Environmental Science: Habitat Park; SPC Seminole

Observations:

The Habitat Park seemed to slide back and forth between Upland and Wetland environments, sometimes within just a few feet of each other. While pretty, the environment felt forced, and the plants were not cohesive within the areas they inhabited. The ponds all seemed to want to natively be upland environments with drier soil and more trees like oak and laurel than the smaller shrubs and cattails, lilies, and grasses that we saw. At the end of the trip, after taking soil samples we came across a small purple/pink flower from the mint plant. This is commonly referred to as Hitchhiker’s plant or Florida Betony. Its scientific name is Stachys floridana.

Pictures:

Checklists:

Plant List:

Common name              (observed  =  X)	Scientific name	Family	Plant type	Wetland status	N or E*
Sweet acacia	Acacia farnesiana	Fabaceae	Tree	FACU	N
Red maple	Acer rubrum	Sapindaceae	Tree	FAC	N
Broomsedge bluestem	Andropogon virginicus	Poaceae	Grass	FAC	N
Groundsel tree, salt myrtle	Baccharis halimifolia	Asteraceae	Shrub	FAC	N
Swamp fern	Blechnum serrulatum	Blechnaceae	Fern	FACW	N
American beautyberry	Callicarpa americana	Lamiaceae	Shrub	FACU	N
Coco plum	Chrysobalanus icaco	Chrysobalanaceae	Shrub	FACW	N
Showy rattlebox	Crotalaria spectabilis	Fabaceae	Forb	FACU	E
Purple nutsedge	Cyperus rotundus	Cyperaceae	Sedge	FAC	E
Dog fennel	Eupatorium capillifolium	Asteraceae	Forb	FACU	N
Mohr's thoroughwort	Eupatorium mohrii	Asteraceae	Forb	FACW	N
Slender goldenrod	Euthamia caroliniana	Asteraceae	Forb	FAC	N
Blanketflower	Gaillardia pulchella	Asteraceae	Forb	UPL	N
Firebush	Hamelia patens var. glabra	Rubiaceae	Shrub		N
Firebush	Hamelia patens var. patens	Rubiaceae	Shrub	FACU	E-INTRODUCED
Scorpion's tail	Heliotropium angiospermum	Boraginaceae	Shrub	OBL	N
Pennywort	Hydrocotyle umbellata;           H. bonariensis	Araliaceae	Forb	OBL	N
American holly	Ilex opaca	Aquifoliaceae	Tree	FAC	N
Jatropha (nettlespurge)	Jatropha spp.	Euphorbiaceae	Shrub	UPL	E-INTRODUCED
Lantana	Lantana camara	Verbenaceae	Subshrub	FACU	E-INTRODUCED
Primrose-willow	Ludwigia peruviana	Onagraceae	Subshrub	OBL	E-1
Southern magnolia	Magnolia grandiflora	Magnoliaceae	Tree	FAC	N
Swamp magnolia	Magnolia virginiana	Magnoliaceae	Tree	FACW	N
Climbing hempvine	Mikania scandens	Asteraceae	Forb/vine	FACW	N
Sunshine mimosa, powderpuff	Mimosa strigillosa	Fabaceae	Forb	FAC	N
Wild balsam apple; balsampear	Momordica charantia	Cucurbitaceae	Vine	UPL	E-INTRODUCED
Wax myrtle	Myrica cerifera	Myricaceae	Shrub	FAC	N
Water lily	Nymphaea odorata	Nymphaeaceae	Forb	OBL	N
Virginia creeper	Parthenocissus quinquefolia	Vitaceae	Vine	FACU	N
Penta	Pentas lanceolata	Rubiaceae	Subshrub	UPL	N
Red bay	Persea borbonia	Lauraceae	Tree	FACW	N
Turkey tangle fog fruit; capeweed	Phyla nodiflora	Verbenaceae	Forb	FAC	N
American pokeweed	Phytolacca americana	Phytolaccaceae	Forb	FACU	N
Slash pine	Pinus elliottii	Pinaceae	Tree	FACW	N
Long leaf pine	Pinus palustris	Pinaceae	Tree	FAC	N
Camphorweed	Pluchea odorata	Asteraceae	Forb	FACW	N
Pickerelweed	Pontederia cordata	Pontederiaceae	Forb	OBL	N
Carolina laurelcherry	Prunus caroliniana	Rosaceae	Tree	FACU	N
Wild coffee	Psychotria nervosa	Rubiaceae	Shrub	FAC	N
Laurel oak	Quercus laurifolia	Fagaceae	Tree	FACW	N
Water oak	Quercus nigra	Fagaceae	Tree	FAC	N
Live oak	Quercus virginiana	Fagaceae	Tree	FACU	N
Cabbage palm	Sabal palmetto	Arecaceae	Tree	FAC	N
Duck potato	Sagittaria latifolia	Alismataceae	Forb	OBL	N
Coastal plain willow	Salix caroliniana	Salicaceae	Tree	OBL	N
Tropical red salvia	Salvia coccinea	Lamiaceae	Forb	NONE-UPL	N
Chinese tallow	Sapium sebiferum	Euphorbiaceae	Tree	FAC	E-NOXIOUS WEED
Brazilian pepper	Schinus terebinthifolius	Anacardiaceae	Shrub	FAC	E-1
Saw palmetto	Serenoa repens	Arecaceae	Shrub	FACU	N
Sida	Sida spp.	Malvaceae	Forb	UPL	N-SIDA ACUTA
Upright porterweed	Stachytarpheta cayennensis	Verbenaceae	Subshrub	FACU	ABSENT/UNREPORTED
Trailing blue porterweed	Stachytarpheta jamaicensis	Verbenaceae	Forb	FACU	N
Walter's aster	Symphyotrichum walteri	Asteraceae	Forb	FAC	N
Cattail	Typha spp.	Typhaceae	Forb	OBL	N
Caesarweed	Urena lobata	Malvaceae	Subshrub	FAC	E-INTRODUCED
Muscadine grape	Vitis rotundifolia	Vitaceae	Vine	FAC	N
Coontie	Zamia pumila	Zamiaceae	Subshrub	FACU	N-COMMERCIALY EXPLOITED

