Butterfly Ginger

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This lovely flowering species is commonly known as Butterfly Ginger Lily, Ginger Lily or just Butterfly Ginger (Hedychium Coronarium). The white blossoms are highly fragrant and bloom from summer through to winter.

When not blooming, butterfly ginger provides attractive dark green foliage. Mixed with Pinecone Ginger and other tropical foliage plants, this species lends itself well to lush tropical looking landscapes.

This ginger is easy to propagate. Simply dig up the root, divide it into pieces about 8 inches in length and replant. Butterfly Ginger prefers part sun and moist soil but will also tolerate wet feet and makes a great water edge planting for water features or boggy areas that may have standing water for parts of the year. After a freeze this ginger may die back to the ground but it will certainly come back quickly. Butterfly Ginger spreads readily and may take some effort to control once it gets established. Never plant non-native or invasive species in natural areas so they cannot outpace our own Florida native species.

What’s in a Name?: Hedychium is composed of the Greek words hedys “sweet” and chion for “snow”. The species epithet coranarium derives from the Latin word corona or "crown". The species was first describes by German botanist Johann Gerhard König (1728-1785) who worked as a naturalist in India. Butterfly Ginger originates from the Himalayas region of India and Nepal. It is the national flower of Cuba and is known there as "Mariposa blanca" or “White Butterfly Flower".

Sweet Almond

The Sweet Almond plants in the butterfly gardens and also in the BioWorks Flight enclosure are blooming like mad right now. In the afternoons these flowers are simply abuzz with all sorts of pollinating creatures from bees to butterflies who can’t seem to get enough of these gorgeous smelling flowers.

The dainty white flowers of the Sweet Almond Bush (Aloysia virgata) are just not done justice by a photograph. To love these blossoms you only have to stand within ten feet of them and inhale their sweet aroma. Also known as Incense Bush, Aloysia has an undeniably beautiful fragrance that has the power to draw people into the gardens from the parking lots searching for the source of such a remarkable scent.

Native to Argentina, this plant has an upright growth habit and can be pruned into a small tree-form. Without pruning it tends to be a fairly leggy large shrub. The blooms are attractive to a number of small butterflies and the scent is very sweet, making this one a nice addition to larger, rambling garden spaces.

Sweet Almond Bush is a great nectar flower for butterflies and blooms several times throughout the year. This plant can be fairly difficult to find in garden centers so you might want to check specialty growers and small nurseries that often stock butterfly plants.

Fragrant Olive

This morning I noticed that the Fragrant Olive by the butterfly garden has gone into bloom. The tiny white flowers may not look terribly impressive, but their perfume is glorious! In combination with another plant I will highlight tomorrow, the Butterfly garden is a deliciously scented place for a stroll right now!

Known also as Tea Olive or Sweet Olive, Fragrant Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) is true to its name. Deliciously fragrant, the stark white blossoms of Osmanthus may be small but they draw the attention of visitors who are searching for the source of that delightful perfume on the air.

Fragrant olive is slow-growing but long lived. In time this evergreen plant can reach heights up to about 20 feet but in generally found at heights of 6 to 10 feet in a garden landscape. Osmanthus generally blooms throughout fall, winter and early spring but may also produce occasional flowers throughout the summer. The MOSI gardens are host to four Osmanthus plants, two near the butterfly garden enclosure and two young plants in the sensory garden beneath the Ray Charles Live Oak in the tree grove.

Fragrant olive is used in teas and in perfumes. Read more at this link about how the scent of these flowers is produced through the breakdown of beta-carotene and other hydrocarbons found resident in the Osmanthus plant. Hooray for science.

Goldenrod

Pine-Barren Goldenrod (Solidago fistulosa) is one of over 100 species of Solidago that occur mostly in North America with some species found in South America and Eurasia. Goldenrods bloom with gorgeous yellow blossoms in the fall and are a favorite for pollinating insects like bees and butterflies. This particular species can be found from Florida north to New Jersey and west into Louisiana.

