Palmetto Vol. 38(3) by Florida Native Plant Society

The Quarterly Journal of the Florida Native Plant Society

Art and Science in Action

Eliane M. Norman

Underground Storage Organs

The Clustervines of Florida

Lynda Davis Joins FNPS as Executive Director

Lynda Davis joined the Florida Native Plant Society in June as Executive Director. She brings with her a wealth of experience and a passion for nurturing and growing organizations, communities, and of course plants – enabling them all to thrive.

Originally from the United Kingdom, Lynda’s childhood was spent traveling between Saudi Arabia and rural England – a stark contrast in environments that fostered a passion for the natural world around her. In England she explored nearby moorlands with her family, collecting mushrooms, building wild shelters, and climbing through cave networks. In Saudi Arabia, the desert was her playground, and she hiked ancient canyon trails while collecting scorpions and wild gourds. Her family encouraged exploration and adventure, and these pursuits have continued to be lifelong endeavors.

She has been lucky enough to travel to many corners of the world. Lynda and her husband once spent a year circumnavigating the globe, following the Ring of Fire in the South

Pacific and Southeast Asia, hiking active volcanoes, and meeting volcanologists. She has climbed glaciers in Iceland, mountains in Austria, and has visited many of America’s national parks.

Florida is the perfect place for someone with a passion for exploration, and her relationship with the state began in the early 1990s, when she was selected to participate in an exchange program from London to the University of South Florida. It was here she met her Floridian husband (they were married on the observation tower at Lettuce Lake Park in Tampa). She has also lived in Miami, and has close family across Florida, including St. Augustine, Stuart, and Pensacola.

In 2016, Lynda, along with her husband and son, moved back home to Florida. They are currently renovating a 1923 bungalow in historic Tampa, carefully restoring their home, and using reclaimed or recycled materials wherever possible. Their garden is also under development, with more native plants being added every day.

Professionally, Lynda has led many non-profit organizations in the United States and the UK. She has worked with universities, the European Union, and many charities and businesses, adding value to their work and nurturing them to achieve their goals. She has a deep understanding of both the day-to-day challenges and strategic planning that must be navigated to successfully operate and grow an organization like FNPS.

Lynda says, “I am thrilled to join FNPS at a time of great momentum and possibility. The work we are doing is essential to Florida’s future, and the more people who hear our message the better. We have a lot to do, but with our incredible team, board of directors, and members, we’re just getting started.”

Staff

Executive Director Lynda Davis

Director of Communications and Programming Valerie Anderson

Director of North Florida Programs Lilly Anderson-Messec

Board of Directors

President Mark Kateli

Vice President, Finance Ann Redmond

Vice President, Administration David Martin

Treasurer ................................................................Susan Carr

Secretary Bonnie Basham

Council of Chapters Representative Melanie Simon

Director Patricia Burgos

Director MaryAnn Camacho

Director ...................................................................Shirley Denton

Director Tim Keating

Director Eugene Kelly

Director Travis MacClendon

Director Chris Moran

Director ...................................................................Virginia Overstreet

Director Sean Patton

Director Wendy Poag

Director Paul Schmalzer

To contact board members

FNPS Administrative Services: Call (321) 271-6702 or email info@fnps.org

Committee Chairs

Communications ...............................................Shirley Denton

Conservation John Benton

Council of Chapters Melanie Simon

Education Wendy Poag

Land Management Partners Grace Howell

Policy & Legislation.........................................Eugene Kelly

Science Paul Schmalzer

Society Services

Administrative Services Cammie Donaldson

Bookkeeping Kim Zarillo

Editor, Palmetto Marjorie Shropshire

Webmaster Paul Rebmann

MEMBERSHIP

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To provide funds that will enable us to protect Florida's native plant heritage, please join or renew at the highest level you can afford.

To become a member:

Contact your local chapter, call, write, or e-mail FNPS, or join online at https://fnps.org

The purpose of the Florida Native Plant Society is to preserve, conserve and restore the native plants and native plant communities of Florida.

Official definition of native plant:

For most purposes, the phrase Florida native plant refers to those species occurring within the state boundaries prior to European contact, according to the best available scientific and historical documentation. More specifically, it includes those species understood as indigenous, occurring in natural associations in habitats that existed prior to significant human impacts and alterations of the landscape.

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Palmetto

Editor: Marjorie Shropshire ● Visual Key Creative, Inc. ● palmetto@fnps.org ● (772) 285-4286

(ISSN 0276-4164) Copyright 2022, Florida Native Plant Society, all rights reserved. No part of the contents of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without written consent of the editor. Palmetto is published four times a year by the Florida Native Plant Society (FNPS) as a benefit to members. The observations and opinions expressed in attributed columns and articles are those of the respective authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official views of the Florida Native Plant Society or the editor, except where otherwise stated.

Editorial Content

We welcome articles on native plant species and related conservation topics, as well as high-quality botanical illustrations and photographs. Contact the editor for guidelines, deadlines and other information.

Features

4 Art and Science in Action

Inspired by Florida’s unique ecosystems, artist Kim Heise creates beautiful, scientifically accurate works that celebrate, educate, and support urgent local conservation efforts. Artwork and article by Kim Heise.

