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.
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, 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.
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.
Shoreline Seapurslane Sesuvium portulacastrum at Estero Bay State Preserve near Cape Coral, Florida.
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.
