I spent some time in the beautiful hardwood hammock at Myakka River State Park. The hike I went in on is called Fox’s High Trail which is that the north end of the park where there are lots of big oaks and cabbage palms it’s a super wet environment this time of year, wet underfoot, and there tons of mosquitoes. If you if you slow your step down, they’ll have a have a meal off of you. Lots of plants along the way including the smilax vine, and also lots of the invasive Caesar weed. Something to look out for are epiphytes: we have the resurrection fern and the golden polypody, which tend to grow along with Spanish moss. There’s also shoestring fern which typically you see growing off of palm trees along the way.
It’s great to look up in the canopy and to see all the air plants growing: Spanish moss, the southern needleleaf air plant, also in the Talencia family.
Something to notice the velvet leafed wild coffee. I love looking up close at these live oak branches to see the southern needle leaf air plan and the resurrection ferns which are green because it’s rained recently, and the lichen, and you can see the pink Christmas lichen. Something to also notice are the butterfly orchids. You could see butterfly orchid leaves right there, they only bloom in May and June.
Caesar weed and lots of saw palmetto along the way. I think that’s a maiden here fern. Not quite sure what kind of fern that is. Again, very muddy trail water oak common in the wetter areas, but mostly we’re seeing live oaks around here, but there’s a water oak plant.
It really looks different at different times a year this runs along a stream on the right which doesn’t even exist in the spring.There’s some sensitive pea, romerillo, and a trailing daisy.
And then looking up at a live oak, I was happy to see a giant air plant, which is threatened now by the Mexican bromeliad weevil.
