Pitted stripeseed. Strange, unfortunate name for a lovely flower.
The name is accurate — the plant, scientifically known as Piriqueta cistoides, does have pitted and striped seeds. But the seeds for most people are probably the least notable trait of the plant.
The bright, bold, yellow blooms, on the other hand, absolutely shine. It does have a more fitting common name, morning buttercup, but what you see over and over again in the literature is pitted stripeseed.
Sigh …
Some botanical basics: Pitted stripeseed is a Florida native found pretty much everywhere in the Sunshine State, having been “vouchered” in 62 of the 67 counties. It’s found in every South Florida county, including the Keys.
Pitted stripseed’s natural range extends through Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. It’s also found in parts of the Caribbean, includig Puerto Rico.
It is a perennial, but it dies back in the fall in the northern portions of its range, re-emerging come spring. In South Florida it can be found in bloom year-round. The photo at the top of this page was taken in mid-February.
The flowers are fairly large, about an inch in diameter, each having five petals, five stamen and three stigmas. Plants are typically 10 to 12 inches tall and have multiple stems that emerge from the growing point. Leaves are alternate along the stem elliptical in shape, “creased” where the central vein runs and wavy along the edges.
Pitted stripeseed takes to places with full sun and soils that are dry to moderately wet.
We humans use pitted stripeseed in wildflower gardens, and it is occasionally available for sale at commercial nurseries.
The gulf fritillary butterfly will use pitted stripeseed as a host, which brings up the subject of taxonomy. Pitted stripeseed is chemically similar to passion flowers, the main host for the gulf fritillary, and some sources, including the Institute for Regional Conservation place it within Passifloraceae, the passion flower family. Most have it as a member of Turneraceae, a family of tropical and subtropical plants.
Now for the botanical version of inside baseball: the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group III (2009) and Angiosperm Phylogeny Group IV (2016) folded Turneraceae species and those of another family, Malesherbiaceae, into Passifloraceae. Others argue that members of the two are distinct enough to remain in their original families. Take your pick. This argument is way, way above our pay grade.
Back to our regular scheduled programming.
Pitted stripeseed varies in appearance depending on where it’s found. The Lady Bird Johnson National Wildflower Center describes pitted stripeseed as having both white and yellow flowers and growing as tall as two feet, likely indications of regional variations.
The variety found in Florida is known as Pirqueta cistoides var. caroliana.
Sweetbay Natural Area