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Plants 28 images Created 25 Jan 2013

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  • American beautyberry is a very common and beautiful shrub in the verbena family found all over the Southeastern United States. It has been used extensively for making medicine, tea, wine, dye, fish poison and the crushed berries can be used to relieve mosquito bites. It has also been known to be a great repellant of flies and fire ants. This super-hardy plant can tolerate drought, heat, floods and can be found growing in many different environments, and is an important food source for wildlife.
    Beautyberry
  • These wild southern fox grapes, also more popularly known as muscadine grapes, are the wild and natural progenitors of the commercially important and harvested varietal grapes used for making jams and wines. These wild grapes were photographed in Southwest Florida's Fakahatchee Strand - where I regularly snack/gorge on them during the summer when they are are their peak ripeness in the swamps. Delicious!
    Wild Grapes of the Florida Everglades
  • Cabbage Palm on Florida's Gulf Coast - with a little vintage makeover.
    Vintage Palm
  • A stand of coconut palms grow on the beach on Estero Island in Southeast Florida.
    Coconut Palms
  • Sabal palms in silhouette on a glorious sunset over Apalachicola Bay.
    A Sense of Place
  • Close-up detail of a cabbage palm frond (also known as a sabal palm) in rural Eastern Lee County in Southwest Florida.
    Cabbage Palm Close-up
  • A lone palm stands of a gorgeous deserted beach on Florida's St. Joseph Peninsula on the northern Gulf Coast.
    Cabbage Palm on St. Joseph Peninsula
  • Close-up detail of a coconut palm frond on Florida's Sanibel Island.
    Coconut Palm
  • Cabbage Palm on Sanibel Island taken from a very relaxing position on the beach!
    The Best View
  • Close-up detail of a cabbage palm frond (also known as a sabal palm) in rural Eastern Lee County in Southwest Florida.
    Cabbage Palm Close-up
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • My favorite palm! The paurotis palm is a wonderfully beautiful palm that I have a personal connection to. As I was starting to build my photography business back when I was still living back home in Southwest Florida, I worked in a plant nursery and planted many hundreds of palm trees all over the Fort Myers/Naples area. My favorite was this slender, attractive Caribbean palm found in the wild from the Florida Everglades and the Bahamas, south to Mexico, Central America and as far south as Colombia. The only species in its genus, Acoelorrhaphe wrightii - grows to about 15' to 25' tall in wet habitats and can grow into very rich and shaded thickets form wildlife havens for many species throughout the tropics. These wild paurotis palms were found in Everglades National Park in their natural habitat.
    Paurotis Palm
  • The American strawberry bush - also known by many other names such as the "hearts-a-bustin" and "hearts-bustin'-with-love", this member of the bittersweet family is one of those oddly beautiful plants you find sometimes in autumn while out in some of the more remote places in the Untied States. Found in all of the eastern states (excluding New England), most of the lower Midwest states, and as far west as Texas and Oklahoma, it literally looks like a strawberry growing on a shrub that is bursting with bright red seeds exposed within. As with many red-colored fruits in nature, this is best not to be eaten, as it has been reported to induce severe diarrhea in humans. The leaves, bark and stems are enjoyed by deer and other native wildlife who spread the seeds after consumption. This was found in Florida's Ocala National Forest near Juniper Springs.
    American Strawberry Bush
  • The American strawberry bush - also known by many other names such as the "hearts-a-bustin" and "hearts-bustin'-with-love", this member of the bittersweet family is one of those oddly beautiful plants you find sometimes in autumn while out in some of the more remote places in the Untied States. Found in all of the eastern states (excluding New England), most of the lower Midwest states, and as far west as Texas and Oklahoma, it literally looks like a strawberry growing on a shrub that is bursting with bright red seeds exposed within. As with many red-colored fruits in nature, this is best not to be eaten, as it has been reported to induce severe diarrhea in humans. The leaves, bark and stems are enjoyed by deer and other native wildlife who spread the seeds after consumption. This was found in Florida's Ocala National Forest near Juniper Springs.
