The weather forecast currently states there is likely a reprieve coming from the hot and dry weather being experienced by the residents of Florida’s panhandle. Some locales in the northwest portion of the state have already experienced rain and cooler (albeit not cool) weather.
While the change cannot come soon enough for the human residents, the native plants are taking the current weather in stride. They are producing blooms, fruit and seeds as they have since before recorded time began.
Summer’s berries have produced a bounty for all wild creatures, large and small. Yaupons, sparkleberries, dogwoods, pines, persimmons, oaks, hickories and many more have a nutritional offering for any wild creature with space in their stomach or cheeks.
The summer’s heat and rain provided an ideal growing environment for the plants which support the animals, now and in the months to come.
Smilax, a sinewy vine with painful thorns, is ripening berries which contain a seed. The berries appear in late summer and most ripen to a blue-black color.
Smilax berries hang from sinewy vines with vicious thorns. The blue/black berries are eaten by birds when other resources are exhausted. This vine’s seeds, in turn, have a chance to sprout in a new location.
Many of the berries remain on the vine as autumn cools the weather. They are usually consumed in winter after the smilax loses it leaves.
Botanically, smilax is found in tropical to temperate zones. There are about 350 species worldwide and 12 in Florida, with nine being common.
Individual plants can withstand harsh treatment and environments. If burned or mowed to the soil’s surface, they will regenerate from a segmented rhizome root system. Rhizome roots are the subterranean stems which spread roots and runners from their bulbous root nodes.
If pulled up, the rhizome root system will separate at joints. Even the smallest piece of root left in the dirt will generate a new plant.
Beautyberry’s spring blooms have produced abundant berry clusters with a bright purple coloration. Occasionally tasted by insects and birds in September, their nutritional offering is usually overlooked in the present.
Beautyberries are purple and plump during the sunny September days. As the weather cools, these native berries will provide food for many birds, bugs and other animals.
While attractive now, they will dry and remain a viable food option. The yield of berries will be essential for the months of dormancy soon to come.
Members of panhandle Florida’s native Vaccinium genus are literally known for their fruit, and the reputation with people, animals, and birds is universally good. This is especially true when there are few other options during winter.
The shiny, black ¼-inch berries of sparkleberries contain eight to ten seeds. Their berries ripen in the fall and remain attached to the plant throughout the winter, serving as a consistent food source for birds and mammals.
Other native Vaccinium species locally include the scrub blueberry (V darowii) which is known for its heat tolerance and low requirement for chill hours, classified as time during the winter under 45 degrees.
The shiny blueberry (V myrsinites) is found in the Big Bend region of Florida, too. It will form thickets by utilizing subterranean runners in addition to producing berries almost ½ inch in diameter containing several seeds.
These same native species have been used by plant breeders to develop selectively bred fruit which grow the extremely popular blueberries found in supermarkets.
So, while the cooler weather’s arrival will be welcomed by a vast majority of humanity, the high thermometer readings and elevated humidity have been put to good use by native plants.
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