Category: Wild plants

Dark Dwellers: Ferns of the Corkscrew Cyprus Swamp Preserve

In the steamy, shadowed recesses of the Corkscrew canopy grow the dwellers of the dark. They seem oblivious of the surrounding giants. The crowns of Cyprus trees tower 10 stories overhead. They struggle for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years seeking the light. The ferns are old too but not as individuals. Their species far outstrips the antiquity of the Cyprus species. They have been around for 350 million years. They are more than twice as old as Cyprus.*

The featured image shows two fern varieties. In the dark of the swamp these are easily identified by the two types of fronds. One is the shiny surface of the Giant Leather (Acrostichum danaeifolium) and the other is the non-branching Long Strap (Campyloneyrum phyllitidis). 

There are at least 25 fern varieties in Florida. What we see here is only a fraction of the diversity of the fern. It is estimated that globally there are 10500 living species. That is four times the combined number of gymnosperms and lycophytes. They are second in variety only to the angiosperms. They are important because they are very efficient at carbon fixation and soil stabilization. The carbon-based energy industry of today is based almost exclusively on the deadfall of millions of years of fern life cycles. These plants lived and died in the anoxic swamps of the Permian (250 mya) and Cretaceous (135 mya) periods. In the Cretaceous period giant, angiosperm-dominated rainforests that developed in the tropical environments.  Ferns were able to successfully exploit and diversify in these new ecosystems without competing with the flowering plants. This is probably why today most species of ferns grow in the tropics. When walking through the Corkscrew Preserve in SWFL you should imagine yourself walking in a Cretaceous period swamp. The only thing missing would be the giant reptilian dinosaurs of which we have only two small versions remaining in Florida, the alligator and crocodile.

There is another more basic reason for the swamp ferns to prefer the damp environment. The gametophyte stage of their reproduction depends on water to transport the sperm to the egg to produce cells of new plants outside of the parent fern plant. The sporophyte stage part is easy to see and feel. In this essay we will pay careful attention to just sporulating portion of fern reproduction. For a reference to the full cycle please look at the illustration at the end of this posting.

In this most primitive of all plants the fern vascular system is seen in this micrograph. They have chloroplasts and functional stoma. The veins, however, have no nodes nor interconnecting networks. (~100X optical, 10x digital)
This photomicrograph shows that ferns have spores not seeds. These spores are very small (20 to 50 microns) and are haploid. They will undergo a metamorphosis in the reproduction process.

There are two commonalities running through all of the ferns. They are chlorophyl metabolism based, non-seed-bearing plants with true vascular systems and they have a two stage reproduction cycle. Ferns are very primitive plants with complex reproductive cycles. There are two methods. One is through budding and the other is through sporulating. Budding is simple asexual reproduction. Sporulating is a much more interesting method and this essay will pay some attention to the early steps of this second method. 

Unlike angiosperm or gymnosperm plants, ferns do not use flowers or seeds for reproduction. As a refresher, please recall that flowering plants use sexual reproduction methods with pollen and ova. (See previous essay on Bauhinia Trees). Ferns use a two-step process for reproduction. The large green plants that are seen with fronds of leaves are the first stage of reproduction called a sporophyte. This stage has a full complement of DNA and is therefore a sporophyte diploid plant. The first stage produces spores that may be either male or female. Spores must land on a suitable surface, such as a moist protected area to germinate and grow into gametophytes. The gametophyte grows into a small plant about a half inch square area. The gametophyte makes sperm and eggs which join together on wet surfaces to generate a new sporophyte. In this essay we will pay most attention to just the sporulating portion of fern reproduction. They may be either male of female.

While walking through the understory of the Florida preserve areas one could easily see and feel many ferns of at least 24 types. Three of these are demonstrated here, the Long Strap fern, Wart fern, and the Southern Sword fern. These are not easily identifiable, however, using the University of Florida plant identification web site.*** I found the best ID match.

Long Strap Fern (Campyloneurum phyllitidis)

Long Strap fern (Campyloneurum phyllitidis). Ventral surface.

