kourt_barber's Identifications

Found in the grass of an urban habitat. 10-15 near each other growing upwards about 3-6 inches. Yellow stamen in the center of the flower. 4-6 petals per flower. The fruit of the plant is also pictured. There was also about 10-15 near each other growing upwards about 3-6 inches tall. The fruit had a black center with pale brown tips. (Used southeasternflora.com to identify the organism)

This is a seeded vascular plant, angiosperm. It has 8 white petals and has simple green leaf with opposite arrangement. The branching of the veins on the leaf suggests that this plant is dicot and the presence of the flower supports that it is an angiosperm. It was found on the campus of University of South Florida. It is a terrestrial plant and was found on an urban habitat. This is an invasive weed and is about 20-150 cm tall. The heigh of the plant proves that it has a developed vascular system.

References:
Southeaster Flora: http://www.southeasternflora.com/view_flora.php?plantid=760#
Discover Life Plant: https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Trees&cl=US/FL
Invasive Species Compendium: https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/9148#toenvironments

In a sunny wetland habitat in a grassy area near a tree I found a type of flower. The flower itself was small about the size of a nickel with a yellow center and frail white petals. The petals were spread far apart and the center was a dense collection of yellow cylindrical pieces that stuck out. The leaves had a tear-drop shape and the stem was long pushing the flowers above the brush and other plant life below it. Some of the plant hadn’t flowered yet and was green with hints of yellow. The encyclopedia of life says that the Spanish needles are commonly found in Florida, not in abundance in Hillsborough County but they have been observed here. While sometimes they are solid yellow they have been observed with white petals according to Florida's nature website.

http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/Plant.aspx?id=1988
https://www.floridasnature.com/wildflowers6.html

Kingdom: Plantae

Description: Caesar weed, or urena lobata, is an invasive species in Florida. Caesar weed is found in abundance in forests, which is where this seed plant was found. The leaves are a bright green and resemble a crown, hence the name. These leaves had many holes, likely due to being eaten by insects. The leaves were around 7 to 10 cm in diameter, and were covered by tiny, hairlike fibers. The plant itself was about a foot tall, but they can get taller.

Reference: https://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/55771#tosummaryOfInvasiveness

Habitat: Forest

I found this bird outside of my neighborhood while walking. It appeared to be taking a bath. The grey bird had an elongated neck with a skinny feathered tail. It had a sharp beak with an translucent wattle. When the bird stretches out its wings, the feathers were white. Along its body it contained black and white spots. According to myfwc, I saw an Anhinga.
https://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/profiles/birds/waterbirds/anhinga/
Anhinga. Florida Fish And Wildlife Conservation Commission.

A palm tree growing in the Hillsborough River at Morris Bridge Road Preserve. The Sabal palmetto is approximately 2 m tall, with leaved that were 60 cm long and 3 cm wide. The costa palmate leaves are long, pointed, drooped, and green1. They branch off from the trunk that is made of crisscrossing buds for leaves. There are no visible seeds or fruits. It lives in a river, so it has access to freshwater. The Sabal palmetto was identified using the Discover Life Tree Identification Guide. This organism belongs to Kingdom Plantae, Phylum Tracheophyta, and Class Liliposida.

References:

1. Trees -- identification guide -- Discover Life. (2020). Discoverlife.Org. https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Trees&cl=US/FL

This seed plant has three to four flowers. The flower is relatively small, diameter of around two inches. Each individual flower has around three to six white colored petals with a yellow middle. This flower was found near trees and other wild grasses next to walkway. They are often "found growing in open shade along the edge of a woodland."

Reference: https://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_biar.pdf

This small tree had long branches with green leaves that were approximately 3-5 inches long. Also there are clusters of small, bright purple berries. It was found among many other shrubs in a forest at lettuce lake park. According to Missouribotanicalgarden.com, this organism belongs to the family lamaiceae and is commonly called beauty berry.

The organism above was roughly 3 feet in length. The color of the beak and legs is a light nude/ faded yellow shade. The area where the beak leads into the head then turns black but has a jagged pattern. Which then leads into the feathers on the head being black that slowly fade into brown and then white for the body. There is a small white patch of white feathers at the top center of the head. The edges of the wings are a deep black. The Wood Stork can be identified by the oval shaped body and black feathers underneath the white wings. The reference that I used to help identify the Wood Stork was All About Birds-Wood Stork Identification https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Wood_Stork/id The habitat where the Wood Stork was found was at a nature park in Florida, surrounded only by tall grass. Wood Storks are geographically located in wetlands or tropical areas, southeast of the United States. The kingdom is Animalia and the phylum is Chordata.

