MIMOSA NUTTALLII, SCHRANKIA UNCINATA also know as Sensitive Briar, Bashful Briar and Cat's Claw

Mimosa nuttallii, Schrankia uncinata, is also known as Sensitive Briar, Nuttall's Sensitive Briar, Nuttall's Sensitive-briar, and Bashful Briar due to its sensitive leaflets which fold when touched and and aptly named Devil's Shoestrings and Cat's claw because of its abundantly barbed stems.  the ball-shaped magenta-pink flower heads of Sensitive briar resemble miniature firework explosions and bloom on sprawling or trailing 4 feet long stems.  Sensitve Briar will grow best in dry to average soil and full sun on a bank , hanging over a wall, or naturalized in a prairie meadow.  It occurs naturally on glades, prairies, savannas, and roadsides.

I shot this picture on the Orange Trail in Wekiwa River Basin.

Purple Passionflower

The purple Passion flower is a climbing trailing vine.  It flowers from June -September.  This unusual plant is widely distributed in the south, especially from Florida to Texas.  Its fruit is sometime called maypop.  Its name relates to the resemblance of the flower parts to aspects of the Crucificion story:  the ten petal like parts represent the disciples, excluding Peter and Judas; the 5 stamens, the wounds Jesus received; the knob-like stigmas, the nails; and the fringed corona, the crown of thorns.

This picture was taken down the retreat road in Wekiwa  Park.

Bull Thistle

Bull thistle is a very prickly plant with a spiny-winged stem and large, rose-purple, rayless flower heads surrounded by spiny, yellow-tipped bracts.  It flowers between June-September and can be found throughout North America, except the far North. 

While in northeast Florida, walking down the historical old brick section  of A1A....I came acrossa sandy field covered in Bull Thistle....and to add to the beauty, there were hundreds of butterflys....one of the most beautiful sites I have seen

Arrowhead;Wapato

I spotted this tall stalk rsing from the waters of Lake county in the well hidden Boulay Preserve area.  It bears white flowers in whorls of 3.  It is closely related to Water Plantain,  Edible tubers can be found beneath the muck and Native Americans are said to have opened muskrat houses to get at their cache of tubers!

American Beauty Berry

 

 

The American beautyberry has colorful berries that last long into winter and are eaten by a variety of wildlife. Beautyberry has proven to be an attractive plant for wildlife within its native range.
Birds - including robins, catbirds, cardinals, mockingbirds, brown thrashers, finches and towhees - are favorite consumers of both the fresh berries and shriveled raisins. The fruit is heavily used by white-tailed deer and will be eaten well into late November.

Prickly Pear

I found this Prickly Pear off the trail in Wekiwa State Park in Apopka in the middle of a restoration area.  It is a clump forming cactus bearing few yellow flowers, often with reddish centers.  It blooms from May-August in sandy areas and open, rocky sites.  This is a native plant, the only cactus widespread in the eastern United States.

Hibiscus; Rose Mallow

The rose mallow is a large plant with big, showy, crimson flowers....I find it often on the trails I hike from June to September...particularly in swamps and freshwater and brackish marshes.  It is sometimes cultivated and used in many yards in Florida.  It is certainly one of the loveliest of our native flowers!