Pepper, Bush Pepper

Bush Pepper; Capsicum frutescens. The genus Capsicum has been divided into four species, each with multiple varieties. The best known species is C annum, which includes Bell Peppers and Jalapenio, is the most mild, ranging from 0-10,000 in terms of hotness.  Capsicum frutescens is a small, hot pepper hardy to North Texas, and one of the few pepper plants which is indigenous to the southern USA.  A medium height (less than 2’), pithy stemmed member of the tomato family that branches regularly in a rigid angular pattern from each node, with lance shaped leaves, somewhat clammy to the touch, so broad they are almost heart shaped.  Tiny white, forward pointing flowers, blooming in late summer, are born singly on stems that point upward, looking somewhat like White Nightshade flowers, except that they do not nod, and lack the prominent, yellow, fused anthers.  The fruit are tiny (3/8”) peppers which turn yellow, then red-orange when ripe. It has been rated at 30,000-70,000 in terms of Scoville hotness, (2,500,000 is the max).  Forested areas, or forest margins on SWk.  (907-908 Vines) 8/28/18; 19 not recrd;

Bush Pepper habit; a medium height, regionally perennial pepper with broadly lanceolate leaves on long, alternating stems, bearing solitary, white flowers that convert to small, oval peppers that are mildly hot

Note; leaves are mildly clammy, the smooth stems zig-zag, and the leaves are held in an alternating pattern within a single plain

Note; the small, white flowers are born singly from leaf axils, the peduncles pointing up, the five petals only slightly nodding.

Note; the 5 stamen are fused to the pistol, not held on free stamen

Note; oval, cherry like peppers are held aloft on short, upright stems

Watervine

Watervine (identification unknown).  

This vine has only been observed blooming along stream beds, marshy areas, or lake shores, but so far has eluded identification. The Medium sized (2-3”) leaves are strongly triangular with angular protuberances that curl around the stem, giving them a heart shaped profile, otherwise the leaf margins are smooth and untoothed.  Leaves are arranged alternately along the thin, fibrous vine, which twine up into the branches of low vegetation along streams.  Otherwise, the vine lacks any climbing mechanism.  Dense compound umbels of very fragrant, white flowers bloom in late August to September, most intensely fragrant in the afternoons and evening. Big Tree Circuit (Not in Books) 9/1/18; 19 not recrd;

Watervine habit; a vining plant with long fibrous stems, that lacking climbing tendrils, twines itself through surrounding vegetation, the strongly triangular, heart-shaped leaves born alternately

Note; dense compound umbels of fragrant, white flowers are born on peduncles 3-4″ long

Note; strongly triangular, heart shaped leaves with a prominent drip tip, are arranged along the fibrous, twining stems in an alternating pattern

Note; dense compound umbels of white flowers are born on stems 3-4″ long from the axils of leaves

 

Violet, Missouri Violet

Missouri Violet (Wood Violet) Viola missouriensis. The only violet native to the ILC, this herbaceous perennial sprouts a cluster of deeply notched, cordate (heart-shaped) to arrow-shaped leaves.  Each flower stem produces a single, short-lived flower composed of two upright, light blue sepals, two lower, deep violet-blue petals, and a central, modified petal called a lip that sports three or four darker purple streaks.  The petal is modified into a small opening leading to a short, rounded nectar tube, just large enough for insects to insert their tongues.  Flowers convert to thin seed capsules full of tiny, dust like seeds.  Blooming season lasts 2-3 weeks.  Locally it is found only in shaded areas along forested trails where there is deeper, moist soil, but occasionally in yards, where it tolerates mowing.  Only found in low areas of MK trace, CC, SWk (378) 3/15/15-4/7/15; 3/10/16-4/1/16; 2/22/17-4/5/17; 3/15/18-4/2/18;

Missouri Violet habit; clumps of lightly toothed, heart-shaped leaves with single blue and white flowers born on short stems.

Note; glossy, smooth, heart shaped leaves with a lightly toothed, rounded margins, born on slender stems 3-4”long

Note; two upright, lavender petals, two darker purple petals that point down, a central, purple lip petal streaked with dark purple

Lettuce, Telegraph Lettuce

Telegraph Lettuce Lactuca floridana. A medium height (2-3’), hollow stalk with alternating, deeply lobed leaves with serrated edges.  Leaves look much like Prickly Lettuce, except they do not clasp the stem, lack thorns, and are much softer, and the plant blooms much later.  A multi-branched, terminal panicle, that becomes slightly tangled, has many small, aster like white flowers which open fully, converting to small blowballs.  Young leaves can be eaten like lettuce, before they turn bitter.  Found in shaded areas, along trails in forested areas or forest margins.  Disturbed areas, roadsides, MK, CC, CA. (106) 9/15/15; 9/18/16- ; 9/10/17- ; 9/15/18; 19 no recrd;

Telegraph Lettuce habit; A medium height to tall plant with hollow stems and deeply cut, alternating leaves, sporting a terminal spike of small white flower.

