Botanical Detective Work

This is showy milkwort, a beautiful and rather common wild flower in South Florida. We've seen it a zillion times, seemingly, but this plant was so small that we at first thought it might be something else. Plants tell a story about the places in which they're found. The area where we found it was bone dry with little soil atop a rocky substrate, but showy milkweed is usually found in places with wet to moist soil, so its presence here is evidence that the surrounding area is wet a good portion of the year. Its diminutive size says that the soil is nutrient poor, good enough to allow it to live but not enough to thrive as it might under better conditions. It also speaks to the adaptability of the plant.

NEXT STOP: Along the Gumbo Limbo Trail

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