Dorsal surface of Long Strap fern

Ventral surface of Long Strap fern with hundreds of very mature sorus, holding thousands of sporangia and holding tens of thousands of spores.
Sorus (~3.5mm dia) are conglomerations of reproductive organelles containing sporangia which are starting to rupture.
Sporangia detail (~300 micron die)The annulus acts like a spring to help throw the spores away from the frond as the sporangium ruptures.

Wart fern (Microsorum scolopendrium)

Ventral surface of Wart fern frond showing the warts on the surface. Each wart corresponds to a sorus on the ventral surface.
The evenly spaced pattern of the orange sorus makes this a visually interesting frond
One well defined Sorus filled with sporangium (~4mm dia). From Wart fern.
Wart fern sporangia.

Southern Sword Fern (Nephrolepis biserrata)

Dorsal side of Southern Sword fern.
Southern Sword fern ventral side with sporangium only along the edges.
Sporangium (~300 micron dia.) filled with spores from Southern Sword fern.
Spore (~30 microns) released from sporangium of Southern Sword fern..
Spore print of Southern Sword fern frond showing adjacent spore print. Lying frond, spore side down and waiting 4 hours, results in print of spores dropped on the right side on graph paper. 
Covering, over the sporangium of Southern Sword fern, called an operculum.

It is easy to recognize the similarities in these plants. They all have a chloroplasts, circulatory system, sporangium, and spores and a common two stage reproduction method. 

There are parallels with other plants. The microsporangia of the angiosperm flowers develop in the anther of the stamen. For them, microspores produced within the microsporangia (stamen) of which there is usually four per anther, eventually develop into pollen grains. Fungi, horsetails, mosses, worts and ferns all produce spores. It is complicated but it works. 

Ferns are beautiful and intriguing. If the ferns had been very important for food or industry, they might have been exploited like the threatened Florida bald Cyprus. Be sure to see the previous publication, Earth’s Axial Tilt Determines Forest Winners. Watch for the future posting on gametophyte portion of fern life.

As Nick, one of our followers, stated “May the Forest Be With You”. To that I add “Welcome to the Dark Side of the Forest.”

References:

  • “Distribution of living Cupressaceae reflects the breakup of Pangea” by Kangshan Mao, Richard I. Milne, Libing Zhang, Yanling Peng, Jianquan Liu, Philip Thomas, Robert R. Mill and Susanne S. Renner, 1 May 2012, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
    DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1114319109

**About Ferns, Pinson J,

*** University of Florida Plant identification UF/IFAS

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#Cyprus #Wart fern #sorus #frond #Long Strap fern #annulus #operculum #fern #sporangium #spore #vascular bundle #Giant Leather fern #stoma #sporophyte #gametophyte

Earth’s Axial Tilt Determines Forest Winners

The ancient giants are here and they rule their worlds. They are big and conquer their territory with power. They use so much that they choke out almost anything else. They make offspring that spread to make more giants. They become hundreds or even thousands of years old and can survive almost any natural calamities. They are of course, old growth trees. 

When visiting old growth forests most people look up to see and admire the majestic canopy that shades the floor. The umbrella could be either gymnosperm (pine) or angiosperm (leaf) or some mixture of these trees. Today’s post is a comparison of two climax forests that have developed in marshy wetland areas. The Corkscrew Swamp is in SW Florida (SWFL) and Maybury State Park is in SE Michigan (SEMI). I have resided in and explored both types of forested wetlands and we can see the similarities and differences in juxtaposition. 

At first look, some things were evident. The Michigan canopy is a result of the leafy foliage of angiosperm trees. There were pine trees in this forest but because of plant succession, the forest now is heavily populated with hard wood trees of hickory, four types of oak, iron wood, two types of maple, beech, birch  and a scattering of others. Among the 1000 acres of parkland there were only a handful of pine trees which were obviously intentionally planted as ornaments for the holiday season. 

The Floridian Corkscrew Preserve canopy is the result of needle foliage of gymnosperm trees of two types of Cyprus, slash pines mixed with some hardwood trees Red Maples, Live Oaks and Cabbage Palms and a few Royal Palms.

