American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana)
This delightfully colored shrub is June’s plant of the month! You may have seen them around and are mostly indistinguishable until they bloom a brilliant cluster of bright pink and purple fruits. These berries garnish each branch during the late summer to early fall....
Spotted Beebalm (Monarda Punctata)
Also called Spotted Horsemint or simply Horsemint, this plant is a member of the mint family and is an herbaceous perennial native to North America. It is a personal favorite for the native garden as it is so easy to grow, looks beautiful in a mass planting, and once...
Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)
This is an evergreen shrub which can reach 25 to 30 feet in height and is one of the easiest wildlife plants for you to grow in your yard. Its native range is from coastal New Jersey south to Florida and west to Texas. It is one of the most adaptable plants available...
Trumpet Honeysuckle Vine
Trumpet Honeysuckle Vine (Lonicera sempervirens). This lovely vine is also called Coral Honeysuckle and Woodbine. It grows to about 15 feet in length in light exposure ranging from light shade to full sun. It is easily cultivated under a variety of situations from...
The Miracle Fruit
Synsepalum dulcificum gets its common name of miracle fruit because it does something that seems miraculous when you experience it. If you can find a miracle fruit, try the miracle for yourself by cutting open a lime or lemon and tasting it. Sour, right? Now, eat the...
The Uses of Saw Palmetto
Florida's native saw palmetto (Serenoa repens) recently made the news. It was added to Florida's list of Commercially Exploited Plants in July 2018. This means that commercial collectors of saw palmetto fruits must acquire landowners' permission and a state collecting...
A Butterfly Magnet
Photo: Chuck Hubbuch Porterweed is a common name for plants in the genus Stachytarpheta. Some of these plants are cultivated for their attractive flowers and their traditional medicinal uses. Some for so long that their origins are no longer clear. Names of these...
Ragweed
Photo: Chuck Hubbuch Common ragweed is known to botanists as Ambrosia artemisiifolia. This is an interesting choice for a scientific name. To the ancient Greeks, ambrosia was the food of the gods. It conferred immortality to those who ate it. Ambrosia has also...
It’s a Jungle in There – Aloe maculata – Hamamelis virginia
Photo: Aloe maculata Photo: Hamamelis virginia Sometimes while I stand in the bathroom brushing my teeth, I look at the bottles and tubes I've accumulated. They promise wonderful things like making me glowingly beautiful or preserving the vestiges of my fleeting...
Coontie
Photo: Florida Hikes, Flickr Creative Commons Over three hundred species of cycads range throughout the warm regions of the world. Superficially, they look similar to palms but they have an ancient lineage with fossil records dating back to the time of the dinosaurs....