Laurel Oak, a species of Oaks

Common Names: Swamp laurel oak, diamond-leaf oak, water oak, obtusa oak
Botanical Name: Quercus laurifolia

Description: Swamp Laurel Oak occurs in wet flood plains and low forests and frequently has tufts of hair in the axils along the main vein on the lower surface. They grow rapidly but are somewhat short-lived with maturity being in the range of 25 to 50 years. The majority of the leaf tips on a branch of a mature tree lack bristle tips.  The limbs spread wide and the tree crown is broad and rounded providing lots of shade. On younger trees, the bark is smooth but becomes ridged and dark with age. This oak usually grows straight with slender branches and twigs and leaves are shiny and evergreen falling in late winter or early spring.

Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Fagales
Family: Fagaceae
Genus: Quercus
Species: Q. laurifolia

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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

Wild Coffee a species of Wild Coffee

Common Names: Seminole Balsamo, Shiny-leaved wild coffee
Botanical Name: Uniola paniculata

Description: Wild coffee is a Florida native shrub that gets its common name from the small, red fruit it produces. It grows in the West Indies, parts of Mexico, Central America and in northern South America and is certainly a tropical plant and very cold sensitive. In Southwest Florida, it grows as a dense, round shrub about 5 feet tall and spreading 4-8 feet. You’ll see it in pinelands, shell ridges and coastal hammocks, often under cabbage palms. It has light green, glossy leaves when grown in full sun, and rich forest green in shade. Small, white flowers bloom in spring and summer and produce a glorious fragrance similar to gardenia. Many butterflies drink nectar from the flowers of wild coffee. Honeybees also visit the flowers and pollinate them. By fall, bright red, half-inch berries appear, each with two seeds. These seeds are an important food source for cardinals, catbirds, mockingbirds and blue jays, among other birds. Wild coffee belongs to the Rubiaceae family which also includes caffea arabica, the plant that produces the beans we use in brewed coffee. Just like commercial coffee beans, wild coffee berries are round on one side and flat with a groove on the other, however, they do not contain caffeine. This plant is said to produce the chemical compound dimethyltryptamine, which is hallucinogenic but these reports are unsubstantiated.

Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Gentianales
Family: Rubiaceae
Genus: Psychotria
Species: P. nervosa

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Virginia Saltmarsh-mallow, a species of Kosteletzkya

Common Names: Sweat weed, Seashore mallow, Virginia fen-rose, coastal mallow, sweetweed
Botanical Name: Kosteletzkya virginica

Description: The Virginia Salt Marsh Mallow is an herb found in standing brackish water to sandy, moist soils along the eastern seashore of the United States. The plant can grow to above 1 meter in height with leaves up to 14 cm long. The stems and leaves are hairy. Flowers are white, pale to deep pink or peach, with 5 petals surrounding a column of fused stamens. It looks similar to hibiscus, but it is not. It is an attractant for butterflies and hummingbirds and the flowers provide an ample pollen and nectar source for a variety of insects and the ruby-throated hummingbird. The high oil content of its seeds makes the mature fruit an energy-rich and valuable food source for migratory birds and small mammals.

Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Malvales
Family: Malvaceae
Genus: Kosteletzkya
Species: K. virginica

Groundsel bush, a species of Brooms

Common Names: Sea myrtle, Eastern Baccharis, Salt bush, consumption weed
Botanical Name: Baccharis halimifolia

Description: Groundsel bush is a flowering shrub that grows about 12 ft tall and comparably wide with simple, thick, oval-shaped leaves. Often confused with the marsh-elder, it is usually found in wetlands, salty or brackish shores, marshes, estuaries, and the inland shores of coastal barrier islands. It is salt-tolerant, and its flowers produce abundant butterfly-attracting nectar and the dense shrubs provide wildlife food and cover.

Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Baccharis
Species: B. halimifolia

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Brazilian Peppertree, a species of Pepper Trees

Common Names: Florida holly, broadleaved pepper tree, rose pepper, christmasberry tree, Aroeira
Botanical Name: Schinus terebinthifolia

Description: Groundsel bush is a flowering shrub that grows about 12 ft tall and comparably wide with simple, thick, oval-shaped leaves. Often confused with the marsh-elder, it is usually found in wetlands, salty or brackish shores, marshes, estuaries, and the inland shores of coastal barrier islands. It is salt-tolerant, and its flowers produce abundant butterfly-attracting nectar and the dense shrubs provide wildlife food and cover.

Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Sapindales
Family: Anacardiaceae
Genus: Schinus
Species: S. terebinthifolia