April 30, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, my yard

This is a Serenoa repens,
Saw Palmetto is the common name.
It’s berries are eaten by birds and bears,
And by humans to treat enlarged prostate.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 29, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, my yard

This is a Bidens Alba,
A.K.A. “Beggar's Tick” or “that dang weed”
The butterflies really love it,
But it produces thousands of sharp, sticky seeds.

Sources:  FNPL Blog: Wednesday's Wildflower: Spanish Needle

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 28, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, my yard

I am a Mischocyttarus mexicanus cubicola,¹
I'm a type of Paper Wasp
If I don't do my job and help my queen,
She'll go cannibal at her own larvae's cost.²

(Thanks so much to Lyle Buss from University of Florida  for the help with identification.)

Sources: (1) Lyle Buss, Insect Identification Lab, Entomology & Nematology Dept.,University of Florida 
(2) Wikipedia: Mischocyttarus mexicanus cubicola

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 27, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, my yard

This is a Gaillardia pulchella,
It is common throughout our state.
It flowers from April till June,
And bees help it pollinate.

Sources: University of Florida, IFAS Extension

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 26, 2017

Location:  Fellsmere, St. Sebastian Preserve State Park, Trans-Central Florida Railway trail.

This is a Hypericum cistifolium,
Roundpod St. John's Wort is the common name.
It can be made into a medicinal tea,
Which is thought to keep depression at bay.

(Special thanks to Rochelle for my new Falcon Guides: Central Florida Wildflowers and to Jim for confirming my identification.)

Sources: Falcon Guides: Central Florida Wildflowers

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 25, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Stick Marsh

Grackle and a Blackbird
Sitting in a tree
F-E-E-D-I-N-G.
Maybe have a bug, maybe have a spider,
All taste yummy
When they're crawling round in side'ya.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson

April 24, 2017

Location: Fellsmere, Stick Marsh

I'm known as a Barn Swallow,
I've got a long forked tail,
I like to fly and catch bugs in mid air,
If I was younger, my colors would be more pale.

Photo and text © 2017 Dee Fairbanks Simpson