Florida Wildlife

Senna pendula, also known as Easter cassia, climbing cassia, winter senna and valamuerto, is a plant of the Fabaceae family with a shrub habit that is native to South America. It used in various parts of the world as an ornamental plant and is an environmental weed in Australia. The flowers of this plant are yellow or greenish yellow and the name pendula means 'pendulous' or 'drooping'. less ↑

Guilandina bonduc, commonly known as grey nicker, nicker bean, or knicker nut, is a species of flowering plant in the senna tribe, Caesalpinieae, that has a pantropical distribution. It is a liana that reaches a length of 6 m (20 ft) and scrambles over other vegetation. Stems are covered in curved spines. Its 2 cm (0.79 in) grey seeds, known as nickernuts, are buoyant and durable enough to be dispersed by ocean currents. less ↑

Mimosa strigillosa, also known as sunshine mimosa and powderpuff, is a perennial ground cover in the Mimosaceae family that is native to nearly all US states bordering the Gulf of Mexico and grows north into Georgia and Arkansas as well. The name powderpuff refers to the small spherical flowers that rise above the plant's creeping vines. Like related species in the Mimosa genus sunshine mimosa has sensitive leaves that can fold in a matter of seconds... less ↑

Erythrina herbacea, commonly known as the coral bean, Cherokee bean, Mamou plant in South Louisiana, red cardinal or cardinal spear, is a flowering shrub or small tree found throughout the southeastern United States and northeastern Mexico; it has also been reported from parts of Central America and, as an introduced species, from Pakistan. Various other systematic names have been used for this plant in the past, including Erythrina arborea, less ↑

Piscidia piscipula, formerly also called Piscidia erythrina and commonly named Florida fishpoison tree, Jamaican dogwood, or fishfuddle, is a medium-sized, deciduous, tropical tree endemic to the wider Caribben region including extreme southern Florida (primarily the Florida Keys) and the Bahamas, many of the Antillean islands and the coastal region from Panama northward to the vicinity of Ocampo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Native Americans of the West In less ↑

Suriana is a monotypic genus of flowering plants containing only Suriana maritima, which is commonly known as bay cedar. It has a pantropical distribution and can be found on coasts in the New and Old World tropics. Bay cedar is an evergreen shrub or small tree, usually reaching a height of 1–2 m (3.3–6.6 ft) and sometimes reaching 6 m (20 ft). The leaves are alternate, simple, 1–6 cm (0.39–2.36 in) long and 0.6 cm (0.24 in) wide. The grey-green, succulent folia less ↑

Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig (or simply strangler fig), golden fig, or higuerón, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida, the northern and western Caribbean, southern Mexico and Central America south to Panama. The specific epithet aurea was applied by English botanist Thomas Nuttall who described the species in 1846. less ↑

Ulmus americana, generally known as the American elm or, less commonly, as the white elm or water elm, is a species native to eastern North America, naturally occurring from Nova Scotia west to Alberta and Montana, and south to Florida and central Texas. The American elm is an extremely hardy tree that can withstand winter temperatures as low as −42 °C (−44 °F). Trees in areas unaffected by Dutch elm disease can live for several hundred... less ↑

Catharanthus roseus, commonly known as the Madagascar periwinkle, rose periwinkle, or rosy periwinkle, is a species of flowering plant in the dogbane family Apocynaceae. It is native and endemic to Madagascar, but grown elsewhere as an ornamental and medicinal plant, a source of the drugs vincristine and vinblastine, used to treat cancer. Other English names include Vinca, Cape periwinkle, rose periwinkle, rosy periwinkle, and "old-maid". It was formerly less ↑

Hamelia patens is a large perennial shrub or small tree in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, that is native to the American subtropics and tropics. Its range extends from Florida in the southern United States to as far south as Argentina. Common names include firebush, hummingbird bush, scarlet bush, and redhead. In Belize, this plant's Mayan name is Ix Canaan and is also known as "Guardian of the Forest". less ↑

Ernodea littoralis, the golden creeper, beech creeper, coughweed, or coughbush, is a species of flowering plants in the coffee family, Rubiaceae, endemic to Central America and the Caribbean region. It is a vine-like ground cover, 1 to 3 feet in height, with small, light green, succulent leaves on long, curving, bright red branches, and pinkish white, tubular flowers succeeded by golden berries. less ↑

Strychnos pungens (English: spine-leaved monkey-orange, Afrikaans: Stekelblaarklapper) is a tree which belongs to the Loganiaceae. Usually about 5m tall, occurring in mixed woodland or in rocky places. Branches are short and rigid. Leaves are smooth, stiff, opposite, elliptic and with a sharp, spine-like tip. Occurring in South Africa on the Witwatersrand, Magaliesberg and further north to northern Namibia, northern Botswana and Zimbabwe. less ↑

