Ceiba pentandra
Hundreds of windblown puffballs stuck to a stretch of fence along Palm Beach Boulevard suggest a truckload of pillows exploded in a vehicle crash nearby.
Ceiba pentandra
A closer look reveals a black seed within each puff.
Ceiba pentandra
After sharing Lynne Cherry’s The Great Kapok Tree and discussing rainforest conservation with third graders year after year, the new neighbor meets this Central American wonder in person.
Ceiba pentandra and Abrus precatorius
Abrus precatorius
Whether Latrodectus or Micrurus, some red flags are more duotone. This one’s popping in the backyard.
Abrus precatorius
In the words of Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Plants, “The poison at work within rosary peas is abrin, which is similar to ricin, found in castor beans. Abrin attaches itself to cell membranes and prevents cells from making protein, which kills them.” Stay away.
Schinus terebinthifolia
After foraging in Punta Gorda with Green Deane, Brazilian pepper seems to pop up everywhere (as invasives do). The plan is to roast and grind the sweet and spicy berries, then sprinkle over popcorn.
Schinus terebinthifolia
Click here for more about a storied ornamental listed on the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Noxious Weed List.
Crinum americanum
Billy Creek Preserve and Filter Marsh
Blocks from strip malls on four lanes of fifty mile an hour traffic straddling a median crossed at dawn and dusk by Guatemalan day laborers rests fifty-six acres of marsh designed and engineered to clean and filter water destined for the Caloosahatchee. It’s a rad place to ride your bike.
Billy Creek Preserve and Filter Marsh
Click here for more about the preserve.
Tillandsia ionantha
Bauhinia purpurea
These flowers are edible!
Bauhinia purpurea
Costus woodsonii
Sansevieria trifasciata
Sansevieria trifasciata
Mimosa strigillosa
Monotropa uniflora
The illusive rows of ghostly flowers are actually a fungus feeding on fungi that’s feeding on tree roots. They’re epiparasites, or parasites sourcing nutrients from other parasites.
Monotropa unifloraHiawa
Eastern Native American tribes once used ghost pipe as an anticonvulsive and painkiller.
Cantharellus cibarius
A bike ride to a secret spot off South Milledge reveals a neon patch of orange on the forest floor. Click here for a simple and delicious recipe by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.
Wisteria sinensis
Wisteria sinensis
Coccoloba uvifera
Coccoloba uvifera
Coccoloba uvifera
For a sea grape jelly recipe and more, click here.
Sansevieria trifasciata
Sabal palmetto
Don’t they look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book?
Taraxacum officinale
Kalanchoe daigremontiana
Portulaca oleracea
Succulents and dandelions reclaim sandy soil from a tired, cracking tennis court. In the words of author Richard Powers, “There’s always as much belowground as above.”
Pedagogy of the Plants 