8 Eliane M. Norman: Questions, Mysteries and Puzzles

Long-time FNPS member and Stetson emeritus professor of biology Eliane M. Norman traces her interest in plants to her childhood in France. Her questions about the mysteries and puzzles surrounding the plant kingdom continue to this day. Article by Jim Erwin.

10 Time to Dig: Underground Storage Organs of Plants in Fire-Maintained Pine Savannas Plants with prominent below-ground storage organs for water and carbohydrates are common in the pine savannas of the Southeastern Coastal Plain. Here, the authors explore the diversity of below-ground structures found on plants native to Florida. Article by Milton H. Diaz-Toribio and F.E. “Jack” Putz.

14 The Clustervines of Florida

The genus Jacquemontia includes 5 species that are native to Florida, and 2 of those are endemic to the state. The flowers of these attractive vines are visited by a variety of pollinators, making them worthy of a place in native home landscapes. Article and photos by Roger L. Hammer.

ON THE COVER: Florida Panther in Big Cypress. Watercolor painting by Kim Heise.

Art and Science in Action

What inspired me to do this work

I grew up in Parkland, Florida in an area that had been part of the Everglades but had been drained 50 years prior, so it was mostly pine trees and saw palmetto forests. Most of my free time as a child consisted of playing in and around these native plants and natural areas. I was enamored with box turtles and tadpoles, listened to the fever pitch of cicadas on summer days, and spent many hours raking pine straw and trimming the palmettos in our natural yard.

New houses quickly ate up the forest, and by the time I was in my 20s most of it had gone. This quick destruction and turnover of habitat was very alarming to me. South Florida was experiencing a boom that was decades in the making and my distress over losing the beautiful habitat was not unique. My first foray into active conservation was The Rally for The Rocklands, a protest organized by the Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition (MPRC) and the South Florida Wildlands Association. I learned that some of the most imperiled habitat in the world, the pine rocklands, was being razed under the incessant pressure of developers and complacent cities. The pine rocklands habitat cannot be found anywhere else on earth, except for South Florida and some Caribbean islands. Many of the species that live there are endangered and endemic to Florida, and some can only be found in Miami.

My artwork became more focused on plants and animals in general, and then more specifically on endangered pine

The endangered and endemic pine rocklands habitat was my first major interest in botanical and wildlife illustration, and I painted the interactions between flora and fauna in that habitat, with a focus on endangered species. Long Key locust berry (Byrsonima lucida) was one of the first plants that I depicted, fascinated by its beauty and unique relationships with endemic pine rockland insect species. It is the host plant for the Florida duskywing skipper butterfly (Ephyriades brunnea floridensis), and the food source for the beautiful and unique oil-collecting bee, Centris errans

Article and original artwork by Kim Heise

Locust Berry Relationships

Watercolor – 12” x 18” (2017)

Artist Kim Heise with some of her artwork.

rockland species. Now, my goal is to create beautiful, scientifically accurate illustrations to celebrate, educate, and support urgent local conservation efforts.

Why I only paint Florida native plants and animals

Not only do I paint native species out of a sense of local pride, and to help with choice paralysis, it’s also integral to how I make my best work. Being able to see a plant or animal in person helps me to get a more accurate idea of its color, size, behavior, and growth patterns. It’s often harder for me to get accurate depictions from reference photos alone. I’m also close to the community of people who are passionate about local conservation, who have knowledge about the species, and those who provide or help me find references.

The more context the better

In the lattice of conservation work, I wanted my practice to fall into the realm of educational outreach, to be like marketing for plants and animals. Very early on I noticed that the artwork didn’t quite stand on its own as a means to connect the subject with the message. Someone with very little knowledge about Florida native plants and animals might look at one of my paintings and think “it’s a beautiful flower” so I decided to explore how to include an educational component for context. Initially, I wrote facts directly onto the paintings, but that was hard to read unless you were seeing the paintings in person. I wanted an easy way to share the information online. In 2018 I created the Pine Rockland Zine, a tiny magazine folded out of a sheet of paper that came out once a month for a year. In the zine I experimented with art styles, interviewed conservationists and wildlife artists, and did some collaborative articles with other artists, the school children I worked with, and the subscribers themselves. All profits from the zine went to the Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition, and it raised around $700.

Better with friends

I first collaborated with Bound by Beauty on three illustrations of native plant gardens featuring native plants that pair aesthetically together. The project is based on the observation that while many people get into native plants because of ecological value or resource conservation, others become interested because the plants are beautiful. Our hypothesis was that if we artistically render plant pairings with an emphasis on beauty, more people might be encouraged to embrace native plants.

For this garden, the focus was on plants with a variety of sizes and textures, white flowers, and those that are readily available at local Miami nurseries. These include little strongbark (Bourreria cassinifolia), spiderlily (Hymenocallis sp.), buttonsage (Lantana involucrata), pineland croton (Croton linearis) and fogfruit (Phyla nodiflora).

Gardens, and many other illustrations for websites, presentations and logos with a variety of collaborators.