Another remarkable difference was the water flow. Corkscrew Preserve is 18 feet above MSL Maybury Park is 300 feet above MGLL. This is of minimal significance. Michigan is experiencing a drought. In this park area with the three creeks, some ponds and two lakes all are nearly devoid of water. What were swamps are now meadows. The soil was cool and dry. There has been little or no water inflow from creeks, springs, and no rain in two months. Weather forecast for Michigan shown no predictable relief from the drought conditions. The Florida swamp is seasonally relatively dry but it was still moist or boggy with a slow sheet water flow of the Everglades. The rainy season is just beginning. 

Maybery Park understory with very little light and a leafy canopy
Corkscrew understory with substantial understory growth and a canopy of soft Cyprus needles
What was a pond with fish in Maybery Park is now a swamp with white tail deer.
Pond in Corkscrew with alligator
Cat tails in the dried lake bed of Maybury Park. No ferns were found.
Two of several varieties off ferns at Corkscrew park.
Understory of Maybury Park. Very low minimal plant growth mostly nettles, poison ivy, balsam and wood sanicle
Understory of Corkscrew Preserve. Highly varigated height and diverse varieties. Many Ferns.

I searched for several plant and animal species. The ferns in the Corkscrew were abundant. There were no ferns in the Maybury Park. This was a real surprise because they were present 5 years ago. They are probably still present in the deep swamp in areas. Flowering plants in the Corkscrew Preserve were abundant and colorful and deserve another posting. The featured image is a wild hibiscus from Corkscrew Preserve, Florida. Flowers in the Maybury Park were herbaceous, minimal, and small. The most common were fleabane, thistle, and dandelion.

These two old growth forested areas are remarkably different. The differences arise from geographic position in latitude which alters the range of temperatures, the length of the day’s sun exposure, the period of below freezing temperatures. Corkscrew is a mature cyprus forest in the tropics at the 18th parallel while Maybury is mature hardwood forest at the 44th parallel. It is only 22 degrees south of the artic polar circle. Longitudinally they nearly identical. The rotation of the earth on its axis results in two very different climates. Because of the axis of rotation of the Earth, SEMI can experience wide ranges of temperature varying in a high to low range of 125o F with months of sub-freezing temperatures. The range of high to low temperatures in SWFL is closer to 50o F with no freezing temperatures. These climatic changes result in vastly different biologizes. The summer temperatures are nearly identical with hot sultry weather. For two weeks around the 4th of July, the daily high temperature in SEMI can be higher than Florida with over 100O F . 

The solar rotation of the earth and the 23.5 degree off axis tilt of the rotation of the earth results in these two very different climates. Michigan daylight hours at the summer solstice are two hours longer than Florida and at the winter solstice two hours shorter than Florida. At the 44th parallel summer solstice days are 6 hours longer than the winter days six months later. The prolific mid-summer biologic activity of the Michigan forests must compensate for the 5 months of cold weather where there is very limited or no metabolic activity. The broad leaves of the angiosperm tree leaves must manufacture all the products of growth, reproduction, and metabolism. The Floridian forest metabolism simply continues all year long. 

Fig 1. Location of the two sites, Maybury and Corkscrew, on the summer solstice graphic. See how close Maybury is to the line of the Midnight sun. It is halfway to the North Pole. Only 22 degrees from the Arctic circle. Corkscrew Preserve is 18 degrees from the Equator. The dotted blue line is the axis of rotation.

The giant trees are the winners because they grow taller than all others, collect more energy by photosynthesis from the sun, store energy when the light is not available and produce more seeds for reproduction. There are alternatives to big tree success. These are the dwellers in the dark. A more extensive discussion regarding fern spore production in Corkscrew Preserve will follow. 

The Floridian ecosystem has the potential for more diverse life forms. It favors plants and animals that prefer a more stability in weather and climate. Michigan ecosystems favor a tougher collection of plants and animals which can be prolific in summer climate and store reserves for surviving deep winter climate.  It is very understandable to see the survival value in animal migration. Many of the animals follow the cyclical greening of America from Michigan to Florida in the winter and the reverse in the summer.

