsome plant.  Look for it in open sunny wetlands beginning in June.  It is likely to occur in colonies if you find it.



Short Milkwort - Polygala ramosa

Short milkwort (Polygala ramosa) is one of 23 species of native milkworts in Florida.  Most are found in moist to wet soil habitats and that is definitely the case for this one.  Short (or "low pinebarren") milkwort is classified as a wetland species by state and federal agencies and is found statewide in open wet prairies, marsh edges and within wet pockets of pine flatwoods.  This is a species of the Southeastern Coastal Plain, and, as such, its overall range extends from parts of Texas to Maryland and New Jersey - states along the coast. 

As its common name implies, short milkwort is a relatively short plant, reaching a mature height of about 18-24 inches. It is an annual, and it grows rapidly in the spring to reach this size by early to mid-summer.  Each plant has a central stem with linear leaves about 1 inch long and 1/4 inch wide.  Like so many species in this genus, the stems and roots exude a sweet smell if crushed.

For much of its short life, short milkwort is rather inconspicuous in the landscape.  This changes when flowering occurs, however.  Large flat clusters of bright yellow flowers adorn the top of the stems and are quite showy. My single photograph above does not do it justice, but it shows quite clearly the arrangement of the tiny individual flowers on the stems.  Other yellow-flowered milkworts are arranged in much "tighter" heads than this species.

Short milkwort has never been sold commercially to my knowledge and its annual nature and wet-soil requirements make it a difficult species to add to anything other than a wetland restoration.  Look for this beautiful wildflower from June-August in open wet habitats and simply admire it for what it is.

Purple Thistle - Cirsium horridulum

Purple thistle (aka yellow thistle) (Cirsium horridulum) is an annual or biennial herbaceous "weed" that occurs throughout Florida and in much of the eastern seaboard - though it is classified as a state-endangered species in much of the northeast.  This is a plant of roadsides and other disturbed habitats, and thrives across a wide variety of soil types in full to partly sunny conditions.
As its Latin name implies, it is a robust, wickedly spined plant. The broad rosette of basal leaves may be several feet across.  The sharply toothed leaves are armed with stout spines at the end of each tooth.  This, and the milky sap it produces, protects it from herbivorous wildlife; but, like so many times in nature, the caterpillars of the little metalmark butterfly are uniquely adapted to feed on it.  This tiny, but beautiful butterfly, is featured at the top of this post, nectaring on an aster flower.
A husky flower stalk arises from the center of the rosette by summer.  It too is spiny and eventually reaches a height of about 3-4 feet. Large spiny flower heads form at the end of each stem - and along a few side stems near the top.  These open to large and very showy lavender flowers that are exceptional nectar sources for all types of pollinators.
Though few wildflowers are better nectar sources, purple thistle is impossible to control in a landscape setting. Once established, it often there to stay - producing new plants from underground suckers and from the copious fluffy seed that gets carried everywhere by the wind. I do not recommend it for landscapes, but it is a hub of activity if you are out looking for butterflies, bees, and the like.  When I am hiking or driving and see a stand of purple thistle, I always try to stop if I have my camera with me. You never know what you might see nectaring from it.

Mock Bishop's Weed - Ptilimnium capillaceum

Mock Bishop's Weed (Ptilimnium capillaceum) is a member of the carrot family.  It occurs statewide in Florida, in a wide variety of moist to wet soil habitats, but is also well adapted to average soils and can be found as a lawn or old-field weed.  Mock bishop's weed occurs in much of the Southeast and Midsouth to about Ohio.   Throughout this range, it is an annual that prospers by producing large numbers of seeds.

As a "wild carrot", this species produces a deep taproot, highly fragrant foliage, and umbels of tiny white flowers.  The taproot provides it with good drought tolerance once it is established and the foliage feeds the caterpillars of eastern black swallowtail butterflies.  In our landscape, mock bishop's weed shows up everywhere we water - especially around our potting benches, inside our flats of wildflowers, and in the wetland garden.  We weed some of it or we'd be overrun by this plant in just a few years, but we leave the rest for the butterflies. 

Mock bishop's weed rarely stands taller than 18 inches at maturity. Like many other "carrots" (e.g. dill, fennel), the main stem is hollow and a great many leaves attach to it and off the many side branches.  These leaves are compound with finely dissected leaflets.  The flower heads arise from the ends of every stem.

Many "carrots" produce flowers in specialized heads - called umbels.  Mock bishop's weed is no exception. Each bloom is tiny and bright white.  At full bloom, mock bishop's weed is attractive. This is a spring/very early summer bloomer.

This plant is rarely offered for sale by commercial sources; its main draw being butterfly gardeners interested in adding larval food plants.  Because it blooms early, it is one of the best larval food plants for eastern black swallowtails.  From my experience, it is their preferred spring plant and a great majority of 1st generation butterflies are produced from it.  If you add it, you are likely to have it forever if you plant it in a moist to wet location.  Just make sure you give it some bare soil for the seed to land on. 