Eupatorium capillifolium (dogfennel) is a North American perennial herbaceous plant in the family sunflower family, native to the eastern and south-central United States. It is generally between 50 cm and 2 meters tall with several stems that fork from a substantial base. The stems and base are covered in leaves so dissected that they resemble branching green threads coming out of the stem in fractal patterns. When crushed, the leaves and flowers smell rather unpleasant. less ↑

Bidens alba, which belongs to the family Asteraceae, is most commonly known as shepherd's needles, beggarticks, Spanish needles or butterfly needles. Bidens means two- toothed, describing the two projections found at the top of the seeds, and alba refers to the white ray florets. This plant is found in tropical and subtropical regions of North America, Asia, South America, and Africa, situated in gardens, road sides, farm fields and disturbed sites. B. alba is a less ↑

Iva imbricata is a North American species of flowering plant in the aster family known by the common names dune marsh-elder and seacoast marsh elder. It is native to Cuba, the Bahamas, and coastal areas of the United States from Texas to Virginia. It is a low shrub, found on sand dunes and the upper beach. It is a highly salt tolerant plant, and is often the perennial plant closest to the ocean. less ↑

Zanthoxylum clava-herculis (Hercules' club, Hercules-club, pepperwood, or southern prickly ash) is a spiny tree or shrub native to the southeastern United States. It grows to 10–17 m tall and has distinctive spined thick, corky lumps 2–3 cm long on the bark. The leaves are glabrous and leathery, pinnately compound, 20–30 cm long with 7-19 leaflets, each leaflet 4–5 cm long. The flowers are dioecious, in panicles up to 20 cm long, each flower small, 6–8 mm less ↑

Acer rubrum, the red maple, also known as swamp, water or soft maple, is one of the most common and widespread deciduous trees of eastern and central North America. The U.S. Forest service recognizes it as the most abundant native tree in eastern North America. The red maple ranges from southeastern Manitoba around the Lake of the Woods on the border with Ontario and Minnesota, east to Newfoundland, south to Florida, and southwest to eastern Texas.... less ↑

Bursera simaruba, commonly known as gumbo-limbo, copperwood, chaca, and turpentine tree, is a tree species in the family Burseraceae, native to tropical regions of the Americas from the southeasternmost United States (southern Florida) south through Mexico and the Caribbean to Brazil, Jinotega and Venezuela. Bursera simaruba are prevalent in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of the Yucatán, where it is a subdominant plant species to mangroves. less ↑

Ludwigia peruviana, with the common names Peruvian primrose-willow or Peruvian water primrose, is an aquatic, sometimes deciduous species of flowering plant in the evening primrose family. It can grow to approximately 12 feet (3.7 m) in height. While native to Peru, it has been introduced in many other countries for its attractive simple yellow flowers, it is now a common weed in swampy areas around the world. less ↑

Quercus laevis, the turkey oak, is a member of the red oak group of oaks. It is native to the southeastern United States, occurring on the coastal plain from Virginia south to central Florida, and west to southeast Louisiana. The name turkey oak derives from the resemblance of the leaves to a turkey's foot. A Turkish and southern European species Quercus cerris is also commonly referred to as Turkey oak, so Quercus laevis is sometimes referred... less ↑

Casuarina equisetifolia, or Australian pine tree, is a she-oak species of the genus Casuarina. The native range extends from Burma and Vietnam throughout Malaysia east to French Polynesia, New Caledonia, and Vanuatu, and south to Australia (north of Northern Territory, north and east Queensland, and north-eastern New South Wales). Populations are also found in Madagascar, but it is doubtful if this is within the native range of the species. The species has been introdu less ↑

Salvia coccinea, the blood sage, scarlet sage, Texas sage, or tropical sage, is a herbaceous perennial in the Lamiaceae family that is widespread throughout the Southeastern United States, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America (Colombia, Peru, and Brazil). At one time Brazil was considered to be where it originated, but its diploid chromosome count now points to Mexico as its place of origin. less ↑

The black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), is a shrub in the acanthus family, Acanthaceae. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas, on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, and on the Atlantic coast of tropical Africa, where it thrives on the sandy and muddy shores that seawater reaches. It is common throughout coastal areas of Texas and Florida, and ranges as far north as southern Louisiana and coastal Georgia in the United States. less ↑

Ipomoea alba, sometimes called the tropical white morning-glory or moonflower (but not to be confused with the other species also called moonflower) or moon vine, is a species of night-blooming morning glory, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the New World, from northern Argentina north to Mexico and Florida. Though formerly classified as genus Calonyction, species aculeatum, it is now properly assigned to genus Ipomoea, subgenus less ↑

Ipomoea pes-caprae, also known as bayhops, beach morning glory or goat's foot, is a common pantropical creeping vine belonging to the family Convolvulaceae. It grows on the upper parts of beaches and endures salted air. It is one of the most common and most widely distributed salt tolerant plants and provides one of the best known examples of oceanic dispersal. Its seeds float and are unaffected by salt water in Persian gulf. less ↑