At the same time as I was working on the zine, I also collaborated with the MPRC on a coloring book titled Get To Know Florida’s Pine Rockland Critters. This first direct collaboration with a conservation organization was a great experience, mostly because I could focus on the art while others wrote, edited and designed it. Wearing all the hats with the Pine Rockland Zine wore me out, but focusing only on the illustrations in the coloring book was a breeze, and the result of working with others was greater than if I had done the whole thing myself. So, I directed my energy towards other collaborations where tasks are divided. In the years since, I have painted gardens and plants with Bound by Beauty, maps for Into Nature Films, trail signs at Pinecrest

Bound by Beauty is a non-profit located in Miami whose mission is “to transform how we interact with nature and with neighbors to create more beautiful, resilient and sustainable communities, using butterflies as the catalyst for change.”

Our first collaboration was for their Wildlife Sanctuary Guide, approximations of what curated native plant pairings would look like, to show the potential of the plants as beautiful garden considerations. Our current collaboration is 17 illustrations of common native plants that host butterflies for the Field Guide to Wild Plants. Many of these plants can be found in lawns and are considered “weeds”, so they are easy to cultivate. We hope that by knowing that they host butterflies, people will intentionally plant them or let them grow. This is an exciting project for me, because it

Miami Garden, Native Plants with White Flowers

Watercolor – 12” x 12” (2020)

opens my eyes to wonders that are a few steps outside my door, and growing in areas that I previously thought were devoid of native plants.

I was excited to partner with Into Nature Films on a subject I hadn’t done before – illustrated maps. I created a map of Tampa Bay and the refuge within it for the film Where Birds Can Be Birds, by the Friends of the Tampa Bay National Wildlife Refuges (online at https://tampa bayrefuges.org.) I also illustrated three maps of the historic,

Wireweed

Watercolor – 10" x 12" (2021)

In 2021, I partnered with Bound by Beauty to create paintings of common South Florida plants that host butterflies. The goal of this project is to educate, inspire and support the planting of natives and to discourage the indiscriminate use of toxic pesticides and herbicides. Our theory is that if people knew that these “weeds” were supporting butterflies, that would open the door to greater appreciation, enjoyment and conservation.

Wireweed (Sida ulmifolia) is shown here with 2 growth patterns: The tall central one occurs in wet, partly sunny locations, while the shorter ones to the right and left occur in dry, sunny locations. Wireweed hosts 4 butterflies: Grey hairstreak (top left), mallow scrub hairstreak (top right with wings folded), common checkered skipper (left) and tropical checkered skipper (right).

Historical Everglades Map

Watercolor – 14" x 24" (2021)

Everglades restoration is all about getting back to the health and well-being of people and animals before the canals were built by the Army Corps of Engineers. For this map, I choose pre-Spanish Florida (1500) to represent that ideal. Creating the map helped to increase my knowledge of Florida's plants, animals, geology and native people. With the help of many park specialists, I pieced this map together from satellite photos, descriptions, and other artistic representations to show an approximation of where plant communities and hydrologic features would have been.

current and “future” Everglades for the film Dreaming of The Everglades, by the South Florida Natural Resources Center at Everglades National Park (currently not available online). Both films were produced by Into Nature Films. I created illustrations for five trail signs at Pinecrest Gardens, located in the Village of Pinecrest (Miami-Dade County), Florida. Trail signs are the perfect synthesis of conservation art and context. Patrons visiting the park will be able to see the art and learn some facts about the flora and fauna the signs depict. Several of the signs feature native Florida bees, and show them utilizing native plants for various purposes. The signs include plants that are readily available at native nurseries like saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), blue porterweed (Stachytarpheta jamaicensis) and Florida tickseed (Coreopsis floridana), as well as common plants like beggarticks (Bidens alba).

Self-directed work

W hile creating exciting work with groups, I’ve also enjoyed making paintings of the wildlife that I love. The pine rocklands habitat and the Florida panther have been of particular interest to me. In these works, I learn about the species and explore watercolor techniques, compositions, and scale. My largest and most ambitious self-directed pieces include the life size paintings Key Deer Relationships and Florida Panther in Big Cypress.

Key Deer Relationships

Watercolor – 46" x 46" (2018)

Part of the habitat of the tiny Key deer includes the pine rocklands on Big Pine Key. I depicted the deer life-size with two plants that serve as part of their food source, mangroves and thatch-palm berries. In the early stages of the process, I used many different reference photos to plan out the details that would appear in the final artwork. The in process photo on the lower right shows how the painting progressed by laying down initial washes of color and working back into them with additional detail.

The process

I started off drawing as a child, then dabbled in painting with acrylics as a teenager. At Florida Atlantic University I studied oil painting and printmaking techniques. I got tendonitis in both elbows after graduating and oil painting became difficult, so I switched to watercolor while I healed. Watercolor techniques emphasize planning, rather than layering, since you can’t go back over an area and make it lighter. More planning at the beginning resulted in fewer brush strokes, which made it easier on my arms and more accessible to me. Over time I came to love the medium and have stuck with it. It was better for my health too, because I’ve lived in apartments since graduating and there are no toxic fumes or huge canvases to store.

My technique starts with large washes, then the paint gets drier and more specific as I go along. I always plan to keep some area of the painting as a wash, because I like how the washes look, and it references the medium. My work is as much about celebrating the beauty of the medium and the composition and color, as it is about celebrating the details and accuracy of the species. Marrying art with science is my goal. Reference photos play a huge role, and I prefer to take my own, especially for plants. Most paintings begin with going out and taking photos, which I then combine into a collage of photos and drawings. The creation of the collage often takes as much time as the painting itself. After I finish a painting I document it to prepare it for prints or

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

Eliane M. Norman: Questions, Mysteries, and Puzzles

Article by Jim Erwin

Over ten years of collaborative research by Charlie Williams, Eliane Norman, and Walter Kingsley Taylor went into the book André Michaux in North America*.