The organism in the photos above were roughly 2-3 inches for the berries, and the entire plant was around 5 feet in length. The color of the berries were purple, with a red hue. Making the color more magenta. The stem is brown and also has red tones. The American Beautyberry can be identified by the purple color of the berries and the oval shape the leaves that have a sharp point. The reference that I had used was the American beautyberry - the PLANTS Database https://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_caam2.pdf
The habitat of the American Beautyberry in the pictures were located at the New Tampa Nature Park. American Beautyberries are geographically located in southeastern United States.
The phylum is Spermatophyta and the Kingdom is Plantae.

The Romerillo is a plant with white flowers and lush green leafs. The flower has white petals in the shape of an elonged heart. They average about four to six petals. The center of the flower is a light orange with a bumpy texture, almost looking like a rolled up ball of lint. The flower is about one to two centimeters. The leafs are a bright green, long and curved. They are about two to three inches in length. The plant itself is about a foot tall. It is native around the south of the United States in forest habitats.

Reference:
https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=BIPI

Genus Bidens
Visual Description: Around 4-8 white ray florets/petals with gold disc florets/center. About 4.5 mm in diameter with green stems about 3 feet tall.

Habitat: Found in a forest, but are also found in swamps, streams, and grasslands. These are also common weeds. Native to Central America, South America, and Bangladesh, but are now found in the USA, South America, Africa, Australia, Europe, and Asia.

References:
Romerillo Identification
http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:32564-2#descriptions

Romerillo Habitats
http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:32564-2#descriptions

https://eol.org/pages/579063

Visual Description:
Tall and skinny plant. Stem is a very light brown and is very thin. It has vibrant green leaves that are rounded and come to a point. Leaves are about three inches long and two inches wide. The overall plant is about seven feet tall. At the ends of the branches near the leaves are clusters of little berries. Each berry is spherical and a deep magenta in color. The berries clump together in groups of about 20-30. The non matured berries appear green.

Habitat:
The plant was found in a crowded area consisting of many trees and shrubs that were surrounding it. It is Native to the southeastern states of the United States, and the Bahamas, Cuba, and Bermuda.
http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:319128-2

References:
Atlas of Florida Plants:
https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/browse/photos

Florida Native Plant Society:
https://www.fnps.org/plants/plant/callicarpa-americana

Visual Description: The fern has a slight variation in color, between a lighter and darker green. The "petals" attached to a single section are alternating and a solid green color. Each "petal" is long (about half an inch) skinny and has a rounded point. Some small dots can be seen on some of the "petals". Each leave is about three inches long and droops downward. The stems that connects them are long and very narrow. They are also a brownish color. The plant itself seems to be growing up a tree in a column.

Habitat: The plant was found in the urban habitat of the University of South Florida, growing on a tree. It is found in the south east, from New York to Florida, and Texas to the east coast. https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Resurrection-Fern

References:
Discover Life Plant ID: https://www.discoverlife.org/mp/20q?guide=Trees&cl=US/FL
The National Wildlife Federation:
https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Plants-and-Fungi/Resurrection-Fern

Visual Description: Flat and circular lichen. Vibrant red in color with traces of white. About 3 inches across.

Habitat: Found at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa,FL on many trees in wooded areas.

Known Geographic Distribution: Subtropical and tropical locations throughout southeastern United States as well as Central and South America.

Phylum: Ascomycota (Ascomycete Fungi)

Resources:
iPhone App: "Seek by iNaturalist"
"Christmas Lichen": https://majikphil.blogspot.com/2017/12/christmas-lichen.html#:~:text=Cryptothecia%20rubrocincta%20is%20a%20species,as%20Central%20and%20South%20America.

Visual Description: Bright purple spherical berries that were grouped together throughout the vine. Each bush had multiple, drooping branches that contained both oval-shaped leaves and the bright purple berries. Each berry is about 1/16 in. long.

Habitat: Found at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa, FL. The American Beautyberries were found all throughout the trails in the park.

Known Geographic Distribution: Distributed throughout the Southeastern United States. Found in woods, particularly in moist areas or under pine canopies.

Phylum: Tracheophyta (Vascular Plants)

Resources:
iPhone App: "Seek by iNaturalist"
USDA Plant Fact Sheet: https://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/pdf/fs_caam2.pdf

Description: around 3-4 inches long, hard outer shell with the body being what in color with black markings and the claws/ legs having a red color, only one very large claw
Habitat: sandy habitat that is not very disturbed that does experience a tide
geographical description: costal, sandy salt marshes, beaches
Reference: "Members of this family are characterized by a thick, squarish body and herding behavior...identification of species is usually easily achieved through examination of body color and claw structure" https://naturalhistory2.si.edu/smsfp/irlspec/Uca_pugila.htm