Note; short lived, small, white, aster like flowers, open from tapering buds

Note; large, soft leaves with deep sinuses arranged in an alternating spiral around the hollow stems

Pea, Trailing Wild Bean

Trailing Wild Bean Straphostyles helvola.  A wild bean with trifoliate leaves arranged in an alternating pattern around long, fibrous stems common in well watered areas, like stream banks, marshes or lake shores.  Each of the three leaflets of the dark, glossy green leaves are broadly egg shaped.  Showy pink flowers, ¾” across, are born on long pedicles from leaf axils, 3-5 buds opening in slow succession so that buds, one open pink flower and pendulant been pods might be present at the same time.  The banner petal is pink, and slightly folded, forming a peaked hood over the wing petals and ovaries.  A conspicuous, dark purple keel petal is coiled in the hood, and a bright yellow dot is clearly visible at the base of the ovary.  Green bean pods hang straight down from the vines.  Flowers lack fragrance, but are most notable for their curled keel petal, unique among legumes.  Several Amerind tribes used parts of the plant medicinally, or ate the bean, both in green form and dried seed.  The seeds float, helping spread the plant along water sheds.  (Not in Book, 326 similar sp.) Stream beds along DORBA and Big Tree Circuit. 9/10/18; 19 not recrd;

Trailing Wild Bean habit; a long vine with glossy trifoliate leaves alternating along fibrous stems, and bearing single, showy, pink flowers which transform to long, round bean pods

Note; each of the three glossy, smooth leaflets is a broadly ovate (egg shape), the middle one born on a longer petiole

Note; round bean pods hang straight down from pedicles

Note; pink flowers open in slow succession so that buds, beans and flowers can be seen on the same pedicle at the same time.

Note; showy pink pea flowers are composed of a folded banner petal that forms a hood over the coiled, purple keel petal

Note; the visible yellow dot at the back of the hooded banner petal

 

Spurge, Flowering Spurge

Flowering Spurge Euphorbia corollata.  A soft-stemmed, shade-loving plant with lanky stems lined with, elliptical to spatula leaves that spiral around the stem.  Long, branching terminal flower sprays produce a few 1/2” white, cup shaped flowers that have five petals surrounding a greenish center.  Stubby pistol and anthers visibly protrude from the bottom of the center.  Unlike most Euphorbia, this plant has larger flowers with visible petals and flower structures.  Like other spurges the leaves and stems bleed white sap when broken or cut. Forest margins and forested areas. (not in book) 6/12/15; 6/4/16; 3/26/17- ; 3/?/18; 2/12/19 – ; 2/8/20

Flowering Spurge habit; lanky, fibrous plant with elliptical to spatula shaped leaves that spiral around the stem, and terminal clusters of white, cup-shaped flowers

Note; terminal spray of relatively large, white flowers, each with 5 petals

Note; oval petals form an open bowl around a central, green disk, with a short, towering pistol

Snapdragon Vine

Snapdragon Vine Maurandia artirrhiniflora. A slender, shade loving, vining plant with small (3/4” – 1 ½ ”), light green, triangular, pointed leaves, that grows in dense masses, twining up plants.  At every leaf node a leaf and a filamentous flower stem sprout, alternating sides along the vine.  Lacking climbing tendrils, the stems of flowers and leaves curl around small objects for support.  Dark red to purple tube flower are born singly, opening to a corolla of 5 lobes, two which point up, three which point down, the middle “lip” being reduced.  The throat of the flowers is a light yellow, the stamen visible on the roof of the tube mouth, like a snap dragon flower.  Flowers are frequently visited by hummingbirds.  Flowers convert to small capsules, the hard, angular seeds sprouting readily. Locally uncommon, the largest plant is at the first junction of the SWk (248) 3/15/16-6/20/16; 3/11/17-4/25/17; 3/25/18; 4/7/19; 2/20/20

Snap Dragon Vine habit; a vining plant with triangular, pointed leaves, bearing lavender and white tube flowers.