    American Strawberry Bush
  • The American strawberry bush - also known by many other names such as the "hearts-a-bustin" and "hearts-bustin'-with-love", this member of the bittersweet family is one of those oddly beautiful plants you find sometimes in autumn while out in some of the more remote places in the Untied States. Found in all of the eastern states (excluding New England), most of the lower Midwest states, and as far west as Texas and Oklahoma, it literally looks like a strawberry growing on a shrub that is bursting with bright red seeds exposed within. As with many red-colored fruits in nature, this is best not to be eaten, as it has been reported to induce severe diarrhea in humans. The leaves, bark and stems are enjoyed by deer and other native wildlife who spread the seeds after consumption. This was found in Florida's Ocala National Forest near Juniper Springs.
    American Strawberry Bush
  • The American strawberry bush - also known by many other names such as the "hearts-a-bustin" and "hearts-bustin'-with-love", this member of the bittersweet family is one of those oddly beautiful plants you find sometimes in autumn while out in some of the more remote places in the Untied States. Found in all of the eastern states (excluding New England), most of the lower Midwest states, and as far west as Texas and Oklahoma, it literally looks like a strawberry growing on a shrub that is bursting with bright red seeds exposed within. As with many red-colored fruits in nature, this is best not to be eaten, as it has been reported to induce severe diarrhea in humans. The leaves, bark and stems are enjoyed by deer and other native wildlife who spread the seeds after consumption. This was found in Florida's Ocala National Forest near Juniper Springs.
    American Strawberry Bush
  • The rosary pea is an invasive vine from Asia and Australia that has found a home in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Arkansas. While these "peas" may be useful in many shaker-percussion instruments, the black and red fruits are highly toxic. One ingested pea had the potential to be fatal to a healthy adult. This cluster of rosary peas was found in a suburban neighborhood in Fort Myers, Florida.
    Rosary Pea
  • The fantastically beautiful American beautyberry in all its glory in its natural habitat. These clusters of drupes (think blackberries) each contain a seed and are a very important source of food for many species of birds, and the foliage is a very important food source for deer. The berries are edible to a point, but can be extremely astringent. they are well suited to making jams and wine, however. The roots can be used to make an herbal tea, and it's said that the crushed leaves can repel mosquitos when rubbed on the skin. This perfect example of a beautyberry in fruit was found in Palm Beach County on a cool fall afternoon.
    American Beautyberry
  • Close-up of the fantastically beautiful American beautyberry. These clusters of drupes (think blackberries) each contain a seed and are a very important source of food for many species of birds. The berries are edible to a point, but can be extremely astringent. they are well suited to making jams and wine, however. The roots can be used to make an herbal tea, and it's said that the crushed leaves can repel mosquitos when rubbed on the skin. This perfect example of a beautyberry in fruit was found in Palm Beach County on a cool fall afternoon.
    American Beautyberry
  • Looking much like a miniature watermelon, the creeping cucumber is in fact a native cucumber that grows in the American Southeast as far north as Illinois and Pennsylvania and west to Texas and Kansas on long vines with grape-like leaves. While considered edible, it's just one of those things you wouldn't go out of your way to eat. These were found in the Big Cypress National Preserve in Southwest Florida.
    Creeping Cucumber
  • Wild coffee is a very beautiful plant found in the southern half of Florida and throughout the Caribbean Islands. While wild coffee is in the same family as true coffee, these bright red berries only look very similar to ripe coffee berries, but they do not contain any caffeine and attempts to roast the dried berries and have only resulted in a headache-inducing beverage with a terrible taste. These were photographed growing wild in West Palm County, Florida.
    Wild Coffee
  • Wild coffee is a very beautiful plant found in the southern half of Florida and throughout the Caribbean Islands. While wild coffee is in the same family as true coffee, these bright red berries only look very similar to ripe coffee berries, but they do not contain any caffeine and attempts to roast the dried berries and have only resulted in a headache-inducing beverage with a terrible taste. These were photographed growing wild in West Palm County, Florida.
    Wild Coffee
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