Bounce like this: Goldenrod naturally contains rubber in its milky sap. One of the last projects that Thomas Edison undertook was attempting to extract rubber from Goldenrod. Edison studied many species of Goldenrod and especially a type of Goldenrod that grew to over 12 feet in height and yielded a high percentage of rubber from its sap. Edison created a long lasting and resilient rubber from the sap of Goldenrod, examples of which can still be seen today on display at his laboratory. Edison turned his Goldenrod research over to the US Government for use but his Goldenrod rubber was put aside during WWII when synthetic rubber was developed and could be cheaply produced.

Henry Ford gifted Thomas Edison with a Model T car that had Goldenrod rubber tires. This Goldenrod and another species were planted beside the Henry Ford Sycamore in the Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove at MOSI. In the coming years we hope to add more latex bearing plants in this area of the garden.

Nothing to sneeze at: Although Goldenrod has a bad reputation as a allergy nightmare, it is actually pretty harmless to the sinuses. Goldenrod pollen is heavy and sticky, designed to be pollinated by insects. Because of its weight, this pollen isn’t distributed on the breeze and is less likely to irritate the sinuses. Ragweed (Ambrosia) has a much lighter weight pollen that gets caught in the breeze and is more likely to cause your sneezes.

What’s in a name?: Solidago comes from the medieval Latin word soldago which was the name of a healing medicinal herb. This herb’s name come from the Latin word soldare “to strengthen or make whole”.

Love Among the Bugs: Courtship

Butterflies have a remarkable variety in their length and manner of courtship before mating. In many cases the male of the species will fly above or behind the female butterfly and follow her for some time while fluttering his wings more than usual.

The Perfume of Butterflies: Male butterflies are often equipped with scales on their wings that are ‘scented’ with pheromones called androconia. These specialized scales contain glandular structures that produce an odor to attract the opposite sex. Androconia are often grouped in patches on the butterfly wing and can be seen by the naked eye. In the photo above the male monarch is shown (top of photo) and black dots can be seen on the hind wing that are not present on the hind wing of the female (bottom of photo). Chemoreceptors in the antennae of butterflies help males and females to identify available mates by detecting pheromones.

The Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina) butterfly of Europe produces a pheromone that is perceptible by some humans and has been described as smelling like musty hay, a cigar box or old socks.

Not Tonight Dear: Females that have already mated or are unreceptive to mating will often hold their wings in a position that covers their abdomen, flutter their wings to block access to their abdomen or just hold their abdomen in a position that makes mating impossible. Disinterested females may also fly away to escape the unwanted advances of a male butterfly. This can be seen in species of Sulphurs when the females fly upwards in a spiral until the male loses interest and gives up the chase. Some females butterflies can also release and anti-aphrodisiac which is a chemical that dulls the mating interest of the opposite sex.

In the photo to the right, the female skipper has perched on a leaf after being followed by a male for quite some time. The male butterfly followed this female for at least 10 minutes and spent some length of time perched on the leaf waiting for the female to show signs of interest. The female skipper kept her wings shivering almost continuously which seemed to make copulation impossible for the male. He eventually lost interest and headed for nectar plants laden with other, hopefully more receptive females.

Success: If the male is able to successfully convince the female, copulation can take anywhere from about an hour to a remarkable 17 days observed in a pair of Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) butterflies. The male butterfly is equipped with a pair of claspers at the end of the abdomen which are used to hold onto the female abdomen until mating is completed. Mating pairs often seek shelter and therefore butterfly mating is not an overly common sight in the wild. When disturbed mating pairs can even be seen flying while still connected as they seek a safer location to complete their tryst.

A Lazy Garden for Lazy Gardeners

Lots of people want a nice yard, but many people don’t have the time to put into endless gardening. However, if you use tough Florida native and Florida Friendly plants, you will mostly need to water them until they are established. A few plants might require cutting back once a year but beyond that you can have a nearly zero effort garden by selecting the right plants for your space. These plants will not only require less care than most but will also require less water.

By request, this post will highlight six species of plants that work best for an effortless Florida garden. Should this prove to be a popular topic, I will follow it up with more recommendations for a lazy garden.

Muhley Grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris): You really can’t go wrong with this Florida native grass. Muhley grass can be found from Massachusetts south to Florida and west to Texas and parts of Mexico. In the fall this grass blooms with a mist of pinkish-purple seed heads and is incredibly beautiful.

