Opuntia stricta
Closed flower bud of Opuntia stricta
Close up of young O. stricta pad
Close up of future fruit
Glochidia and growing spines
Florida Keys native
Bay cedar
Key West Field Guide, vegetable
Florida hammock milk pea
Key West Field Guide, vegetableGalactic striata
Find more info here.
Top banner petal with white stripes
Unopened sessile flower of Galactia striata
Open Galactia striata flower
3 leaflets on twining stem
Open flower and bud of Galactia striata
Cheesytoes
Key West Field Guide, vegetableStylosanthes hamata
Find more info here.
Closeup of Stylosanthes hamata
The three-parted leaves of Cheesytoes
Saltmarsh false foxglove
Key West Field Guide, vegetable
American bluehearts
Key West Field Guide, vegetableBuchnera americana
Find more info here.
American bluehearts closeup
Buchnera americana in grassy beachside habitat
Narrowleaf yellowtops
Key West Field Guide, vegetableFind more info here.
Flaveria linearis head
Narrowleaf yellowtops plant
Flaveria linearis plant
Flaveria linearis stem showing opposite leaves and hairs
Sixangle foldwing
Key West Field Guide, vegetableDicliptera sexangularis
Find more info here.
Open flower of Dicliptera sexangularis
Dicliptera sexangularis nearly ready to open
Young, closed flower of Dicliptera sexagularis
Fruit and involucrate bracts of Dicliptera sexangularis
Dicliptera sexangularis plant
Mexican prickly poppy
Key West Field Guide, vegetable
Scorpions tail
Key West Field Guide, vegetableHeliotropium angiospermum
Youngest flowers are all white
Older flowers have yellowish green centers
Coiled and ready to bloom
Find more info here.
Bushy seaside oxeye
Key West Field Guide, vegetableBorrichia frutescens
All the field guides I’ve looked at show bushy seaside oxeye blooming in full glory with a thick rim of ray flowers and topped with black anthers, but I most often see it sporting few, if any, ray flowers.
- Borrichia frutescens flower bud and leaf in profile
- Borrichia frutescens with only disc flowers
- Borrichia frutescens flower with new ray flowers
- Borrichia frutescens with reflexed ray petals
- Borrichia frutescens gone to seed
Find more info here.
Cape sable whiteweed
Key West Field Guide, vegetableAgeratum maritimum
Although it appears purple in these photos, I couldn’t decide if it was blue or purple in the wild. The color seems to shift with the angle and amount of light.
Find more info here.
Christmasberry
vegetable
Tearshrub
Key West Field Guide, vegetableVallesia antillana
Vallesia antillana flowers 
Vallesia antillana fruit 
Vallesia antillana fruit
An endangered species in the Florida Keys, this individual is being nurtured by the Key West Tropical Forest and Botanical Garden. Someday, I hope to find a wild specimen.
Find more info here.
Coastal Indian mallow
Key West Field Guide, vegetableAbutilon permolle
flower 
fruit with remains of flower 
unripe fruit 
dehiscent fruit 
leaf
Find more info here.
Herb-of-grace
Key West Field Guide, vegetableBacopa monnieri
Find more info here.
Also called smooth water hyssop (Bacopa monnieri)
The four stamens are fused to the petals in Bacopa monnieri
Minute Explorations 