Photos / Sounds

What

Typical Shield Lichens (Subfamily Parmelioideae)

Observer

tshahan

Date

July 2022

Photos / Sounds

Observer

alexis_orion

Date

January 18, 2022 03:17 PM CET

Description

Lots of fruiting bodies at various stages on one log

Photos / Sounds

What

Io Moth (Automeris io)

Observer

arduinna

Date

November 2022

Photos / Sounds

What

Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)

Observer

arduinna

Description

Found near a drainage ditch close to a forest. lots of holes nearby, and it quickly fled to one of them shortly after seeing me

Photos / Sounds

What

Mycena Sect. Sacchariferae (Section Sacchariferae)

Observer

j-stauffer

Date

September 10, 2022 09:20 AM EDT

Description

Econlockhatchee Sandhills Conservation Area, Orange County

Photos / Sounds

Observer

m_whitson

Date

August 2022

Description

Over 10 years ago, I planted a Japanese Woodland Peony at the edge of my woods. It blooms every couple of years, but usually doesn't set fruit. The blooms are simple and elegant and white. It's the fruit and seeds that are wildly colored. This fruit is old, but the inside would have been brilliant red right after it opened. Bright contrasting colors associated with fruit, like red and blue, are often an adaptation to attract birds for dispersal. The method used by this peony is particularly interesting because the red "bait" structures are unfertilized ovules. Viable seeds are blue.
Most plants trying to lure birds into dispersing their naked seeds use arils (often an expanded placenta) or simply colorful patterns on the seeds to encourage the birds. Peony fruit, with their mix of colorful ovules and seeds, are odd.
There actually aren't many studies on seed dispersal in peonies, and while the color and structure of the fruits and seeds suggest bird dispersal, so far, there is little evidence that birds play a major role in peony seed dispersal.

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