Muhley grass is tolerant of rocky and sandy soils and is fairly salt tolerant. Growing to a height of about three feet, muhley grass makes a great mass planting for alongside a road or just a corner of the yard. As a benefit to wildlife, grasses provide great cover for butterflies, beneficial insects and other wildlife in the garden.

Pros: Effortless, attractive, wildlife cover

Coontie (Zamia floridana) is one of about 200 remaining species of cycads. Cycads are primitive palm-like plants that were a dominant plant species some 200 million years ago. Able to survive harsh conditions, yearly freezes, poor soil and even high salinity it is no wonder that some of these tough species managed to survive to modern day.

Coontie provides especially tough year round greenery for your garden. Read more about coontie here. These plants are very slow growing and can be a bit pricey to pick up, however once you plant and establish a coontie, it will be with you for a very long time.

Pros: Attractive greenery, effortless, provides wildlife cover

Climbing Carolina Aster (Symphotrichum carolinianum): Climbing Aster, as the name implies, is more of a vine than a shrub. It does not have tendrils that wrap around support structures, rather it clambers up over shrubs or through low trees to spread. Fence lines or a few wooden supports can provide great structure for this plant and will become mostly hidden.

This aster is deciduous but will keep blooming until the coldest part of the winter. After a freeze, expect climbing aster to be dormant. In the fall this aster will bloom with lovely pale purple flowers that are fragrant and are attractive to bees and butterflies alike. The plant will go dormant in the winter but does not require cutting back unless you want to keep the size under control.

Pros: Nearly effortless, attractive flowers, good for pollinators like bees and butterflies

Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea): Salvia is a beautiful flowering annual. Cultivated as an ornamental, salvia is actually a Florida native. Drought tolerant salvias wilt a bit in the hottest and driest part of the year but just one good rain and the start blooming like crazy. Although these flowers won't make it through a frost they do reseed readily and in the Spring will come back not only from root but also from scattered seeds.

Older plants can start to get leggy, so give the old flower tops a trim once they have bloomed to help control height and also to keep the plants dense with flowers. Other than trimming once or twice a year and just cutting them back after a frost, these colorful flowers require almost no effort.

Pros: Nearly effortless, reseeds itself, provides great garden color, butterfly nectar plant

Firebush (Hamelia patens): Firebush is a showy Florida shrub much beloved of butterflies. The trumpet shaped bright orange flowers are great attractors for larger butterflies like Monarch, Sulphurs, Zebra Longwing and even some Swallowtails. Also a favorite of hummingbirds, placing this shrub in your garden almost guarantees you some visits from your local wildlife.

Firebush can quickly grow into a tall shrub and can be pruned into a small tree. If you don't have enough room for such a large plant look for the dwarf variety often known as 'Compacta' which stays around the 5 to 6 foot range. If hit with too much frost, Firebush may appear to die back completely, but will often surprise you flushing back out in the spring with gorgeous reddish foliage.

Pros: Nearly effortless, provides great garden color, butterfly nectar plant

Scorpion’s Tail (Heliotropium angiospermum) : The unfortunately named Scorpion’s Tail really has nothing to do with scorpions or stinging. The common name of this native Florida wildflower derives from the arching shape of the flower stalks that bear a twisting row of diminutive 1/8th inch white flowers. Scorpion’s Tail is a small shrub with dark green foliage. After blooming, seedpods form that each contain two small nuts. The species epithet angiospermum means enclosed seeds.

As a shrub Scorpion’s Tail can reach about three feet in height and is fairly drought tolerant. Planted in partial to mostly shade, this species can thrive in poor soil conditions and is said to reseed and spread quite rapidly. To keep Scorpion’s Tail contained, you can deadhead the flower stalks before they go to seed. If you don’t mind it spreading, just leave it alone.

Pros: Nearly effortless, provides great garden color, butterfly nectar plant

Keeping your data.

If you are a butterfly enthusiast, it is likely that you notice butterflies everywhere and want to identify each species that you see. You might even keep a butterfly life list which can become tedious in notebook form. It may seem inconsequential to most, but these little field trips can record important data that help to note the health of butterfly populations or their seasons of flight.