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#solstice #tilt of earth #wetland #Corkscrew #Maybury #photosynthesis #trees #angiosperm #gymnosperm #water #light

Fresh Water Systems in Southwest Florida: Part 1 Community Water

RAINWATER DISPOSITION IN THE BONITA BAY COMMUNITY (BBC); PART OF THE WATERSHED OF THE CITY OF BONITA SPRINGS

Introduction:

Rain is the result of precipitation from cloud water droplets which condense in the atmosphere. When these water droplets get too heavy to stay suspended in the cloud they fall to Earth. Management of this precipitation is critical to survival of individuals and communities in SWFL. The example presented here is similar to most of the west coast SWFL communities except for an interesting variant called a slough. The dominant measures used in this water control are nearly 70 retention ponds, strategic use of the marsh land, and proximity of the two rivers. This monograph provides a description of a typical residence (Fig 1) in the ­­­Bonita Bay Community. Rain on the roof flows through a mandated roof line gutter system down to an underground water diversion system and then to the neighborhood community retention pond at the back of the house. Street gutters also flow to sewers that are connected to the retention pond. The pond is a constructed extension of the central slough marsh. At the northern terminis of the pond there is a weir that controls overflow from the pond to the slough. The slough is a natural part of the otherwise engineered water system of the Bonita Bay  Community. In this specific neighborhood, the water in the slough flows southward 450 ft through a volume-controlled water weir to the Imperial River. This river flows west to Fish Trap Bay which in turn is part of the Estero Bay on the Gulf of Mexico. The following maps show the property boundaries and water flow through the Bonita Bay community. Maps are from the EPA

The featured image is a view of a portion of the slough connecting the Imperial River and Spring creek. It is not picturesque however it is important. This is the status 10 months after the flood surge of hurricane Ian. The photo was made viewing south of the image shown in Fig 8 of this posting. It seems to show more damage than the opposite view. This may be the result of salt water standing longer in this area which is the water is very slow moving perhaps because it is trapped from flowing to the south at at the Imperial river and it is a long distance to flow to the north to Spring Creek.

Figure 1 Residence with roofline gutter system and downspouts

Cartography:

Fig 2 shows an overview of a portion of the city of Bonita Springs. This area is bounded by the Imperial River to the south, Spring creek to the north, highway 41 to the east and Estero Bay to the west. 

Figure 2 Highlighted in yellow are Spring Creek to north, Imperial River to south, 41 to east and Estero bay to west. Red square is the approximate property line.

In addition to the rivers bounding the property there are additional features which are part of the water flow as seen in Fig 3. Note the centrally located non-tidal marsh slough that is oriented north to south connecting the two rivers. This slow-moving marsh water is a naturally occurring body that is an often ignored but dominant and important feature in the community.

Figure 3 Water flow system of the Bonita Bay Community. The red square is the approximate property line. 

The location of the residence relative to the nearby Imperial River is seen in Fig 4. The distance of the residence to the river is 450 feet. The house is directly on the east side of the water retention pond.

Figure 4 Flow-ways proximate to the residence. Red dot is the residence location.    

The water flow is shown in Fig 5 for this neighborhood portion of the BBC of the City of Bonita Springs. Note that the residence is not only near the Imperial River, but also the water retention pond. The pond is also part of the central, non-tidal, slough that transepts the whole Bonita Bay community.

Figure 5 House location relative to Imperial River. Red dot is the residence location. Blue line shows direction of water flow

The water retention pond with a weir on the northwest end is seen in Fig 6. Another weir is at the river. Water is normally lost from the retention pond through transevaporation. When water in the pond is high the overflow is directed to the slough through the overflow weir.

Figure 6  From:  Lee County GIS Shows property locations. The red dot is the location of the typical residence. The elevation contour lines show that the buildings are at 10 ft +MSL 
Fid 7 Shows the weir at north end of retention pond. Left is slough side. Right is pond side.

The slough is a marsh with reeds and sedges compromising most of the plant life and supports birds, reptiles and mammals. The entire slough and land close to the rivers and the Estero bay were completely covered by approximately 5 feet of oceanic sea water. All of the soil is still ladened with salt residue. There has been less than 6 inches of rainfall in the last 9 months. During that time there have been only three days of rain sufficient to cause some runoff through the local weir. Hopefully the seasonal rain water will dilute some of the salt every year and it will be carried back to the ocean.

