A Field Trip through Florida Flora and Fauna

[HardeeParty]

Stopped by my favorite local preserve for a morning hike. It’s a relatively small area, but contains just about every Florida ecosystem crammed into one spot thanks to its uneven terrain.

Eryngium baldwinii:






Liatris chapmanii:






More Eryngium aromaticum:



Tillandsia paucifolia, pot-bellied air plant:



Entodon seductrix, one of my favorite mosses.



Cuthbertia ornata, scrub roseling. First time seeing one of these.



Cnidoscolus stimulosus, which will absolutely stab the crap out of you with its nearly invisible needles (ask me how I know).



Houstonia procumbens. Absolutely love these guys. Perfect open terrarium plant.





More tree Eriocaulons. Tillandsia utriculata.



Senega nana.





Trilisa subtropicana. These are just starting to bloom in mass, and it’s a sight to behold. Florida endemic.



It’s been raining every day at about 3pm in typical south Florida summer style. Perfect conditions for the soft lichens to start their metabolism back up.

Dacrymyces sp.





Some Amanita which may or may not kill me.







Leptogium cyanescens. A foliose, gelatinous lichen.

 

[HardeeParty]

Some Ludwigia arcuata creeping along a pond margin.





Ludwigia microcarpa:



Limnophila sessiliflora:





Eleocharis baldwinii:





Eleocharis flavescens:



HEY CHECK OUT MY COOTER!

 

[JayP]

HEY CHECK OUT MY COOTER!

I was gonna say, we don't see too many photos of fauna. How often to you come across big fauna with long snouts and sharp teeth during your hikes?

 

[HardeeParty]

Pretty frequently, depending on the water body I’m near. I was trying to upload a short video but it’s giving me some error that it ran into some problems.

 

[Naturescapes_Rocco]

Pretty frequently, depending on the water body I’m near. I was trying to upload a short video but it’s giving me some error that it ran into some problems.

Just means the video is too big! My workaround is to upload to youtube first, then paste the link here.

 

[HardeeParty]

Was able to resize it using the iMovie app. I’ll add that to “things I learned today”.

View attachment My Movie 1-720p30.mov

 

[JayP]

 

[Koan]

My workaround is to upload to youtube first, then paste the link here.

And archives it for posterity, and I'm sure Art appreciates the saving on server space!

Lots of video compressors out there, for Android folks I like this one

Compress Video Size Compressor - Apps on Google Play

Compress Video without quality loss. Convert Video, Change resolution & Bitrate

play.google.com

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

When you collect these and plant them what’s your sterilization process?

 

[HardeeParty]

I usually keep them in a sealed gallon ziplock bag for a few weeks. Keeps the humidity high and allows regular dosing of hydrogen peroxide to sterilize. Every day I’ll dose a few squirts into the bag, let it work for a few minutes. Rinse thoroughly and refill with water. Over the course of a week or two all the muck and nature AIDS dies off and I can start to see signs of new growth. The key is removing just about everything that’s grown in its natural state (leaves, roots, etc) until you have a clean slate to grow in cultivation. I’ve failed a lot to get this method down lol.

 

[HardeeParty]

Just some weeds today while I eagerly wait for the Spiranthes cernua complex to enter flowering season.

Gomphrena serrata. Average weed with an above average flower.



Mikania scandens. An unlikely, very cool, aquatic vine. It’s been a while since I submerged this one. Definitely worth trying again.





Lindernia grandiflora. This is the bronze variant that gets wicked colors in a tank.



Tank grown next to typical Lindernia rotundifolia for size and color comparison.



Rhexia cubensis:



A meat eater loving the rain on a sandy seepage slope.

Drosera capillaris:





Some dainty fragile oak leaf shrooms. Collybiopsis quercophila:





Standard orange gloop. Dacrymyces sp.




And a wee tiny Lachnocaulon engleri.

 

[JayP]

Thought of you when I saw an ad for this shirt.

 

[HardeeParty]

Some pretty, tiny flowers.

Torenia crustacea:



Mecardonia procumbens:



Oldenlandia corymbosa:



Eulophia maculata (invasive terrestrial orchid, but still has neat flowers):





My favorite non-hallucinogenic shroom, Marasmius vagus, orange creamsicle.



Some Persicaria taking a swim:



Unidentified Sagittaria:

 

[HardeeParty]

Oh and a big heap of Bacopa innominata.

 

[HardeeParty]

Jonathan Dickinson State Park, and other randoms

Selaginella arenicola:





Eryngium aromaticum:





Liatris chapmanii:





Entodon seductrix, seductive entodon moss:





Lygodesmia aphylla, rose rush:



Commelina erecta, the goofiest day flower:



Carphephorus corymbosus, the coastal plain chaffhead:





Marasmius vagus, the wandering creamsicle:



Micranthemum umbrosum, or giant baby tears in the hobby.



Nasturtium sp. from Bonnet Springs Park in Lakeland. Possibly floridanum, probably officinale.




Heteranthera reniformis:



Hyophila involuta:





Barbula sp. moss:





Vallisneria americana:

 

[JayP]

Are you sure you're not taking these photos on some alien planet?