This profile offers a glimpse of Stetson University emeritus professor of biology

Eliane M. Norman’s career as a dedicated research scientist and teacher, and her unending curiosity about plants and the natural world.

Early days

During the Second World War, as the Nazis approached Paris, Eliane’s family moved to a country house in the Loire Valley. Food was in short supply, but it was a refuge, out of harm’s way for the time being. As the youngest child, Eliane was often left to entertain herself. Her parents were away, trying for months to get the family out of France; her father died after a brief struggle. Her unsmiling uncle, in charge of their garden, gave Eliane his rejected seedlings to plant. Some thrived in her little garden, and this pleased her. There were also hazelnuts, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and peaches for her to gather, and poppies to be made into dolls. Dr. Norman traces her interest in plants to this time spent in a green world far different from life in the city. At last, her mother found a way out of France, traveling through Spain and Portugal, and eventually made contact with a cousin in New York City. It was during this period that Anne Frank, hiding in Amsterdam, wrote in her diary.

Questions, mysteries, puzzles

Dr. Norman’s interest in what a plant looks like is driven by her more fundamental interest in why a plant grows the way it does, and why it grows where it does. Of puzzles, Dr. Norman wrote regarding the yellow squirrel banana (Deeringothamnus rugelii ): “Scientists are always interested in the unique and unusual. Why is this species so rare? How does it reproduce? Is it a relict or a novelty derived from another pawpaw that is still extant? How can we keep this plant from becoming extinct? These questions will keep me busy for a while.”

The Shortia mystery

A mong the thousands of plants André Michaux sent home to France, one species did especially well. Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) was planted in 1810 at the Château de Rambouillet, creating a splendid, tree-lined avenue. In 1999 a hurricane destroyed the cypresses, and Charlie Williams, co-author of the Michaux book, sent new trees to restore the

great avenue. Charlie, Dr. Norman, Régis Pluchet (Michaux’s great-great grand nephew), the mayor, other dignitaries, and the people of Rambouillet attended the large celebration to mark the restoration.

A fterwards, Williams and Norman returned to Paris hoping to solve a 200 year-old mystery. Michaux had collected a new plant, past flowering, in what he wrote were “the high mountains of the Carolinas,” but without any date. The specimen would eventually be housed in the Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris. When Asa Gray visited the Paris herbarium in 1839 and saw the specimen, he knew right away that it was a new species and named it Shortia galacifolia. He and other botanists beat the high mountain Carolina bushes, so to speak, looking for this plant, but it had seemingly vanished. In 1877, George M. Hyams, the young son of a pharmacist, spotted a match in a much lower elevation. Was this galacifolia? What of that “high mountains” plant? Where and when had Michaux found the original specimen?

In Paris, Williams visited the curator of the museum herbarium only to be told that the type specimen, too, had vanished. Norman went the next day. She had the advantage of speaking French and had met the curator on an earlier visit. The curator remembered that the Jussieu Herbarium contained many Michaux plants. Soon he found a list of these and was able to locate a duplicate of the type with a note that Michaux collected it in 1787. Cross-referencing the date with Michaux’s journals proved that Michaux’s “high mountains” were actually the foothills. Norman and Williams could now confirm the identity of, and pinpoint exactly where and when, this elegant, but somewhat cryptic plant, the Oconee bell (Shortia galacifolia), was first discovered. Mystery solved.

The Buddleja/Emorya puzzle

Dr. Norman’s writing on Buddleja began with her doctoral dissertation and culminated in the 225 page, Buddlejacae, which is held by 99 libraries worldwide. Along with a variety of attractive flowers, the Buddleja offered a variety of puzzles, primary among them the genus Emorya which bore unusual resemblance to Buddleja. Of this puzzle, Norman wrote in 1968, “There is no doubt that the two genera are closely related yet

Dr. Eliane M. Norman.

there would be little advantage to this union since there is discontinuity between Buddleia and Emorya in several characters.” Intent on finding convincing proof, but unable to go to Mexico to collect Emorya, she obtained Emorya seeds from a herbarium specimen and grew her own, but still could not close the case. Over the years, she continued to work on the genus and its so-called allies found in South and Central America. Twenty years after that, in her Buddlejaceae, the question still nags: “The close relationship of Emorya to Buddleja has never been in doubt.”

In 2018, J. H. Chau, a PhD student at the University of Washington studied this group using DNA. He concluded that the two Emorya species belonged in Buddleja, although his research did not reveal its closest relative. He named one in honor of Dr. Norman: Buddleja normaniae, making the name Emorya suaveolens a synonym. Question partially answered, persistence rewarded.