Magnolia virginiana, most commonly known as sweetbay magnolia, or merely sweetbay (also laurel magnolia, swampbay, swamp magnolia, whitebay, or beaver tree), is a member of the magnolia family, Magnoliaceae. It was the first magnolia to be scientifically described under modern rules of botanical nomenclature, and is the type species of the genus Magnolia; as Magnolia is also the type genus of all flowering plants (magnoliophytes), this species in a sense less ↑

Salix caroliniana, commonly known as the coastal plain willow, is a shrub or small tree native to the southeastern United States, Mexico and parts of Central America and the Caribbean. It is an obligate wetland species and grows as an emergent species in the Everglades. In the absence of fire, S. caroliniana can convert herbaceous wetlands to forested wetlands. Although fires kill large woody stems and the species does not reproduce by rhizomes or root sprouts,... less ↑

Chrysobalanus icaco, the cocoplum, paradise plum, abajeru or icaco, is found near sea beaches and inland throughout tropical Africa, tropical Americas and the Caribbean, and in southern Florida and the Bahamas. It is also found as an exotic species on other tropical islands, where it has become a problematic invasive. Although taxonomists disagree on whether Chrysobalanus icaco has multiple subspecies or varieties, it is recognized as having two ec less ↑

Ilex vomitoria, commonly known as yaupon /jɒpɒn/ or yaupon holly, is a species of holly that is native to southeastern North America. The word yaupon was derived from its Catawban name, yopún, which is a diminutive form of the word yop, meaning "tree". Another common name, cassina, was borrowed from the Timucua language (despite this, it usually refers to Ilex cassine). less ↑

American sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua), also known as American storax, hazel pine, bilsted, redgum, satin-walnut, star-leaved gum, alligatorwood, or simply sweetgum, is a deciduous tree in the genus Liquidambar native to warm temperate areas of eastern North America and tropical montane regions of Mexico and Central America. Sweet gum is one of the main valuable forest trees in the southeastern United States, and is less ↑

Uniola paniculata or sea oats, also known as seaside oats, araña, and arroz de costa, is a tall subtropical grass that is an important component of coastal sand dune and beach plant communities in the southeastern United States, eastern Mexico and some Caribbean islands. Its large seed heads that turn golden brown in late summer give the plant its common name. Its tall leaves trap wind-blown sand and promote sand dune growth, while its deep roots... less ↑

Tillandsia recurvata, commonly known as small ballmoss or ball moss, is a flowering plant (not a true moss) in the family Bromeliaceae that grows upon larger host plants. It grows well in areas with low light, little airflow, and high humidity, which is commonly provided by southern shade trees, often the southern live oak (Quercus virginiana). It is not a parasite like mistletoe, but an epiphyte like its relative Spanish moss. less ↑

Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides) is an epiphytic flowering plant that often grows upon larger trees in tropical and subtropical climates, native to much of Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Central America, South America, the southern United States, and the West Indies and is also naturalized in Queensland (Australia). It is known as "grandpas beard" in French Polynesia. In the United States from where it is most known, it is commonly found on the southern live oak (Quercus less ↑

Hymenocallis latifolia (mangrove spider-lily or perfumed spider-lily) is a bulb-forming perennial occurring on beaches, sand dunes, mangrove swamps and other wetlands along the coasts of Florida, Mexico, and the West Indies (Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, etc.). It has showy white flowers and large green seeds up to 2.5 cm in diam. Common names include "mangrove spider-lily," "perfumed spider-lily,"... less ↑

Smilax auriculata, is a North American plant species native to the Bahamas, the Turks & Caicos Islands, and the southeastern United States. Common names include earleaf greenbrier and wild-bamboo, despite the fact that it is not closely related to bamboo. It is reported from Florida, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. It grows on coastal sand dunes and in sun-lit locations in sandy woodlands at elevations of less than 100 m (333 less ↑

Sagittaria lancifolia, the bulltongue arrowhead, is a perennial, monocot plant in the family Alismataceae, genus Sagittaria, with herbaceous growth patterns. It is native to the southeastern United States. It is known from every coastal state from Delaware to Texas. The species is also considered native to Mexico, Central America, the West Indies and northern South America. It has become naturalized on the Island of Java in Indonesia. less ↑

Serenoa repens, commonly known as saw palmetto, is the sole species currently classified in the genus Serenoa. It is a small palm, growing to a maximum height around 7–10 ft (2.1–3.0 m). It is endemic to the subtropical Southeastern United States, most commonly along the south Atlantic and Gulf Coastal plains and sand hills. It grows in clumps or dense thickets in sandy coastal areas, and as undergrowth in pine woods or hardwood hammocks. less ↑

Sabal palmetto, also known as cabbage-palm, palmetto, cabbage palmetto, blue palmetto, Carolina palmetto, common palmetto, swamp cabbage and sabal palm, is one of 15 species of palmetto palm. It is native to the southernmost lowlands and coastal areas of the southern United States, as well as Cuba, the Turks & Caicos Islands, and The Bahamas. less ↑