Yes only 2 but they are lovely to see on a hot humid day in North Florida.
- Curious about something you saw while walking in the woods? Spot the coolest bug ever? The prettiest flower and butterfly? Stumble on a rock and found a fossil? Or was it? This is the place to show your discoveries and share in the knowledge of the natural world right outside our doors. Join in the fun everyday at The Daily Bucket.
June 2014
Ft Braden Trails hike sponsored by the Apalachee Chapter of the Florida Trail Association and Florida Forest Service (aka Fresh From Florida) Previous hike covered here, but in winter.
Meadowbeauty or Rhexia spp. - either a Pale or Panhandle Meadowbeauty. I saw all of 1 when we stopped to admire some young Longleaf pines that had been planted by FFS a decade ago. It was accidentally growing along a forest road where the ground had been torn up and compacted and tore up again to plant the pines. Native plants can be quite persistent.
Getting farther into the woods, down the slopes to the little creeks that run thru, the ground was covered in blooms from Loblolly Bay. Most were missing the stamens and all rolled up but once in awhile there was one intact. The flower on this evergreen tree looks like a really small version of Southern Magnolia but it is in a different family.
Second photo of Meadowbeauty showing the alternate leaves and hairy stem.
That's it for me - a real short bucket. Please jump in with comments and observations from your neck of the woods.
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