Note; Two petals up, three petals point down, the middle one reduced

Note; triangular leaves with sharply pointed lobes, alternate along fibrous stems

Note; dense masses of vining stems drape surrounding vegetation

Note; purple and white tube flowers with a white to yellow throat unfold to a corolla of 5 petals

Snailseed, Carolina Snailseed

Carolina Snailseed Cocculus carolinus.  A thin, brittle, woody, twining vine, lacking climbing tendrils, with alternating, dark green, heart-shaped to three lobed leaves, which grows in the understory or in hedges.  The woody leaves are crisp, snapping if bent, and deciduous, falling off in the winter.  Racimes of tiny, cream flowers with yellow centers are born from terminal buds and axillary leaf nodes, the flowers never opening completely.  Flowers convert to bright red, translucent berries in the fall, in which the coiled seeds imaginatively look like curled up snail fry.  Most common along margins of trails running through forests, or hedges in yards.  The berries are food for several species of birds, but toxic to humans.  This may be due to the fact that food travels through birds so fast they don’t have time to absorb toxins, but they also eat clay to absorb toxins.  (Vines 275) 16 early summer; 6/5/17- ; 6/18/18; 19 not recrd;

Snail Seed habit; a brittle twining vine without climbing tendrils, that produces bright red berries in the fall, common in hedges and trail margins

Note; bunches of bright red, translucent, poisonous berries in which the coiled seed is visible.

Note; dark green, woody leaves that range from heart shaped to 3 lobed, arranged in an alternating spiral around the smooth, brittle stems

Note; racimes of tiny white flowers with 5 petals around a yellow center are born from leaf axils and terminal buds, the flowers never fully opening

Skullcap, Egg-leaf Skullcap

Egg-leaf Skullcap Scuttelaria ovata. A shade loving, slightly fuzzy plant up to 3’ tall with large, egg shaped leaves, the margin marked by rounded teeth.  Leaves and flowers are arranged in opposite pairs set at 90 degrees to the next set.  Terminal spikes bear opposite pairs of  soft, green bracts, from which emerge ¾” long lavender-blue flowers. The tube-like flowers are smooth except for the hooded “cap”, which is only slightly fuzzy.  The S shaped tube faces straight out of leafy bracts, bends sharply upward, then turns forward, broadening and opening to a lip with two pronounced, lighter colored calluses. The bottom of the throat is white, speckled with lavender-blue.  The seed capsules are shaped like skull-cap. Forested road sides, SWk, PDU, DORBA (376?) 6/3/15-; 5/16/16-7/1/16; 5/9/17- ; 5/15/18-; 19 no obs; 20 no obs

Egg Leaf Skullcap habit; tall pithy plants with opposite, egg shaped leaves, ending in terminal spikes of blue flowers

Note; opposite pairs of egg shaped leaves with rounded teeth

Note; S shaped profile of blue, smooth, tube flowers, sporting two calluses on an abruptly down turned lip

Note; soft, fuzzy green bracts in opposite pairs along the flower spikes

Note; upturned “skullcap” shaped seed capsules

Sage, Scarlet Sage (Blood/Cedar Sage)

Scarlet (Blood/Cedar Sage) Sage Salvia coccinea/roemeriana. A late blooming perennial that sends up multiple, tall (up to 30”), square stems from a central clump.  Pairs of fuzzy, triangular (cordate), slightly drooping leaves with rounded teeth (crenate), are arranged opposite each other on hairy, round stems.  Leaves emit a pungent, though not unpleasant smell when brushed or crushed.  Bright scarlet tube flowers emerge from soft green bracts arranged in whorls at each node along a terminal spike, and later from spikes budding from upper leaf nodes.  The tube opens to a upper cap and a lower corolla of a 4 lobes, partially fused into a downturned lip.  White stamen protrude beyond the flower cap.  Papery seed capsules produce two round, black seeds each.  S coccinea prefers shade, often growing in juniper forests, thus earning the alternate name “Cedar Sage”.  SWk (318 7/3/15 -9/4/15; 6/1/16; 5/10/17; 18 not recrd; 19 not recrd; 5/10/20

Scarlet/Cedar Sage habit;  long, hairy, round stems lined with opposite; egg shaped leaves with rounded serrations, and terminal spikes of bright red flowers

Note; scarlet tube flowers in whorls from each node along the terminal spike

Note; paired, opposite, egg shaped leaves with rounded teeth along the margins

Note; leaves and stems emit a pleasant, but pungent smell when brushed or disturbed

Note; red tipped stamen protrude well beyond the flared lip, turned down at 90 degrees