The Deeringothamnus question

Dr. Norman began working on the pawpaws (Asimina and Deeringothamnus) in the 1980s. In her 2007 article “The ‘False Pawpaws’ (Palmetto 24:4), she shows us how a simple question, pursued, can sweep one away to unexpected explorations in unknown territory. She observes that Deeringothamnus have much smaller flowers with many fewer floral parts than Asimina, but she points out that although the two genera are different at the morphological level, molecular studies might not support the distinction between them. Recently, according to the Atlas of Florida Plants, DNA data have moved Deeringothamnus back to Asimina, and Deeringothamnus pulchellus and D. rugelii have been renamed Asimina pulchella and A. rugelii. Both plants, as well as the fourpetal pawpaw, Asimina tetramera, are state and federally listed as endangered species. Why are they so rare? Ask that, and you are down the rabbit hole: In the opening paragraphs she introduces seven more questions and two problems. A simple question has become a multifaceted puzzle. The article closes with a summary of some of the reasons for their rarity. For one thing, they attract few pollinators, a difficulty that set off a good discussion during the question and answer session following Dr. Norman’s presentation to the FNPS Tarflower Chapter. The conversation led one audience member to phrase the puzzle this way: “Then what does it take to attract pollinators?” Giving the question larger scope, with a mischievous smile Dr. Norman answered, “What does it take to attract pollinators? Well. That IS the question, isn’t it.”

Jan and the celestial lily

Students made teaching at Stetson a pleasure, no question at all. Norman says,“Biology students were required to take at least one botany course, so we got some good students. I have stayed in touch with many of them over the years.” She mentions Jan and begins to smile. Jan’s project was to see if the native,

endemic, and stateendangered celestial lily (Nemastylis floridana) could self-pollinate.

The flower sits atop a slender, fragile stem. Jan’s mother sewed little bags with drawstrings to keep pollinators away from 35 of them, but the bags proved too heavy. Nylon hose were used to make 35 more, but a storm then flattened the experiment. What would Jan do? She recreated the whole setup. “I‘m still in touch with her and saw her a few years ago,” Dr. Norman says, clearly pleased. As the co-authors followed Michaux’s routes in the Carolinas, Charlie Williams set up a surprise meeting between Jan and Norman.

Questions continue in Norman’s mind. She is interested in how the DNA of the hand fern (Cheiroglossa palmata) differs throughout its range. This charismatic fern has an extraordinary distribution from Florida and the Caribbean down to Central America all the way to Southeastern Brazil, skipping Africa, but occurring in Madagascar and the Seychelles. She and her collaborator hope to obtain enough samples to answer this question.

Time to Dig: Underground Storage Organs of Plants in Fire-Maintained Pine Savannas

By Milton H. Diaz-Toribio and F.E. “Jack” Putz

To survive frequent fires as well as grazing, browsing, and trampling by mastodons, mammoths, giant ground sloths, glyptodonts, and recently cattle, many savanna plants develop specialized underground storage organs (USOs) that contain fuel for resprouting. USOs are water and carbohydrate storing stem or root-derived structures found in many savannas graminoids (i.e., grasses, sedges, rushes, and other grass-like plants), forbs (i.e., broadleaved herbaceous plants), shrubs, and trees. The presence of plant species that produce large USOs was recently proposed as an indicator of old-growth savannas (Veldman et al. 2015).

Plants with prominent below-ground storage organs for water and carbohydrates are common in the pine savannas that once blanketed much of the Southeastern Coastal Plain (Figure 1). These open-canopied ecosystems are maintained by frequent lightning-ignited fires supplemented during the last 14,000 years by human pyrogenic proclivities. Now recognized as the 37 th Global Biodiversity Hotspot, these ecosystems are famous for their species-rich understories and their at-risk conservation status.

To explore the diversity of belowground structures on plants native to Floridian pine savannas, we excavated in their entirety several individuals of each of 100 ground-layer species in Ocala National Forest, Etoniah Creek State Forest, Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, and Ordway-Swisher Biological Station. We classified each species on the basis of its underground morphology and measured the concentrations and total contents of the carbohydrates they stored belowground in fibrous roots and any specialized storage structures (i.e., USOs).

Here we illustrate the diversity of USOs in longleaf pine savannas and provide information about their stored carbohydrates.

Of the 100 species we studied 14 have no specialized underground storage organs and produce only fibrous roots. Of the species with USOs, 30 produce stem tubers (swollen underground shoots that are often jointed), 23 have rhizomes (horizontal underground stems that can produce roots and shoots from nodes), 13 produce solitary and often carrot shaped taproots, 10 produce uniformly thickened root tubers, 7 have corms (fleshy underground vertical stems that lack scales), and 3 produce bulbs (vertically compacted stems with overlapping swollen modified leaves; Figure 2).

Species that grow in Floridian pine savannas that produce stem-derived USOs include the stem tubers of butterfly peas (Centrosema spp.), rhizomes of meadow beauties (Rhexia spp.), bulbs of yellow-eyed grasses (Xyris spp.), and corms of blazing stars (Liatris spp.). Species with root-derived USOs include the root tubers of dayflowers (Commelina spp.), and the

Figure 2. Underground storage organ (USO) diversity in Floridian pine savannas. Illustration by Alena Bartuskova from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic.

Figure 1. A longleaf pine savanna in the Ocala National Forest with extremely diverse ground-layer vegetation.

taproots of Florida rosemary (Ceratiola ericoides; Figure 3).

