White Tick-trefoil - Desmodium ochroleucum

Tick-trefoils (Desmodium spp.) are widely regarded as "weeds" due to their aggressive nature and their fruit (loments) that are produced atop their numerous stems which stick to everything that brushes against it.  That said, their flowers are often showy and they serve as host plants for several butterflies.  There are 19 recognized species native to Florida and 3 that are not.  Most have pink to rose-colored flowers, but white tick-trefoil (D. ochroleucum) is unique with its white blooms.  This is a very rare plant in Florida, listed as state-endangered, and known from only two sites in Jackson County.  It also has been vouchered from most states within the Southeastern Coastal Plain from Mississippi north to south Missouri and Tennessee and then northeast to New Jersey. Throughout its range it occurs most commonly in dry woodlands and barrens, especially over calcareous substrates.  Blooming occurs most commonly in summer.

Very little seems to have been written about it and I have no personal experience with it.  These photos were taken by my friend, Floyd Griffith and used by permission.  

White indian Plantain - Arnoglossum album

Indian plantains (Arnoglossum spp.) are members of the Asteraceae and are most common in the Southestern U.S.  Of the 8 species native to North America, 6 occur in Florida and two of these are endemic.  White Indian plantain (A. album) is one of these.  Classified as "rare", it has been vouchered from just a few counties in the northwestern Panhandle.  Here, it is native to wet savannas.

Indian plantains are perennials that die back to the ground each winter and reemerge again in spring as a basal rosette of thick deep-green leaves.  In white Indian plantain, these leaves are elongated with pointed teeth along the margins.  Once established, the plants send up an individual flower stalk that can reach just more than three feet tall.  The leaves along this stalk are alternate, eliptical and sharply toothed along the margins.  Like other members of this genus the flowers are produced in flattened heads atop the stalk.  In white Indian plantain, they are the typical white in color and funnel shaped, but they occur in fewer numbers than its relatives.  They attract the attention of a great diversity of pollinating invertebrates.

As a very rare endemic, restricted to sunny wet habitats, white Indian plantain is not a good candidate for commercial growers and has never been offered for sale by nurseries associated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries.  Several upland species are, however,  This is one of the great many species native to Florida that simply should be admired if encountered.

These photos were taken by my friend, Lily Byrd, and used by permission.

Plukenet's False Foxglove - Agalinis plukenetii

There are 17 native species of false foxgloves (Agalinis spp.) in Florida and they are often difficult to identify. Much of it depends on growth habit and on the foliage.  Plukenet's false foxglove (A. plukenetii) is characterized by its mounding habit and its very thin recurving leaves.  This species was not recognized as such in my earlier versions of the Guide to the Vascular Plants of Florida (Wunderlin and Hansen), but is included by the 3rd Edition.  Like most false foxgloves, Plukenet's is an annual that appears in spring and grows rapidly to the bush form it exhibits by late summer.  The flowers are typical for the genus - five pink petals with a frill along the outer edge and pink spots in the throat.  This species flowers profusely by late summer and fall and attracts the attention of pollinators - especially bees..

Plukenet's false foxglove occurs throughout much of north and central Florida in dry to xeric, sandy, gravelly or clay roadsides, pine-oak forests, margins of savannas, and disturbed ground.  Like other members of this genus, it serves as a host plant for the common buckeye butterfly but has never been offered commercially by any of the native plant nurseries in Florida associated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries.  As a root parasite that needs to attach its root system early to a host plant and because it's also an annual, it is not a good candidate for a typical home landscape.  It is easily germinated, however, from ripe seed collected once the seed capsules mature.

These photos were taken by my friend, Steve Coleman, and used by permission.

White Sunnybell - Schoenolirion albiflorum

White sunnybell (Schoenolirion albiflorum) is a perennial member of the agave family. It occurs throughout peninsular Florida in the eastern half of the state with additional occurrences on the west coast in the Big Bend region.  There are additional populations in southeastern Georgia as well.  Throughout its range, it is found in open, sunny wetland depressions and is considered an obligate wetland species.

The narrow linear leaves arise from the tops of an upright base in spring and eventually wither as the stalk matures.  The single unbranched stalk reaches a mature height of 3-5 feet by late spring. The flower buds are clustered near the top of this stalk and each occurs singly on a long reddish pedicel.  Each flower is composed of 3 white petals and 3 idendical white sepals (6 tepals).  The flowers open from the bottom of the stalk and proceed upwards over several weeks. Pollinated flowers produce a dry capsule that eventually splits to release a great many tiny seeds.