The North American Butterfly Association or NABA hosts a website called Butterflies I’ve Seen. On this site you can record individual field trips and note their weather conditions, locations, temperatures and the butterflies you noted there. The site will aggregate a life list for you based on these recorded field trips but you can also add species to your life list manually. Butterflies I’ve Seen includes the species found in North America including those known in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

Get started on Butterflies I’ve Seen with this quick start checklist to get yourself set up as a user. You can create your backyard as a location or search their list of official locations for places that you already visit. If you want to record butterflies that you have seen out and about in the MOSI gardens, here is the MOSI location information.

Keeping this information is a great way to watch your butterfly population expand at home as you add to your personal butterfly garden. The more diverse species of host and nectar plants that you add will help to draw more species in greater numbers.

The North American Butterfly Association also hosts a yearly butterfly count in July and other seasonal counts that are often looking for volunteers. As a volunteer you can sign on at a designated site and spend the day looking for butterflies and recording your sightings.

Replanting the Medicinal Garden

When the cool nights begin many of the tropical plants may stop flourishing, but gardeners take delight in the temperatures to get huge amounts of gardening done. In the last two weeks we have done a massive cleanup in the Richard T. Bowers Historic Tree Grove. We have been removing plants that are past their prime and also many weeds that were sneaking into the beds. A few more days and the cleanup should be finished but we will continue to top-dress the beds with mulch throughout the cool season.

We have also taken this opportunity to replant a few of the thematic gardens in the grove that help to represent and interpret the history of each tree. A few weeks ago we replanted the Moon Sycamore Moon Garden with lots of new white and blue flowering plants that will best reflect moonlight.

This past week we replanted the Clara Barton Redbud Medicinal Garden with lots of new medicinal plants. In prepping the bed we chose to open up the ‘socks’ filled with compost that had previously been used for planting and instead use this compost mixed in with the local soil. This provided us with a slightly raised bed of rich soil for our new plantings.

• Common Foxglove (Digitalis purpurea) extracts have been used in the treatment of heart conditions since 1785. Digitalis extracts are used to help regulate irregular heartbeats. Digitalis should not be eaten as it is toxic if used improperly. Foxglove flowers on tall stiff stalks with buds down most of their length. The flowering season for this plant isn't overly long so it was been located to the extreme edges of this garden so that it will not detract when not in flower.
• French Lavender (Lavandula x intermedia) is process for its essential oils which have antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. This oil was used in WWII for the cleaning of hospital walls and floors to prepare them for new patients. Infusions of lavender have also been used for the soothing of insect bites and headaches. The lavender plants have a feathery grey-green foliage that is very soft to the touch.
• Blue Anise Sage (Salvia guaranitica) Salvia is a genus of over 900 species in the Mint family. The genus contains culinary herbs, medicinal plants and garden ornamentals. This particular species is a used as a sedative by the Guarani Indians of Brazil.
• Artemisia (Artemisia X 'Powis Castle') is a hybrid of two other Artemisia species, Absinthe (Artemisia absinthium) and Wormwood (Artemesia arborescens). Absinthe and Wormwood have been used a medicinal remedies for hundreds of years. Absinthe has a bitter foliage that was believed to stimulate stomach acid and bile production, and thus was prescribed for stomach aches and those with underactive digestive systems. Artemisia should not be eaten as it is toxic if used improperly.
• Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is a culinary herb common in Italian cooking that is also prized for medicinal properties. Basil is used in India to supplement the treatment of stress, asthma and diabetes. Essential oil of basil has anti-fungal properties and is also repellant to mosquitoes.
• Spearmint (Mentha spicata): Spearmint has antioxidant and antifungal properties. A common culinary herb, spearmint is used in many cooking dishes and also in the preparation of many beverages. Teas made from spearmint leaves have been used to treat stomach problems, gas, headaches, fevers and various other minor ailments.

Florida State Butterfly: Zebra Longwing

1996, the Florida Legislature and Governor Chiles designated the Zebra Longwing (Heliconius charithonia) also known as the Zebra Heliconian as the State butterfly for Florida.