Pigeon-holing plants into different USO categories proved difficult due to a number of species with intermediate characteristics (e.g., somewhat fleshy fibrous roots) and several that use rhizomes for both storage and vegetative expansion functions. For example, take Florida’s 12 species of all-toofamiliar catbriers (Smilax spp.). Species like saw greenbrier (S. bona-nox) produce long and thin rhizomes (i.e., modified underground stems) with limited storage capacity but allow a single plant to become a widespread nuisance. Jackson vine

(S. smallii), in contrast, produces massive stem tubers with starch contents equivalent to potatoes. Loose use of terminology in the literature is also a problem, but we plodded forward in our quest to compare USOs on the basis of their storage of carbohydrates and water as well as of their overall root-to-shoot ratios. Given that many savannas species invest in USOs, knowledge about the quantities of nonstructural carbohydrates (i.e., starch and other energy sources available to fuel resprouting, hereafter “stored carbs”) they store can help us understand plant dynamics in savannas. Stored carbs are depleted by

Figure 3. Below-ground storage organs of Floridian pine savanna species. A) Corm of shortleaf gayfeather (Liatris tenuifolia), B) rhizome of meadow beauty (Rhexia virginica), C) stem tuber of spurred butterfly pea (Centrosema virginianum), D) taproot of Florida rosemary (Ceratiola ericoides), E) root tubers of whitemouth dayflower (Commelina erecta), F) bulb of yelloweyed grass (Xyris sp.).

resprouting but are replenished as soon as excess photosynthates are available. These stored carbs largely determine the capacity of plants to resprout after top-killing disturbances, as well as their rates of regrowth. Most savanna species in Florida can resprout, some multiple times in the same year. Measurements of stored carbs serves as a measure of the energy available for resprouting.

Many root and stem tubers contain high concentrations of stored carbs. For instance, root tubers of white-mouth dayflower (Commelina erecta) and queen’s delight (Stillingia sylvatica) store carbs in high concentrations. Surprisingly, fibrous roots of narrow-leaf silkgrass (Pityopsis graminifolia) store higher concentrations of carbs than many species with USOs. Among the well-represented plant families, carb concentrations in grass roots were consistently low, which may help explain why some grasses such as big bluestem (Andropogon gerardi), big threeawn (Aristida condensata), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) disappear quickly in fire-suppressed habitats. Although USOs of some pine savanna species reach relatively high carb concentrations, those concentrations are much higher in underground organs of store-bought vegetables such as tap-rooted carrots (Daucus carota) or taro corms (Colocasia esculenta).

available to fuel resprouting and other plant activities. Take it from us, it’s a lot easier to take samples from USOs than to excavate all the roots produced by an entire plant.

In the excessively drained and infertile sands of many Floridian pine savannas, underground water storage is also often important. Amongst the 100 species we sampled, USO water contents were particularly high for bulbs of yellow-eyed grass (Xyris sp.) and stem tubers of rabbit-bells (Crotalaria rotundifolia). This stored water probably helps the plants survive the droughts that are becoming more frequent and severe due to climate change and promotes rapid resprouting after top-killing disturbances.

Pine savanna plants typically invest heavily below-ground to fuel resprouting and thus develop high root:shoot mass ratios. We found that root-to-shoot ratios of ground-layer pine savanna species were much higher than in forest trees but varied among species with different underground organs. Species with taproots (e.g., Florida greeneyes: Berlandiera subacaulis), root tubers (e.g., Florida milk-vine: Matelea floridana; Figure 4) and stem tubers (e.g., spurred butterfly pea: (Centrosema virginianum) develop especially high root:shoot ratios.

One finding that researchers in this field will appreciate is that the concentration of non-structural carbohydrates stored in a USO is positively correlated with the total amount stored below-ground by the plant. This means that a tissue sample from a USO is a pretty good indicator of the total carbs

Despite long appreciation of the importance of USOs to plant recovery from seasonal stresses and disturbances, research on USOs remains scant. Most plant ecologists choose to remain aboveground and avoid the dirty and laborious work of exploring what happens belowground. Research on USOs would benefit from terminological consistency but more from resprouting experiments, morphological-anatomical analyses, and phylogenetically controlled contrasts. Comparisons of ecosystems and evolutionary lineages on the basis of their USOs might help in designing restoration interventions. Finally, recognizing the diversity of underground structures will also contribute to our understanding of plant community responses to disturbance.

References and Further Reading

Diaz-Toribio, M., S. Carr, and F.E. Putz. 2020. Pine savanna plant community disassembly after fire suppression. Journal of Vegetation Science 31: 245-254. doi.org/10.1111/jvs.12843

Diaz-Toribio, M. and F.E. Putz. 2021. Below-ground carbohydrate stores and storage organs in fire-maintained longleaf pine savannas in Florida, USA. American Journal of Botany 108: 1-11. doi:10.1002/ajb2.1620

Veldman, J.W., E. Buisson, G. Durigan, G. W. Fernandes, G. Mahy, D. Negreiros, G. E. Overbeck, S. Le Stradic, R. G. Veldman, N. P. Zaloumis, F. E. Putz, and W.J. Bond. 2015. Toward an old-growth concept for grasslands, savannas, and woodlands. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 13: 154-162. doi.org/10.1890/140270

About the Authors

Milton Diaz is Curator of the Clavijero Botanic Garden in Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico. While conducting his Ph.D. research on USOs at the University of Florida (UF) he was funded by The National Council on Science and Technology of Mexico (CONACYT 212501), a UF Davis Graduate Fellowship in Botany (F018070), and a Field Grant from FNPS. As a recent father of twins, he is currently occupied as you can imagine.

