A stroll through the woods, a field or any other landscape may seem a bit drab in early February. Temperatures have been more like April for a week or so, but one look will say it is still winter.
With few exceptions, the dormant season is quickly obvious in the lack of plant life.
However, the oft-bypassed indicators are already in place for March’s green revival. Time, literally, will tell the story.
Winter in panhandle Florida results in many annual and perennial plants distributing the seeds produced. Better knowledge of how plants function throughout their lifecycle has led to understanding the ingenious ways they continue their species next spring.
Many plants identified as weeds and wildflowers along with perennials have long since gone to seed. Silently, they are preparing for next spring’s colorful show, but the dying foliage still has a valuable part to play in both the curing and distribution of the seeds.
The seeds of these commonly found Spanish Needles will sprout in the spring. They attach themselves to any person or animal which comes into contact with the seed head. Most will be eaten, but a few (percentage wise) will germinate wherever they are dropped.
Many seeds are distributed by wind, birds and animals. The seed heads or pods are easily shattered when the seed is mature and ready to disperse. There are, however, some species which use other methods.
Spanish Needles employs two barbed prongs that attach the seed 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 Spanish Needles, literally means “two teeth” in Latin. The plant, which has prolific white and yellow nectar-producing blooms, is important to the survival of adult Monarch butterflies, European honeybees and many other lesser-known insects.
Autumn mowing on rights-of-ways and pastures is critically important to the continuation of most desirable wildflowers. Timing mowing cycles to flowering and seed set is the optimal method to ensure the establishment of a planting is sustainable over the long term.
If in the home landscape, avoid mowing when plants are flowering or when seeds are still maturing. Seeds need at least four weeks to mature after an individual flower has bloomed.
The general recommendation for north Florida is to avoid mowing from April through September. Also, realize weather can alter flowering and seed set by at least two to four weeks.
North Florida’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.
An observer may notice what appears to be pearl-sized and colored spheres on the forest floor. The clusters are one native perennial plant’s way of colonizing new territory.
These are poison ivy berries which mature and then fall to the ground. Most of this plant’s berry production is eaten by birds for distribution by air, but they are also easily moved by heavy rains.
The plants and trees aid the birds and animals with discovery by having brightly colored immature seeds. Migratory birds, bears and other omnivores are all seeking to increase their calorie intake in the face of the retreating winter.
The seeds which are not digested pass through and are deposited with a “nutrient” package 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.
Seems like everyone, and every creature, benefits from a casual stroll outside in late winter.
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