Easy to identify with its long wings and creamy yellow zebra stripes, this butterfly is certainly a favorite in the MOSI gardens. Zebra Longwing and other Heliconians host on passionvines. Instead of laying their eggs singly on the plant, Zebra Longwing females can be found laying their eggs in groups on the newest growth of the passion vines. The eggs are bright yellow and are generally found in clusters from just a few to several dozen.

The larvae of this species are bright white and with rows of branching black spikes that make it difficult for predators to swallow the caterpillars. Zebra Longwing chrysalis resemble a curled, dead leaf and have a section of reflective silver spots on their pupae which mimics water droplets caught on a stationary object.

The adult butterfly is a member of the Nymphalidae or brush-footed butterfly family and only appear to have 4 legs. The front two legs are very tiny and are located near the butterfly’s head. Zebra Longwing butterflies and a few other closely related species are fairly long lived for butterflies thank to their very specific and peculiar diets.

Strange Behavior

Eating Pollen: Most butterflies live entirely on nectar which is a sugary water substance found inside flowers. This nectar is the nutritional equivalent of a human attempting to subsist on on sugary soda. Although it is high in calories to power the butterfly through its short life-cycle, it is low in nutrients. Zebra Longwing butterflies collect pollen on the outside of their proboscis and excrete stomach acids through the proboscis onto the gathered pollen. After the process of external digestion is complete, the Zebra Longwing drinks down the liquefied pollen which is rich in nutrients. This special diet allows the Zebra Longwing butterfly to live six to nine months as an adult butterfly.

Trap-Lining: Zebra Longwings have been observed to visit the same flowers each day in the same order. This behavior of visiting the same reliable nectar sources has also been observed in birds such as hummingbirds. Trap-lining is named for the similarity of this behavior with a hunter checking their traps in a particular order.

Pupal Mating: Male Zebra Heliconians can detect the pheromones of a female even when she is still in her chrysalis. Males will wait by the chrysalis, sometimes in group for the female to be ready to emerge. Less patient males will even break through the pupal case to mate with the female before she ecloses (emerges) from the chrysalis. After mating the males apply a chemical to the females abdomen that helps to repel other male butterflies and discourage further mating, insuring that the offspring of the female will carry forward the genes of the male butterfly with whom she mated.

Roosting in Groups: At night, Zebra Longwings gather into groups to roost for the night. These groups may range from a few individuals to 25 or 30 individuals in the wild.

What’s in a name?: Heliconian means “of or pertaining to Helicon” which is a river in Greece once said to have run entirely above ground but later partially running below ground. Mythology tells us that the river partially sank below the earth when the maenads, followers of Dionysus, attempted to wash their hands of the blood of Orpheus after murdering him and the river wanted no part in their cleansing themselves of such manslaughter. Charithonia derives from the Charites or Graces who were Greek goddesses of fertility and nature. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1767.

Plumbago and Cassius Blue

Plumbago (Plumbago auriculata) also commonly known as Leadwort is an evergreen shrub that blooms with showy sky blue or white flowers very similar in appearance to phlox.

Native to South Africa, plumbago is tolerant of long, hot summers, humid air, torrential downpours and needs little to no water once established which has made it a popular ornamental plant in Florida and California. Plumbago blooms most of the year except for the coldest part of winter, so wait until then to cut the plant back without getting rid of flower buds.

As for butterflies, Plumbago is host to the tiny Cassius Blue butterfly (Leptotes cassius) which lays its eggs on the buds of new flowers and leaves. The eggs are whitish and have the look of a donut with a deep depression in the center.

The tiny larvae are a green that seems made to match the exact shade of the plumbago foliage and they have tiny hairs on their body that helps further camouflage their slug-like bodies from predators. Trying to spy these caterpillars on a plumbago bush is nearly an exercise in futility.

The diminutive butterfly has a lovely silvery-blue coloring on its upper wings and the underside is a mottled cream and brown pattern that helps to break up their overall form and make it more difficult for predators to see them.

If you have a plumbago, just wait for it. Soon you'll have a cloud of tiny blue butterflies dancing in the air around it.