Fig 8. The slough from mid BBC property looking north. Coordinates: 26.34857° N, 81.82047° W. The main community road is roughly 500 feet to the south of this vantage point. This is the opposite view of the featured image.

The relative elevations of the Bonita Bay Community in Bonita Springs are seen in Fig 9. The legend indicates that most of the community is at 5 ft +MSL. Note the approximate watershed divide.

Figure 9  Elevation of BB community. The purple horizontal line indicates the approximate north/south property watershed divide line. This is roughly parallel to the main community road

Discussion:

The water flow is generally toward the sea. The river and creek are tidal therefore it is bi-directional depending on the tides, rainfall, storm surges and other upstream water flow. The non-engineered mean elevation of the community is 5 ft +MSL. There are four water sources for the BBC that include, freshwater brought by the city to the community, grey water brought to the Community for irrigation, and rainwater during the rainy season and salt water during storm surge. The community looses water through three methods. these include transevaporation, runoff and sewage. Sewage water from residences exits through sanitary sewage lines to the central water treatment plant. The central high ground is the location of the club house. The purple line drawn horizontally through the high ground indicates the approximate north/south watershed divide. The average elevation of the property is less than two feet above the sea level where salt water begins to invade the low-level properties or displace the less dense freshwater. The property was designed more than 35 years ago and has worked well. Since then, hydraulic pressure from the rising waters of the sea have increased. Fresh rainwater is a valuable resource. Considering our changing sea water level perhaps some questions should be addressed. Do we need to rethink the water flow design? Should we consider an alternative method for disposition of rainwater through different conservation measures? Can we conserve fresh water and delay ingress of salt water?

Conclusion:

The rainwater may be distributed up-stream and down-stream once it meets the estuary/river, but generally it flows down to the Gulf of Mexico. The low elevation of the property and other weather factors determine the rate, volume and direction of flow. 

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#slough #waterflow #watershed #marsh #creek #river #rain #transevaporation #seawater #

Why Is the Bauhinia Tree Not Invasive ?

The Bauhinia tree (Bauhinia blakeana)(AKA Hong Kong Orchid tree) is a native of Asia. All Hong Kong orchid trees today are clones of the original tree planted in a garden in Hong Kong in 1880. It has been reproduced from cuttings ever since. Although they are one plant system they have not been susceptible to diseases.

Because the bloom is so attractive and had all of the anatomy to describe it as having flowers I could not see why it was sterile. The only option that I had was to inspect the organelles of the flower and see where the issue lie.

The feature image shows the flower with an obviously interested bee crawling inside.

—-+—-

Macro dissection

I started with an intact bloom and removed parts to expose the major anatomic features. This was followed by a separation of the components for microscopic examination.

Perhaps my favorite blossom from the neighborhood the blossoms simply cascade along the branches in progressive succession for months.

—-+—- Macro dissection

The Bauhenia flower has all of the required anatomy necessary for sexual reproduction. Septal, petals, stamen and carpel.

—-+—-

Micro dissection

Petal microstructure. No respiratory apparatus
Micro anatomy of typical leaf.
Filament with anther
Anther with pollen
Pollen from anther
Pollen grain detail
Macro image of stigma
Attempted fertilization by pollen into stigma
Macro through the Ova
Micro cross section through the ova which is void

Each of the separated components of the system were examined microscopically. This examination revealed that the area of the ova was without a defined structure. There were no ova and the core was a simple homogenous field without characteristics. It was barren. It does not reproduce sexually and therefore cannot produce seeds. Because it cannot produce seeds and reproduction is limited to propagation from cuttings it is not invasive. The same is true for Plumeria which is also propagated from cuttings. We have shown a similar method in a previous post on Propagation of Orchids by Division.

This posting is made in response to questions rising from the Power Point Presentation titled Flowering Trees of SWFL. a full listing of the trees can be found on this site. To find it GoTo the banner on the home page, from the menu select Findings and select the PDF document. There are associated reference links. You may print the list for your convenience.

Please see the new posting on this subject Bauhinia Vs Hibiscus published on June of 2025.

#Bauhinia #Hong Kong Orchid tree #flower #anatomy #micro anatomy #reproduction #cuttings #propagation #barren #sterile # invasive # petal #septa #carpel #stamen #anther #pollen

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