Although quite showy, white sunnybell is not propagated by any of the native plant nurseries affiliated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries nor by any nurseries in Georgia to the best of my knowledge.  It would require seasonally wet conditions and good sunlight to prosper and this would limit its landscape use to lake and marsh edges that might have several inches of standing water during the summer rainy season.

These photos were taken by my friend Steve Coleman and used by permission.

Small's Skullcap - Scutellaria multiglandulosa

 

Small's skullcap (Scutellaria multiglandulosa) is one of 11 native species in this genus in Florida and distributed from the central Panhandle south to the central peninsula.  It also occurs sporadically in Georgia and in a few counties of western South Carolina.  It is sometimes considered to be a variety of the more widespread and common S. integrifolia, but  several distinctive traits give it full species status by most taxonomists.  This is a perennial deciduous forb native to well-drained sandy habitats such as sandhills and xeric oak forest clearings in full sun to partial shade.

It makes its appearance in early spring and reaches a mature height of about 2 feet tall by early summer.  The narrow elliptical leaves occur opposite along the stem and, as the Latin name suggests, they are covered by glands. The stems and leaves also are covered by noticeable hairs.

Like others in this genus, the flowers are produced in pairs in the leaf axils near the tops of each stem.  They are typical of the genus, light lavender to almost white with a broad lower lip and a "helmeted" petal above.  The blooms have a very narrow open throat and are pollinated mostly by large-bodied bees.  Flowering can occur from late spring through summer.  

Skullcaps in general are popular wildflowers and propagated by a great many nurseries associated with native plants. Small's skullcap, however, has only very rarely been offered in the past and seemingly not at present.  Like other members of this genus, it would make an attractive addition to a mixed wildflower meadow, given good sun and well-drained soils.

The photos above were taken by my friend, Steve Coleman, and used by permission.

Physalis walteri - Walter's groundcherry

Walter's groundcherry (Physalis walteri) is a perennial herbaceous species known more for its edible fruit than for its flowers.  It is common statewide in Florida in a variety of upland habitats and also occurs in coastal counties within the Southeast Coastal Plain from Mississippi to Virginia.  

Walter's groundcherry reaches a mature height of 12-18 inches and a width equal to that.  Its leaves are ovate to lanceolate, 2-4 inches long and without teeth along the margins.  They occur opposite each other on the stems and both the stems and leaves are covered in gray hairs.

Flowering can occur yearround in areas that don't freeze.  The bell-shaped yellow blooms are distinctive and often have reddish lines/markings on both the outside and inside of the petals - unlike the photo above.  Pollinated flowers produce a yellow "tomato" inside a dry papery husk - hence another common name of "husk tomato".  The widely grown tomatillo (P. philadelphica) is a close relative and a better choice for the table, though Walter's groundcherry has been a staple food plant of native peoples for centuries.

This species is very infrequently offered for sale by nurseries associated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries.  It is easy to grow, but will spread over time if not kept controlled a bit.  Although it cannot be considered "showy", it has value as a food source for wildlife and human consumption and it is a host for the Carolina sphinx moth. 

These photos were taken in the propagation area at the USF Botanical Gardens, Tampa, where we have it under cultivation.  

Sabatia campanulata - Slender Rosegentian

 

Slender rosegentian (Sabatia campanulata) is one of 12 rosegentians native to Florida and found throughout much of the Panhandle counties in moist soil and sunny habitats. It also occurs throughout much of the Southeast and a few Midwestern and eastern states in similar conditions.  This is a perennial herbaceous wildflower that dies back to the ground in winter and reemerges again in spring when it eventually reaches a mature height of about 2 feet.  

The basal leaves are lost very early and the stems appear leafless for the first inches.  The stem leaves are simple, opposite on the stem, and with no teeth along the margins.  The flowers are produced at the top of each stem in summer.  They are a deep rose in color (rarely white) and composed of five petals, fused at the base.  Other characteristics of the blooms are shown in the second photo above - all taken by my friend Floyd Griffin and used by permission.

Members of this genus are mostly pollinated by bees and the resulting fruit is a dry capsule. Slender rosegentian is not offered commercially by any of the native nurseries affiliated with FANN - the Florida Association of Native Nurseries nor by any out-of-state nurseries that I am aware of.  Given its restricted habitat needs, this is not too suprising, though it would make an attractive addition to a wetland (lake or marsh edge) planting.  This is one species to be admired when encountered, but not to be sought for for a home landscape.