A photo-heavy bucket from a Saturday hike down SR-65 in Liberty County in the Apalachicola National Forest. It’s mostly pine trees along this road to the coast and most folks are speeding too fast to see the beauty flowering by the 2 lane road but this is your chance.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge where we amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to share in the comments what you see in your own part of the world.
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May 2018
Mowing is an issue. Some in Liberty county like their backwoods county just the way it is and don’t care for plant-loving botanists from over in the big city of Tallahassee telling them when they can and can’t mow the roadways. It’s dangerous if that grass grows up; why there might be a deer or bear hiding behind a clump and ready to jump out and cause an accident (yes, this was said in a county meeting). I think thru the hard work and continued effort by Ms. Eleanor D. an agreement has been reached for mowing.
Funny thing about these plants like the one below, they love the sunny roadways with less competition.
We are just getting started on this hike; lots more below the fold...
So many of these plants I have never heard of like this one in the family Nartheciaceae.
Orchids I know, or at least have heard of orchids.
It comes in various shades...
This was one of the oddest flowers with the 3 brown sepals pointing away.
There were a few other orchids but I didn’t get photos. Our hike was lead by the wonderful Virginia C who spent hours preparing and wandering the 100 miles of paved roads and the miles and miles of dirt forest roads and learning all about these plants.
and guess what? They seed easily…
Asters
and one more aster — Rose-Rush
We’ve all seen coneflowers I’m sure — Black-eyed Susans anyone? How about a black coneflower with just touches of yellow petals? Another endemic species.
There were more asters but let’s move along here….
Also in the family Nartheciaceae —
Lots of Polygala which I learned is not pronounced the way it looks. Of course, botanists….
Milkweed — we spotted 2 species of Asclepias. This photo came out much better than the Sandhill and much prettier.
Sensitive Brier — it’s fairly common with a bigger range than many of the other plants but I tossed it in here because I find it funny to see a member of the Pea family (Fabaceae) that does not look like a Pea flower.
There are more to go — you may take a break if you wish…
Scutellaria — I love the name of this genus, it’s common name is cool too — Skullcap.
Also in the Lamiceae family (mint) with the Skullcaps is Apalachicola False Dragonhead or Physostegia godfreyi — endemic, threatened...
Tiny little plant with tiny flowers, may be Schoenolirion albiflorum, White Sunnybells. I’m not sure but it’s on the beautiful plant list/notebook Virginia made for us.
Rhynchospora latifolia — Giant Whitetop in the Sedge family. Another flower that sorta looks like this but favors stream-side is the Spider Lily.
and finally a savanna of Pitcher plants.
That all folks, gotta run. I’m due at a workday at Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve at 9 and I am nowhere near ready but I wanted to share these great flower photos and our hike into the national forest. See ya in the comments!
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