Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Poinsettia

12/5/2012 Plantation

Poinsettia = Euphorbia pulcherrima
Family: Euphorbiaceae (spurge)
Native to Mexico and central America

Poinsettia leaves are dark green, 7-16 cm
(3-6 ") in length. The red parts that most
people think of as the flowers are
Colored bracts (modified leaves).
They are usually flaming red, but can be
orange, pale green, cream, pink or white.

殆どの人がポインセチアの「花」だと思っている赤い部分
実は色が変化した葉なのです。
クリスマスシーズンに好かれる、燃えるような赤に
加え、オレンジ、薄いグリーン、クリーム色、
ピンクに白といったバラエティがあります。

The flowers are inside the cyathia (plural)
 in the center of the colorful bracts.
Cyathium has both male flowers and one
female flower inside.
Pistillate flower, the female, is coming out 
of cyathium, consists nothing but pistil.
The goblet like grands stick on their cyathia.

では花はどこ?中心の小さな、複雑なものを見て下さい。
丸くてシベのある、この中に、雄花と
雌の花はひとつだけ、同居していて、雌花は
花の中からさらに飛び出してきています。
どうもよく理解できませんがひとまず借りた知識で・・・

12/5/2012 Plantation


Friday, November 30, 2012

Unknown (green to blue berries bush)




11/26/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft.Lauderdale

11/26/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft.Lauderdale

11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft.Lauderdale
11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft.Lauderdale

11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft.Lauderdale

11/26/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft.Lauderdale

Unknown (white ball flower)

11/25/2012 Tree Tops Park, Davie







Thursday, November 29, 2012

Caesar Weed

Caesar Weed = Urena lobata
Family: Malvaceae

Caesar Weed is a shrub that grows up to 10' (3 m)
in height, with the leaves palmately lobed
and 4-8 cm (10-20 cm) long.
The flowers are pinkish violet, about
1 cm (1/2") across.


11/25/2012 Tree Tops Park, Davie

11/25/2012 Tree Tops Park, Davie


Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Indian Almond

Indian Almond = Terminalia catappa
Family: Combretaceae(White Mangrove)
Native to the tropical regions of Asia, 
Africa and Australia

11/23/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale

It grows to 35 m(11 feet) tall with the large
leaves of 15-25 cm(6-10") long and
10-14 cm broad, glossy dark green and leathery.
The fruit is drupe 5-7 cm (2-2.8") long and
3-5.5 cm(1.2-2.2") broad, first green
then yellow and finally red when ripe.
The seed within the fruit is edible when fully ripe,
tastes almost like almond.

大きな木、大きな葉(20cm前後)に何と小さな花。
実は5-7 cmくらいで種がひとつ、その種はアーモンドの
ような味がするそうです。

11/23/2012  George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale

 11/23/2012  George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale

                                   
The leaves contain several chemicals,
flavonoids, tannins, saponines and phytosterols...
and because of that, the leaves are used in 
different herbal medicines for various purposes.

含んでいるケミカルが豊富なために葉の使い道は多く、
お茶にして下痢止めに使ったり、肝臓の病気に利くとか
癌の予防にいいとか、いろいろあるらしいです。











Sea Oats

Sea Oats = Uniola paniculata
Family: Poaceae (Grass)

It grows on the sand dunes behind
wave-washed beaches along the Atlantic
and Gulf of Mexico coasts.


Wild sea oats is protected in Florida,
it is unlawful to pick, even the seeds.
It is not because it is endangered but because
it performs a valuable ecological service by
stabilizing sand dunes.

フロリダでは太平洋岸、およびメキシコ湾岸の
砂浜に自生する。地下茎で増え、地盤強化に一役
かっているため、フロリダではこれを摘むことは(種も)
禁止されている。
11/23/2012 Ft. Lauderdale Beach
About 6', it produces drooping 
18" clusters (called panicles) of flat and
yellowish, 1.5" (3.8 cm) long 
seedheads (called spikelets).

金貨がなっているような風情もまた、ビーチの景観のひとつ。

6/10/2009 Ft.Lauderdale Beach





Monday, November 26, 2012

Buttonwood

Flower  11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft. Lauderdale

Buttowood / Buttonbush / Button Mangrove  
= Conocarpus erectus
Family: Combretaceae (White Mangrove)

Buttonwood is a mangrove shrub or tree
growing on shorelines in tropical and
subtropical regions around the world.
The flowers are button-like with no petals,
5-8 mm in diameter.
The fruit is a cluster of red to brown, 5-15 mm,
the seed heads burst when ripe and are
dispersed by water.
Fruits  11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft. Lauderdale
11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park, Ft. Lauderdale










Sunday, November 25, 2012

Portia Tree

Flower  11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale

Heart Leaves  11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale

Fruit  11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale

Fruits Young and dried   11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale
Portia Tree = Thespesia populnea
Family: Malvaceae (Mallow)

This tree reaches a height of 6-10 m(20-33 ft).
The leaves are heart-shaped, shiny green.
The flowers are pale yellow, last for only
one day, turn to maroon color before drop.
The fruit capsule is a flattened sphere, 
first green then brown then black as 
it ripens and dries.  The capsule then opens,
releasing 8-15 black seeds.
The fruits, flowers and young leaves are edible.

