Castle Windy Trail — Plants
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Scorpion's Tail — a species of Heliotropes
Common Names: Alacrancillo, Dog’s tail, Bright-eye bush
Botanical Name: Heliotropium angiospermum
Description: Scorpion's Tail is a shrub-like plant with curved spikes reminiscent of a scorpion’s coiled tail with small white flowers that bloom year-round. Its nectar attracts a variety of butterflies and the plant occurs naturally in coastal hammocks. The genus name Heliotropium comes from the Greek helios, or “sun,” and trepein, or “to turn.” It refers to the belief that plants turn their flowers toward the sun.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Lamiales
Family: Heliotropiaceae
Genus: Heliotropium L. – heliotrope
Species: Heliotropium angiospermum
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Sisal — a species of Agave
Common Names: Sisal hemp, Mescal, Sisal agave
Botanical Name: Agave sisalana
Description: Sisal is a succulent plant consisting of sword-shaped leaves about 4 ft to 6 ft tall and its yellow flowers have an unpleasant scent. Sisal flowers, stall, basal rosette, and sap are edible. Young leaves may have a few minute teeth along their margins, but lose them as they mature. The sisal plant has a 7 to 10-year lifespan and typically produces 200–250 commercially usable leaves. Sisal is considered a plant of the tropics and subtropics since production benefits from temperatures above 25 °C (77 °F) and sunshine.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asparagales
Family: Asparagaceae
Genus: Agave
Species: Agave sisalana
Resurrection fern — a species of Resurrection fern
Common Names: Tropical resurrection fern, Little gray polypod, Scaly polypod, Miracle fern
Botanical Name: Pleopeltis polypodioides
Description: The resurrection fern is a small fern that grows well in partial shade. Fronds of this fern are 25 cm high by 5 cm wide and it attaches to the limbs of its host plant with a creeping, slender stem, which grows to 2 mm in diameter. It can survive droughts and will curl its fronds and turn brown when it lacks moisture. The plants may appear dead but will uncurl and turn green again when they receive enough moisture. Appearing to “resurrect” this is where the plant gets its name. It has been estimated that these plants could last 100 years without water and still revive after a single exposure.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Polypodiales
Family: Polypodiaceae
Genus: Pleopeltis
Species: P. polypodioides
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Yaupon, a species of Holly
Common Names: Yaupon holly, Cassina, Weeping yaupon holly, Dwarf yaupon hollyBotanical Name: Ilex vomitoria
Description: Yaupon holly is an evergreen shrub or small tree reaching 5–9 m tall, with smooth, light gray bark and round, green leaves. Each plant produces little greenish-white flowers in the spring, though only the females will bear fruit—small berries that are usually red but sometimes yellow. The berries provide food for birds and other wildlife. The word, yaupon was derived from its Catawban name, yupon, which is a form of the word yop, meaning tree. The genus name IIex refers to holm oak which in the English dialect refers to Holly. Yaupon can be used to make tea which is thought to have powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and it contains caffeine.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Aquifoliales
Family: Aquifoliaceae
Genus: Ilex
Species: I. vomitoria
Cabbage palm, a species of Palmetto
Common Names: Blue palmetto, Sabal palm, Common palmetto, Swamp cabbage
Botanical Name: Sabal palmetto
Description: Cabbage palm is topped by fronds that can grow up to 90 feet in the wild. It is extremely salt-tolerant and is often seen growing near both the Atlantic Ocean coast and the Gulf of Mexico coast. It is known to tolerate drought, standing water, and brackish water and is highly tolerant of salt winds, but not saltwater flooding. The plant is called cabbage because new fronds grow from the center of a terminal bud similar to cabbage or an artichoke.
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Sabal
Species: S. palmetto
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