The likely aftermath of Hurricane Debby has the potential to be anywhere from inconvenient for some panhandle Florida homeowners to severe for others. At the very least there will be many twigs, branches and limbs to remove from the yard and landscape.
Many will experience the loss of a favored tree, or its severe damage. Some plants, however, have used this dramatic weather event to expedite their conquest of new territory.
In the last half of summer in north Florida, many native and exotic annual plants are producing seeds which were generated during the preceding months. Better knowledge of these plants, which live only a year, has led to a better understanding of the ingenious ways they continue their species the following spring.
The seeds of broom sedge are easily scattered on the wind. The recent hurricane spread these and many other seeds to far flung locales.
Plants identified as wildflowers have begun to produce seeds. They are preparing for next year’s colorful show.
Most wildflower seeds are distributed by wind, birds and animals. The seed heads or pods are designed to aid the scattering of mature seeds.
Spanish needles employ two barbed prongs which attach the seeds to unsuspecting passersby. After a period of travel, the seeds are brushed or scratched off and colonize a new plot.
Bidens alba, the scientific name for this weed, literally means two teeth in Latin. The plant, which has prolific white and yellow blooms, is important to sustaining Monarch butterflies and European honeybees.
Partridge peas, another common native plant with a small yellow blossom, produce a flat seed pod. These pods split and seeds are disbursed by the wind and animals.
This plant’s prolific late season blooms are an important food source to native pollinators and European honeybees.
The mowing of plants is critically important to the continuation of many wildflowers. Timing mowing cycles to seed setting and maturation is the optimal method to ensure establishment of a planting is sustainable over the long term.
Seeds need a minimum of a month to mature after an individual flower has bloomed. If prematurely removed, the seed likely will not sprout.
The region’s perennial plants and native trees use many of the same techniques as wildflowers for spreading seeds. Wind, animals and birds do the bulk of the scattering.
The plants and trees aid the birds and animals with discovery by having brightly colored seeds or seed coatings. Migratory birds, bears and other omnivores are all seeking to increase their calorie count in the face of the impending seasonal changes.
The seeds which are not digested pass through and are deposited in a new location, sometimes many miles from the parent plant. The tree or perennial plant will establish itself in a new area if all the necessary components for plant growth are present.
No doubt homeowners and landscape managers will find a surprising variety of new plants appearing in the spring next year. Many will have been deposited by the wind and animals fleeing the tropical weather system.
Hurricane Debby produced as yet unassessed damage across Florida and caused problems for thousands of residents. It is an insignificant conciliation, but at least some native plants got a positive use of the event.
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