A few species of water pennywort, Hydrocotyle spp., are common in sunny ponds and sandy dunes around here. A colleague of mine, Heather Joesting, studies their ecophysiology, and if I remember, I’ll update this post with a species name. For now, we can enjoy the clear, ephemeral water and its flora.
Monthly Archives: June 2014
Juniperus virginiana
Some more Red Cedar, or Juniper, at Skidaway. At least I think… I took the photograph of the scaly leaf at the park, but can’t remember what tree/shrub it was attached to….
Black Rush
Black rush, Juncus roemerianus, occurs in patches in the salt marshes surrounding Savannah. The patches stand slightly taller than the Smooth Cordgrass, Spartina alterniflora, making them visible from the edges of the marshes. This specimen sat in a patch above a channel at Skidaway.
A new leader for Amos
Diamondback Terrapin
I found a Diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin, outside of my apartment in May. Well… Amos really found her, but I made the catch and provided the identification.
She was likely gravid and was setting out to lay her eggs outside of the salt marsh adjacent to my apartment. While I prepared my camera, I placed her on the patio with Rocky, my Eastern Box Turtle, who promptly mounted the terrapin…
Amos marks, digs, and waits
Saw Palmetto
Some flowering saw palmetto, Serenoa repens, at Skidaway Island State Park. This low-growing palm is often characterized by sharp, serrated edges along the stems of it’s leaves, and is common in the understory of oak-pine forests in and around Savannah and the rest of the South East.
Some shoreline seapurslane
Shoreline Seapurslane Sesuvium portulacastrum at Estero Bay State Preserve near Cape Coral, Florida.
The heat is back
Wiener dogs bodies are not good regulators of heat.
Sea oxeye
Also known as sea oxeye, Borrichia frutescens is a perrenial sunflower that grows at Skidaway Island State Park and blooms throughout most of June. It grows in abundance adjacent to channels within the salt marsh.