key west

November Wildflowers in Key West

Key West Field Guide, vegetable

Click on the flower names at the bottom of this post for more images and links to species information.

  • Citron zephyrlily
  • Creeping sourgrass
  • Sleepy morning
  • Bitter melon
  • Straggler daisy
  • Least snoutbean
  • Pencilflower
  • Bracted fanpetals
  • Jamaican feverweed
  • Common purslane
  • Snow squarestem
  • False shrubby buttonweed
  • Yellow joyweed
  • Santa Maria feverfew
  • Pillpod sandmat
  • Virginia pepperweed
  • False daisy
  • Coatbuttons
  • Erect spiderling
  • Turkey tangle fogfruit
  • Spanish needles
  • Silverhead
  • Seaside heliotrope
  • Beach naupaka
  • Coastal sea rocket
  • Goatweed
  • Tex-Mex tobacco
  • Shoreline purslane
  • Guinea hen weed
  • Whitemouth dayflower
  • Grannybush
  • Powderpuff
  • Railroad vine
  • Baybean
  • Lilac tasselflower
  • Beggar’s-ticks
  • Scarlet spiderling
  • Creeping indigo
  • Painted leaf
  • Carry me seed
  • ID pending

mi·nus·cule

animal, Key West Field Guide, vo•cab•u•lar•y

(adj.) extremely small

On nature walks, I tend to get caught up trying to remember the names of the flowers, the sea beans, the sea shells, the wildlife. Each familiar plant or animal gives me a friendly face to greet.

I’m never lonely in nature, even when I am alone.

But occasionally, the world seems too big, too crowded, too busy, too much. Sometimes, I need to shrink the world to recover the joy of getting lost within it. Micro-shelling changes my perspective. It narrows the world to only what I choose to focus on. Instead of seeking knowledge, I avoid it- and often find inspiration in the process.

Continue reading →

Frangipani hornworm caterpillar

animal, Key West Field Guide

Pseudosphinx tetrio

Although most people who walked by while I was admiring this caterpillar shared the wonder of such a gigantic, colorful creature by taking photos and watching it wander down the sidewalk, a few imparted more negative opinions. One informed me that it would bite me (it didn’t). That it would burn me like “muriatic acid” (it didn’t). And a third suggested I would catch a disease (haven’t appeared to). But none of these people knew the name of the caterpillar or even what it fed on. After identifying this larva online, I transported him to the nearest frangipani tree about 200 yards away, which had about 5 other Pseudosphinx tetrio caterpillars munching on the leathery leaves. Moral of this story- assess the risks and decide for yourself. If it has a mouth, it can bite. (I’d probably survive.) It could sting. (Again, I’d probably survive, but it is something to consider in advance.) And truthfully, if I got sick from a caterpillar, I’d probably think it was worth the novelty. (And I’d probably survive – and I’d definitely share the tale with others.)

Pseudosphinx tetrio caterpillar

Pseudosphinx tetrio caterpillar

And for true excitement, topped only by watching paint dry, some video of the caterpillar munching on a frangipani leaf.

nic·ti·tate

animal, vo•cab•u•lar•y

(v.) to wink

Whether you’re a bird or a human, a nap during the day is pure luxury. It only can be accomplished when there is nothing urgent to be done, when there is time to relax and shut out the world. For me, though, the best part of a nap is when I wake just enough to recognize that I am no longer sleeping and slowly become aware- but not yet a part- of the world around me. In this regard, I envy birds and their third eyelids.

Continue reading →

Bitter melon

Key West Field Guide, vegetable

Momordica charantia

Find more info here.

Momordica charantia female flower

Momordica charantia new flower bud

Momordica charantia day old female flower

Momordica charantia leaf

Momordica charantia fruit with insect tunneling evidence

Momordica charantia fruit showing seeds

Momordica charantia empty fruit husk

Momordica charantia flowers

ru•der•al:

vegetable, vo•cab•u•lar•y

(adj.) growing in disturbed areas, on waste ground, or among rubbish

I live on a 2×4 mile chunk of dead coral that protrudes only 18 feet above the ocean. The cost of living is exorbitant and the competition for housing is fierce- for both people and plants. Many of our most common wildflowers aren’t much different than the humans in Key West- we both put a lot of creativity and effort into living in paradise.

Continue reading →

de·his·cence

vegetable, vo•cab•u•lar•y

(n.) the spontaneous opening at maturity of a plant structure, such as a fruit, to release its contents

IMG_2417

I’ve always considered myself more of a bee than a squirrel – it’s the flower, not the fruit, that catches my eye. With this plant, however, everything BUT the flower shouts out for attention.

Continue reading →