F.E. “Jack” Putz is a Distinguished Professor of Biology at UF, author of Finding Home in the Sandy Lands of the South, Yaupon Wins: An Ethnobotanical Novella, From One Old Dog to Another: Poems, and (as Juan Camilo Moro) Borneo Dammed: A Very Family Affair, but also hundreds of technical works that are much less fun to read.

Figure 4. Root tubers of Florida milkvine (Matelea floridana).

Art and Science in Action

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

to be shared online. Small to medium paintings I scan, stitch together and edit myself with a professional scanner and Adobe Photoshop. I take large pieces to a local photographer who will also edit the piece.

At least half of the work I do is purely clerical. I create my own prints with a professional Epson printer, update my website and listings, write newsletters and social media posts, pack and ship orders, correspond back and forth with those I am collaborating with, and handle the logistics of framing and installing works for shows.

Florida Panther in Big Cypress Watercolor – 36" x 42" (2022)

The inspiration for this painting was the work done by the South Florida Wildlands Association to protect panther habitat in Big Cypress National Preserve and surrounding lands. Florida panthers currently live almost exclusively south of Lake Okeechobee, especially in Big Cypress. Conservationists hope they will move north to utilize territory in the rest of the Florida wildlife corridor.

For now their most immediate threats are habitat loss south of the lake. Their continued survival likely depends on decision makers resisting the urge to allow development in panther habitat. As an umbrella species, Florida panthers share their range with many other creatures, so protecting them also protects other species.

The painting, which took 2 years to complete, depicts a Florida panther surrounded by common and iconic species the panther shares its habitat with, including saw palmetto, slash pine and cypress trees. Florida Panther in Big Cypress had it’s first showing at Mutualism, a solo show at the Biscayne National Park Gallery in Homestead, Florida.

Above, top to bottom: Kim Heise's watercolors on exhibit at the Biscayne National Park Gallery in Homestead, Florida (https://www.nps.gov/bisc/learn/news/mutualismexhibition.htm), and a promotional postcard for the exhibit featuring one of her paintings.

About the Artist/Author

Kim Heise is a watercolor artist whose work references Florida's native plants and animals, with a particular interest in scientific accuracy and applications in conservation. She grew up as a quiet horse girl, doodling in gym class. After earning a BFA degree in painting from Florida Atlantic University in 2014, she divided her time between art and teaching, working part time in schools and museums. In 2021 Kim switched to creating art full time. She currently lives and works in Miami, Florida.

The Clustervines of Florida

Article and photos by Roger L. Hammer

The genus Jacquemontia was created in 1834 by Swiss Protestant clergyman and botanist, Jacques Denys Choisy (1799–1859), to honor French botanist and geologist, Victor Vincelas Jacquemont (1801–1832), who traveled to India to study plants but died of cholera in Bombay at the age of 31. The genus comprises 77 species worldwide, with 5 that are native to Florida, and 2 of those are endemic to the state.

Studies have shown that the flowers of these morning-glory relatives (Convolvulaceae) are visited by wasps, bees, ants, flies, butterflies, and moths. They are attractive, twining or sprawling vines that deserve a place in the home landscape for native-plant enthusiasts.

Pineland clustervine (Jacquemontia curtissii ) was named to honor noted American botanist, Allen Hiram Curtiss (1845–1907) and is a state-listed threatened species endemic to pinelands from Martin and Hendry Counties south through mainland southern Florida. It is suitable for a small trellis or to let scramble around on shrubs as you would see it in the wild. It’s a rather petite vine and will not pose any threats to other plants like aggressive morning-glories and other vines might. The white, star-like flowers may be blushed with pink or violet and are produced throughout much of the year. An easy place to see wild plants is to hike or bike the firebreak trails on Long Pine Key in Everglades National Park. The flowers are about the size of a nickel and have rounded outer sepals at the base of the corolla.

Havana clustervine (Jacquemontia havanensis) was named for Havana, Cuba where it was first discovered and described in 1767 by Netherlands botanist Nicolaus Joseph von Jacquin (1727–1817). This critically-imperiled, state-listed endangered species is very similar to pineland clustervine but differs principally by its pointed outer sepals. It is only known in Florida from the Florida Keys, and two places to see it in the wild are in Dagny Johnson Key Largo Hammocks Botanical State Park and Bahia Honda State Park. It is most suitable for home landscapes in the Florida Keys.

Skyblue clustervine (Jacquemontia pentanthos) can be grown on a fence, trellis, or arbor so it can show off its striking, inch-wide, bright blue blossoms. It could also be allowed to climb on trees and large shrubs, but may require periodic pruning to keep it in bounds. It is a state-listed endangered species and is found from Collier and Broward Counties south, but is most commonly seen in the Florida Keys. Good places to admire wild plants are John Pennekamp Coral Reef

Pineland clustervine (Jacquemontia curtissii).

Havana clustervine (Jacquemontia havanensis).

State Park, Curry Hammock State Park, and Long Key State Park, all in the Florida Keys.