この木の花は咲いていない時期でしたが、ちょっと残り花が
ありました(一番上)。間違って落ちなかったのか落ちる所。
咲いた花は薄い黄色で一日しか持たずに散るのですが
その時にはえび茶色に変わっているのです。


11/23/2012
Cut the young capsule horizontally,
revealing immature seeds...but what is
that yellow thing!
Just like Mustard, oozing out of the edge.
The dried one has compartment and
has a lot of black seeds.
実を拾ってきて割ってみました。緑の若い実は
横に切ったら、種となる部分はともかくとして、
マスタードのような黄色いものが滲み出てきた!
黒くなって乾ききっている種は簡単に割れ、薄い膜で
分かれている中に黒い種がたくさん入っていた。







Saturday, November 24, 2012

Snowberry

11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

Common Snowberry / Waxberry / Ghostberry
= Symphoricarpos albus
Family: Caprifoliaceae (honeysuckle)
Native to north and central America

It grows in shady and moist mountain and
forest habitat, in woodlands and riverbanks.
The flowers are pink and in cluster and  
become snow-white berries of 1 cm.
The berries are important food source for birds, 
but poisonous to human.
They contain Alkaloids, causes mild 
symptoms of vomiting, dizziness and 
slight sedation in children.

コレを見つけたのは晩秋なので、花のことは調べて知りましたが
とても可憐でステキそうなので、来年の春に戻ってみましょう。
冬に向かって実をつけるので、鳥にとっては大事な
食料源となりますが、人間には毒だそうです。

 10/8/2013 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
  10/8/2013 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
 10/8/2013 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

春に行ってみたら、花は10月頃だよと言われました。
それで結局は一年待ってしまったのです。
ピンクかと思っていたのも黄色だったり・・・・
それでもやっと花をここに収められて満足です。
一番下の写真、この枝の最後の花で、後ろの方は
もう実になりかかっています。

和名:セッコウボク(雪晃木)


White Lantana

11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

 11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
11/20/2012 Hugh Taylor Birch State Park

White Lantana / Button Sage = Lantana involucrata
Family: Verbenaceae (Verbena)
Native to Florida

Medium shrub of 4-8 feet in height,
seen in Hammock edges and coastal thickets.
The leaves smell like Sage when crushed.

カラフルなランタナは別種で、これはフロリダ原産。
白かピンクで真ん中が少し黄色。
紫色のカワイイ実をつけていました。

Friday, November 23, 2012

Red Mangrove

Red Mangrove = Rhizophora mangle
Family: Rhizophoraceae (Red Mangrove)
Throughout the tropics

Red Mangrove grows on aerial prop roots,
which arch above the water level.
They thrive on coastlines in brackish water
and in swampy salt marshes.
Because they are well adopted to salt water,
they exist where many other plants fail,
and create their own ecosystems.
真水と海水の中間の水に生息するマングローブ。
塩分を含む水では生きられない植物が多い中、水辺海辺で
増殖して独自の環境をつくりだす植物。
水の上にアーチを描く根は独特の絶景。

 11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale
aerial prop roots
11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale


The flowers: 1/2" (1.3 cm) are white to yellowish,
star-shaped and bloom year-round.
恐ろしいような根の割には、上品な花をつけますね。
 11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale
11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale


The seeds, called propagules, become fully 
mature plants before dropping off the parent tree.

種が面白いです。下の写真のどこが花だったかが
よくわかりますね。真ん中が伸びて伸びて、
そのまま根となって、水に届くまでには成長した
植物となっています。
11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale
Propagule 11/20/2012 George English Park, Ft. Lauderdale

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Unknown (Grass in pond, hollow like bamboo)

11/15/2012 Volunteer Park, Plantation




Giant Fishtail Palm / King Kong Palm

11/15/2012 Plantation Botanical Garden, Plantation
Thai Giant Fishtail / Giant Fishtail Palm
 / King Kong Palm = Caryota gigas
Family: Arecaceae
Native to India, Laos, Thailand

Usually 10 - 12 m tall tree with leaves
bipinnate 3-5 m long.

You can't picture the whole tree from
my photo above, but what I liked the fresh
green color, and the shape of the leaf,
just like Gingko.

この写真だけではこれがヤシの木だとはわかりませんね。
10メートルを越す大きな木です。
下から見上げたら、光を通した緑がとてもフレッシュで
形もまるでイチョウみたいでした。

Bulbine



Bulbine frutescens
Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae
Native to South Africa, Australia




11/15/2012 Plantation Botanical Garden Entrance, Plantation
11/15/2012 Plantation Botanical Garden Entrance, Plantation 


11/15/2012 Plantation Botanical Garden Entrance, Plantation 


*  *  *  *  *  *  *


Bulbine bulbosa
Family: Xanthorrhoeaceae




4/2/2008 Flamingo Gardens, Davie