Observed Animals:

Mammals that were observed:	Birds that were observed:	Amphibians and Reptiles that were observed:	Insects and Anthropods that were observed:
Gray squirrel	Anhinga	Alligator	Crab-like Spiny Orb Weaver
	Blue Jay	Brown Anole	White Peacock butterfly
	Great Blue Heron	Soft-shell Turtle	Zebra Longwing butterfly
	Mallard		Sulphur butterfly
	Moorhen		Ants
	Mourning Dove
	Osprey
	Snowy Egret
	Wood Stork
	Red-cockaded Woodpecker
	Finches

Question 1. Laurel wilt is a disease in the Laurel family (Lauraceae). You can tell that a tree has the disease because the leaves curl and turn brown and droop and there is dark marks on the tree’s bark. The Ambrosia beetle is not the cause, but the carrier of the disease, which is actually a fungus that the beetle spreads as it eats into the trees and reproduces. The disease can also be spread from transporting infected plants.

Question 2. I chose the Scorpion Tail (Heliotropium angiospermum) shrub as the plant that would not normally be found in a wetland environment. While the shrub does natively show up in “hammocks and disturbed areas” (Florida Native Plant Society, 2013) in Florida, it prefers a drier environment than is found in a true wetland. According to the USDA, Scorpion’s Tail is listed as FACU, meaning “Facultative Upland; Nonhydrophyte; usually occur in non-wetlands, but may occur in wetlands” (United States Department of Agriculture, n.d.). This means that while it is “moderately salt tolerant” it would prefer to be in “sand” (Florida Native Plant Society, 2013). More than likely it was chosen because it grows well from seed or planting, can be used as a “tall groundcover or small shrub,” and has “showy white flowers” (Florida Native Plant Society, 2013).

Question 3. We took two samples during the trip both within a few feet of the water’s edge, which you would think would be obviously a wetland, but the soil showed that the original ground was a much sandier environment as even the completely saturated areas were predominantly sand with layers of decaying organic matter such as leaves.

Site Number	Site Name	Location	Soil Depth interval (inches)	Color (Munsell chart or informal)	Texture	Water Content
1	Wetland	30in from water’s edge	0-2 in	Dark brown	Decaying organic matter	Wet
			2.5-7in	Medium brown	Sand	Moist
			7-12in	Medium brown	Clumpy	Wet
			10-12in	Medium-Dark brown	Uniform squishy Slight odor of H2SO4	Wet
2	Wetland/Upland border	72in from water’s edge	0-0.5in	Dark brown	Decaying organic matter	Wet
			0.5-2in	Dark brown/Grey	Organic (db)/Sand (g)	Moist
			2-9in	Dark Brown	Sand	Damp/Slight moisture
			9-12in	Dark Brown	No smell	Slight moisture

References

Florida Native Plant Society. (2013). Heliotropium Angiospermum. Retrieved from Florida Native Plant Society : http://www.fnps.org/plants/plant/heliotropium-angiospermum

United States Department of Agriculture. (n.d.). Heliotropium angiospermum. Retrieved November 20, 2016, from Natural Resource Conservation Service: http://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=HEAN5