Beach clustervine (Jacquemontia reclinata) received federal endangered status in 1993 and is endemic to coastal habitats, especially beach dunes, of southeastern Florida, from Martin County south to Key Biscayne in Miami-Dade County. Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden spearheaded restoration efforts in Crandon Park on Key Biscayne, so that is a good place to look for it along the upper dunes, especially along the footpaths leading to the beach from the Marjory Stoneman

Douglas Nature Center. The star-like white flowers, produced from November to May, are similar to those of pineland clustervine and Havana clustervine, but differs by its pubescent, or slightly hairy, outer sepals. The base of the petals may be pinkish, plus it typically has a spreading growth habit. It would be especially useful in beachfront landscapes throughout its natural range because all of its known populations are fragmented by development.

Finally, there is hairy clustervine (Jacquemontia tamnifolia), with small blue flowers that are subtended by large, leafy bracts. The species name relates to it having leaves that resemble members of the genus Tamnus (Dioscoreaceae). It is little-known in cultivation so finding a source may prove difficult. It has been vouchered discontinuously from the western Panhandle south to Miami-Dade County, and is known to sprout beneath bird feeders from seeds contaminating commercial bird seed.

To find sources of Florida native plants, check the Florida Association of Native Nurseries website (https:// www.plantrealflorida.org) or attend plant sales held at Florida Native Plant Society annual conferences, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden plant sales, and local events sponsored by Florida Native Plant Society chapters statewide.

References

Koptur, Suzanne and Elena Pinto-Torres. Hanging by a coastal strand: breeding system of a federally endangered morning-glory of the south-eastern Florida Coast, Jacquemontia reclinata. Annals of Botany, 2009.

About the Author

Roger L. Hammer is an award-winning professional naturalist, author, botanist and photographer. His most recent book is Complete Guide to Florida Wildflowers. Find him online at www.rogerlhammer.com

Skyblue clustervine (Jacquemontia pentanthos).

Beach clustervine (Jacquemontia reclinata).

Hairy clustervine (Jacquemontia tamnifolia).

FNPS Chapters and Representatives

1. Broward Stephanie Dunn browardchapterfnps@gmail.com

2. Citrus Jeffrey Bippert jeffreythorne@outlook.com

3. Coccoloba Lucy Breitung lfbreitung@gmail.com

4. Conradina Martha Steuart mwsteuart@bellsouth.net

5. Cuplet Fern............................................. Alan Squires .................................................. asquires@cupletfern.org

6. Dade .......................................................... Kurt Birchenough....................................... kbirc001@fiu.edu

7. Eugenia ................................................... David L. Martin ............................................. cymopterus@icloud.com

8. Heartland ............................................... Gregory L. Thomas .................................... enviroscidad@yahoo.com

9. Hernando ............................................... Heather Sharkey ......................................... chbrady@tampabay.rr.com

10. Ixia .............................................................. Cate Hurlbut .................................................. catehurlbutixia@yahoo.com

11. Lake Beautyberry ............................. Patricia Burgos ............................................ patriciab1724@gmail.com

12. Longleaf Pine ........................................ Kimberly Bremner...................................... kimee@mchsi.com

13 Magnolia Ethan Voegele voegelethan@yahoo.com

14. Mangrove Kate Borduas kateborduas@gmail.com

15. Marion Big Scrub Deborah Lynn Curry marionbigscrub@fnps.org

16. Martin County Dianna Wentink dw18hpc@gmail.com

17. Naples Sara Dust saraedust@gmail.com

18. Nature Coast Diane Hayes Caruso dhayescaruso@hotmail.com

19. Palm Beach County Amanda Pike amandaalders@yahoo.com Helen Laurence helen.laurence@gmail.com

20. Passionflower Melanie Simon melanievsimon2@gmail.com

21. Pawpaw Sande Habali sndhbl49@gmail.com K aren Walter karenlw72@gmail.com

22 Paynes Prairie Sandi Saurers sandisaurers@yahoo.com

23. Pine Lily Tayler Figueroa harper.tkf@gmail.com

24. Pinellas .................................................... David Perkey ................................................. dperkey@hotmail.com

25. Sarracenia ............................................. Lynn Artz.......................................................... lynn artz@hotmail.com

26. Sea Oats ................................................. Judith D. Zinn................................................. jeryjudy@valinet.com

27. Sea Rocket ........................................... Jennifer Corley ............................................. rhydia11@hotmail.com

28. Serenoa ................................................... Pamela Callender ....................................... callenderpamela@gmail.com

29. Sparkleberry ......................................... Carol Sullivan ................................................ csullivan12@windstream.net

30. Suncoast ............................................... Virginia Overstreet .................................... vaoverstreet@gmail.com

31. Sweetbay .............................................. Jonnie Smallman ........................................ jsmallman2@gmail.com

32. Tarflower Jennifer Ferngren jennfern fnps@outlook.com

33. The Villages Gary Babic gtbabic@hotmail.com

Contact the Florida Native Plant Society PO Box 278, Melbourne, FL 32902-0278. Phone: (321) 271-6702. Email: info@fnps.org Online: https://fnps.org

To join FNPS: Contact your local Chapter Representative, call, write, or e-mail FNPS, or join online at https://www.fnps.org/support/membership

To submit materials to PALMETTO, contact the Editor: Marjorie Shropshire, Visual Key Creative, Inc. Email: palmetto@fnps.org Phone: (772) 285-4286