Plant of the week Sept. 20: Pine lily

The pine lily aka Catesby's lily (Lilium catesbaei) is a beautiful flower that brings a pop of color to Panther Island's mesic and hydric pine flatwoods as well as wet prairies and savannas. This perennial monocot is found in the southeastern United States where it blooms in fall and early winter. In Florida, it is listed as threatened. To date, I have seen at least 15 in bloom in different areas of Panther Island.  

Plant of the week Sept 13: American White Waterlily

The American white waterlily (Nymphaea odorata) is native to Florida and can be found throughout the United States and into Canada. This dicot is a perennial, and I love seeing it blooming in areas where invasive grasses such as torpedo grass ( Panicum repens) have been successfully eradicated. I often see small frogs and insects in the flowers petals or sometimes on the pads themselves.

Critter of the week Sept. 6: Florida Black Bear

This week's critter is the threatened Florida black bear (Ursus americanus floridanus), a subspecies of the more common black bear (Ursus americanus). Black bears belong to the family Ursidae which consists of nine species, three of which can be found in the United States (polar bear and grizzly bear are the other two but we don't get them here!).

Our black bear typically weighs from 250-450 pounds for males and 150-250 for females. these critters get that big as omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal matter; the majority of their diet is vegetation though such as acorns, nuts, berries, other vegetation such as alligator flag and even insects. The meat they eat is most often scavenged.

Florida black bears are faced with the serious problem of habitat fragmentation. They are forced to travel farther to find new food, denning sites, and mates. As a result of human encroachment in the form of roads, approximately 85% of bear deaths each year are attributed to road kills.Many of these deaths could be avoided by slowing down! Thanks to Linda Berthelsen for the photo above!

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Critter delayed!

So I managed to break my wrist, making typing a tad hard this week. Will get back on schedule next week!

Critter of the Week Aug 23: Giant Swallowtail

The Giant Swallowtail butterfly is one of my favorites! These beautiful and large butterflies lay their eggs on trees and shrubs in the Rutaceae family (this includes cultivated citrus!). Their caterpillars called "orange dogs" resemble bird poop (talk abotu awesome camo!).
With a wingspan of 4-6 inches, the adults flit around in search of nectar plants like swamp milkweed, lantana, goldenrod, honeysuckle and more. They prefer habitats like rocky and sandy hillsides along waterways (streams, etc) up in the northern portion of its range. In the south, they prefer pine flatwoods, citrus groves, and even towns (with lots of lovely gardens!).

NEW! Plant of the Week Aug. 16: Sunflower

Understanding the plants that are native and nonnative is important for managing the land for wildlife. So I will be doing plants on occasion now!
And the first plant is the Southeastern Sunflower (Helianthus agrestis). This is an annual that is pollinated by insects such as butterflies and bees. I love watching the smaller birds forage in these flowers during the fall.
There are approximately 21 species of sunflower in Florida belonging to the family Asteraceae. It is the only species of sunflower to grow to such heights and in such large patches in this region of Florida.

Critter of the Week Aug. 9: Common Buckeye

The common buckeye is a migratory species of butterfly. We see them in the fall and winter months because they can't survive freezing temperatures. In the spring though they migrate north. They are in the brush-footed family (Nymphalidea). These butterflies prefer sunny areas that are open with low vegetation and some bare ground. They use a wide variety of nectar sources. For more information...