Wild Sweet Basil - Ocimum campechianum

Wild sweet basil (Ocmium campechianum) is a state-endangered annual herb found only in the extreme southern tier of Florida counties - Collier, Monroe and Miami-Dade.  As its Latin name suggests, however, it is more common in Mexico - and it also occurs throughout much of tropical Latin America.  In those regions, it is used as a culinary herb or as a "cooling" tea.  It is also sometimes used to ward off mosquitoes - hence its other common name of "mosquito plant."  The genus, Ocimum, includes standard basil and all its many varieties.  Though our native basil seems to have rarely been used in that fashion, it has highly aromatic foliage.
Wild sweet basil is a tropical species that persists in frost-free areas by reseeding heavily.  It has no cold tolerance, but has fared well to date in our Pinellas County landscape despite some cold winter temperatures because seed has sprouted from frost-killed plants.  It is unlikely, however, to persist in areas where the climate is more harsh.
Wild sweet basil rarely stands much taller than 18 inches, but it rapidly becomes much wider than that.  And, because it reseeds so heavily, it often forms large patches of plants that can extend for many feet.  The leaves are oval, opposite each other on the stem, and about 2-3 inches long.  They are also slightly pubescent.  The stems are often purplish - especially on the newest growth. 
Flowering can occur throughout the year.  Like other basils, they occur in small terminal spikes. Each flower is pink/lavender in color and only about 1/8 inch across.  They are especially attractive to small bees.  As the flowers are pollinated, they form a small thin papery seed.
Wild sweet basil is an attractive and useful native wildflower that is easy to cultivate from either seed or cuttings.  It is, however, rarely offered by nurseries affiliated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries.  With the strong attention that sustainable landscapes have garnered in recent years, it would seem that this is one native that might be offered more regularly in the future.  We often have a few plants for sale at Hawthorn Hill, but do not plan to add it as a regular feature of our nursery.  That could change if demand seemed to warrant it.

Small-fruited Bur-Marigold - Bidens mitis

Small-fruited bur-marigold (Bidens mitis) occurs nearly statewide in Florida, except for the extreme southern tier of counties.  Outside Florida, it is confined to the Atlantic Gulf Coast - the one-state-wide row of states from Texas to Maryland. Throughout this region, it is an herbaceous obligate wetland wildflower, common to a very wide variety of fresh and brackish habitats.  This species thrives in the open, but can tolerate partially shaded areas.

Small-fruited bur-marigold is similar to its close cousin, Bidens laevis.  Both are found statewide, but only B. mitis occurs in brackish systems as well as freshwater ones.  Though both species bloom mostly in the fall, B. mitis is more likely to also bloom in late spring and early summer.  Finally, there is an obvious difference in the foliage.  B. laevis has wide elliptical leaves that are unlobed while B. mitis has variable leaves, some of which have lobed margins.  I have written about B. laevis previously. The plants photographed above were in flower in late March.

Small-fruited bur-marigold is an annual.  Seedlings grow rapidly in the spring and can reach their mature height of 2-3 feet by March.  They are rather weak-stemmed plants and have a tendency to bend over under the weight of the open blooms.  They may occur on the shore of wetland systems, but more often occur in the shallow water edge, 4-6 inches deep.

The flowers are bright yellow. Both the ray and disk flowers are similarly colored.  Each is about 1 inch across.  Multiple flowers are produced on the long wiry stems and their many side branches.

Like all members of this genus, small-fruited bur-marigold produces seedheads full of small dark seeds (achenes) covered by tiny spikes that cause the seeds to stick to clothing and hair.  In this way, "beggar-ticks" as they are sometimes called, move about to new habitats and sometimes earn the ire of both hikers and pet owners.  B. mitis, unlike other species of this genus in Florida, do not have long "horns" at the end of their seeds that further enable them to stick, just many small spiny "hairs".

Small-fruited bur-marigold makes a beautiful addition to certain wetland restoration projects, but is not a great choice for home landscapes except in areas that will not be walked in and along shorelines of permanently wet systems. As such, it is sometimes offered by commercial nurseries that specialize in wetland restoration.

Trailing Arbutus - Epigaea repens

Trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) is another one of Florida's relict flora; a species exceedingly rare here, but more common to our north. This species occurs as an isolated population within Torreya State Park in Liberty County as well as in the three furthest western counties in the panhandle.  Because of its rarity and vulnerability, it is classified as a state endangered species.  It is far more common to our north and west, however; occurring in nearly every state in the eastern third of the U.S. and most of the southern tier of Canadian provinces to Manitoba. Throughout its range, it is most common to the understory of deciduous woodlands - in places where it is not routinely buried by leaf litter.

As its name implies, trailing arbutus is a low-growing ground cover. It spreads slowly by rhizomes and eventually occurs as a mat of deep-green evergreen foliage.  Each leaf is leathery and somewhat wooly, and the plants themselves rarely stand taller than about 4-6 inches.

Flowering occurs in very early spring, often before any of the other spring ephemerals have bloomed.  The bright white flowers occur in small clusters at ground level and are exceptionally fragrant.  The flowers soon give way to small fruits that are whitish and somewhat reminiscent of a raspberry.  The photos above were taken in Torreya State Park in early March.  Most of the flowers were well past blooming and the fruit were becoming well developed.

Trailing arbutus has potential as a ground cover for deciduous-shady woodland landscapes in north Florida, but it has never been propagated (to my knowledge) by anyone associated with the Florida Association of Native Nurseries - and, it is unlikely to be.  Though more common to our north, this species is unlikely to fare well here unless specimens close to our border are used.  I have read that it is difficult to propagate as well.

When all is said, this species is best considered to be another of Florida's interesting flora, appreciated in the woods where it occurs.