Florida Native Plant Society Blog

The welcome sign for Hickory Lake Scrub. I visited Hickory Lake Scrub, a 57-acre preserve,  in May and I loved that I found quite a number of plants that I'd never seen before. A scrub habitat is not to be rushed through.  To begin to appreciate it, you need to slow down —way down. Besides the plants there is a rich ecosystem filled with critters.  It's fun to examine the tracks in the sandy soil to guess what has taken place. Here are two endemic plants that I found: Scrub morning glory ( Bonamia grandiflora ) Scrub morning glory with its pale lavender flowers. Bonamia grandiflora distribution The scrub morning glory or lady's nightcap is obviously a member of the morning glory family (Convolvulaceae), but it belongs to a different genus than the majority of  the morning glories — Bonamia not Ipomoea . This is the only species in this genus native to the US. It is threatened and endangered and various sources state that there are only 10...

By Michelle Remogat and Alana Walker Figure 1. Ipomoea pes-caprae ssp. brasiliensis , railroad vine, has nectar guides to direct its pollinators. Photo by B. Navez. 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. Characteristics Leaves: Simple; sometimes lobed or compound Fruit: capsule Flower: actinomorphic, funnel-shaped corolla Description The Convolvulacaeae family is known as the Bindweed or Morning Glory family and is found primarily in the tropics and subtropics, but has become cosmopolitan. The family takes its name after the genus Ipomoea (Figure 1), but another 14 genera are also found in the state. In Florida, the family is home to 40 native and 27 non-native species (including varieties and subspecies). The state-listed endangered Bonamia grandiflora ...