Florida Native Plant Society Blog

by Laurie Sheldon If you've been reading our blog or following us on Facebook, you are probably aware of what I can only think to describe as either the Battle of the Blogs or Blogominoes . One blog fueled another, and another - from Washington to Michigan to Florida - and the dirty gardeners' fingernails came out... onto the keyboard. No eyes were scratched out, and no one wore tights like a wrestler (that I know of), but the virtual tension was palpable, and the cross-blog commentary stunk like Black Cow. Rather than re-setting the scene, you can catch up to speed by checking out Taryn Evans' blog . Jeff Gillman (a Minnesota-based contributor to the "Garden Professors" blog) graciously responded to Taryn's post by inviting us to a video-conference using Google+ technology. This morning at 11:20 Eastern, 10:20 Central, 9:20 Mountain and 8:20 Pacific, a group of nine suprisingly sane people gave their typing skills a rest and discussed government requ...

Figure 1. P. ciliaris , orange or yellow fringed orchid. Photo credit: Kenneth Sytsma. By Tyra Davis This post is one of a series from professor Nisse Goldberg's Botany students at Jacksonville University. Classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopside Order: Orchidales Family: Orchidaceae Genus: Platanthera Specific epithet: ciliaris Description Florida is known for beautiful beaches and theme parks but the “Sunshine State” is also home to the native and endangered Platanthera ciliaris ! Of the other 9 native Platanthera species, 5 are listed by the state as endangered or threatened. Figure 2. Fringed lip and long, narrow nectar spur of  P. ciliaris . Photo credit: Roger Hammer. Commonly known as the yellow or orange fringed orchid, it is easy to see how P. ciliaris got its common name. As for its botanical name, consider that the margin of the flower's labellum looks as though it has fine whiskers...

Introduction by Laurie Sheldon Article by Taryn Evans Background The Seattle Department of Planning and Development is focused on long-term green priorities (water and material conservation, sustainable transportation and healthy landscapes) and working on a draft of some new "Green Code Provisions." These provisions were presented to the public on August 13, 2012. Comments and questions were encouraged. The "Healthy Landscapes" component of the "Green Code Provisions" outlines the following initiatives: Invasive Species and Native Vegetation (Regional Plan) Who it Applies To: All new vegetated landscapes, or those being replaced Requirements: • Existing invasive plant species shall be removed and no invasive species planted. • 75% of all new plantings will be native to Western Washington. • A vegetation plan must be submitted for review. • Existing native plant species shall be protected whenever possible. Code Impacted: Code appropriate...

By Kellie Glover & Virginia Iwinski Figure 1. Cyrtopodium punctatum , the cigar orchid, is an endangered species which is native to Florida. Photo credit: Al Menk. This post is one of a series from professor Nisse Goldberg's Plant Taxonomy students at Jacksonville University. FNPS blogger Laurie Sheldon assisted the students with their initial drafts, providing suggestions for editing and content development. Classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Orchidales Family: Orchidaceae Figure 2. Orchid leaf with obvious parallel veins. Photo credit: Fastily. Characteristics Leaf: alternate, spiral or 2-ranked, simple, and are often plicate, basal, or along the stem Flower: bisexual, bilateral with tepals forming a lip or labellum Fruit: capsule Description The orchid family, Orchidaceae, is one of the largest flowering plant families in the world.   It is so large that there are actually more orchid spe...

The City of Jacksonville’s Native Park, located at 3312 Park Street in the Riverside Avondale Historic District, was established by the Avondale Garden Circle in 1923. The purpose was to increase public awareness of plants indigenous to north Florida and demonstrate that, while exotic species often died during adversity, the Park’s native plants prospered with little care through drought, freeze, and hurricane. During the nearly 90 years that have passed since that time, the Park became a tangle of invasive exotics and overly vigorous natives. Native Park was adopted in 2010 by the Ixia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society as part of the City's Friends of the Park program to carry out the Park's original purpose and to advance the mission of the Florida Native Plant Society.  The signs identify the various native plants.  After many Saturday mornings spent digging up vast amounts of invasive and other non-desirable plants, Chapter members and other vo...

Pityopsis graminifolia By Steven W. Woodmansee, FNPS President Figure 1. Capitulum and infructescenses. Photo credit: Joseph Allan Tauscher Narrowleaf silkgrass is a showy perennial wildflower, a native throughout all of Florida, and a must for any wildflower connoisseur. It is found in mesic (intermediate between wet and dry) to xeric (dry) pineland and prairie habitats. As a result, it tolerates drought fairly well once established. It is a member of the Sunflower Family (Asteraceae), and is a great attractor for pollinators. Its stalkless ray and disc flowers are clustered tightly together to form a capitulum, which is commonly referred to as a "head" (Fig. 1). Upon maturity, plants are generally less than 18 inches in height, and produce 20-30 blooming heads on several branches. Figure 2. Hairy, grass-like leaves Narrowleaf silkgrass is herbaceous (non-woody), and has attractive, often "grass-like" leaves , which emerge in the spring. Its ...

By Laurie Sheldon Palmetto Awards Paul Lowry with his Green Palmetto The Florida Native Plant Society bestows various awards to members and chapters for their contributions to the mission of the organization. The Green Palmetto Awards were established in 1986 by Sherry Cummings (then FNPS President) to honor those who had given special service to FNPS. Three Green Palmettos, ordinarily presented at the FNPS annual conference, are awarded each year for (1) service or education, (2) science, and (3) the outstanding chapter of the year. Winn and Paul Lowry The 2012 Green Palmetto Award for service was given to Paul and Winn Lowry . It was presented by the board of Southern Brevard County's Conradina Chapter on July 31, 2012. Conradina nominated Paul and Winn because of their longstanding membership and chapter involvement. Although their address changed one year ago, their loyalty to FNPS remains the same. They are currently members of the Pine Lily Chapter in Osceola C...