Wild Coffee, Psychotria Nervosa

     I like to call this plant Psycho Coffee, because it's just more fun to say. I bought this several years ago from the Nature Coast Botanical Gardens, and it has thrived with no care at all. When I planted it back then I heeded the advice of IFAS and put it in the full shade, where it doubled in height and width and produced two seedlings. The seedlings also thrived in the full shade with no care, no watering, nothing.

     Psycho Coffee is native to Florida, and Florida is its only home. It's hardiness is from 10B to 11, but it's growing well in the full shade in my 8A front yard. I happened to be at the Pasco County Earth Day celebration, and there was a gentleman there from the Florida Native Plant Society and he had some for sale, so I picked up another one and supported the Society. I have also spotted it growing as a huge bush at the entrance of the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg.
     Psycho coffee propagates by seed, and I have found that the easiest way to propagate it is to dig up seedlings and put them where you want them.
     The berries are edible, and have a large seed in them. They don't taste good. Flowers attract butterflies and the fruits attract birds. Some say that members of the coffee family contain a hallucinogen called dimethyltryptamine, but it is unknown if Psycho Coffee has that chemical. It's called Psychotria nervosa for the prominent ribbing on the leaves.
     Definitely a keeper because edible fruit, beautiful flowers that bloom for months and attract pollinators, requires no care or watering, and loves full shade.

Morning Glory, Ipomea purpurea

     Wikipedia says that Ipomea is a large family of over 500 flowering plants, which include many species called Morning Glory, Sweet potato, moonflower, and water spinach.

      Many of the Morning Glories contain alkaloids, making them not palatable and possibly toxic. Some say that the seeds of certain Morning Glory species contain psychoactive compounds. Obviously this area needs more research; however, it was enough of a problem that Louisiana banned the production of Morning Glories outside of ornamental purposes.

   Plants for a Future lists Ipomea purpurea as not edible, but does address the medicinal or hallucinogenic quality of some seeds.

 
     So possibly edible, possibly toxic. Probably something I will not continue growing on in the future, in favor of better plants, like its cousin Sweet Potato.

Tradescantia, Spiderwort 2019

     After several years of encouraging the spread of Spiderwort all over my little place, I have finally achieved sizable plantings. Enough extra Spiderwort that I could sell some at my future nursery, or bring some to the Fortress of Solitude.

     I really like Spiderwort. It sprouts in the Spring and blooms for months. It is one of the few native edible succulents, heck, I can't think of another. I once took the flowers and dyed them onto Easter eggs. There are so many reasons to keep Spiderwort around. Read my original post about Spiderwort HERE.

4 o'Clock Closeup

May 2019

Feel free to snag this as a wallpaper!

Cannas, surprisingly beautiful

     Came home from my so-called job to find these beauties in my back yard. I have them growing in a standard nursery pot that is sitting in a larger clay pot that has no drainage holes. It usually is filled with a few inches of water. They say cannas like to have their feet wet, and that definitely seems to be the case around here.
     Cannas are edible, and I have eaten the leaves, which have a mild flavor but are chewy. Would be an excellent base for a salad but I wouldnt use them for lettuce wraps. I haven't yet tried the roots.
     This is a plant that can be found at many nurseries. I have even seen them for sale at Meijers in Michigan, what a sight for sore eyes. They are distinctive and come in several varieties, including variegated and purple-leaved.

The Ginger Family

     While trying to discern if Stromanthe was a type of ginger, learned a few things:
     -The ginger order (Zingiberales) is a large one, including 68 genera.
     -Most members of Zingiberales are herbacious perennials with rhizomatous root systems (Wikipedia).
     -Straight from Wikipedia, the families of Zingiberales include
          -Cannas
          -Costus Spiral Gingers
          -Heliconias
          -Orchidantha
          -Musa Bananas
          -Maranta Prayer Plants
          -Strelitzia Bird of Paradise
          -Zingiber Gingers
     Most of the members of the Zingiberales Order are tropical or subtropical. Cannas are native to the new world, while most Zingiber gingers are native to Asia.
     Zingiberoides members have adapted to Southeast Asia's monsoonal climate, becoming dormant in the dry season as underground fleshy rhizomes. Marantas, Heliconias, and Cannas have adapted to swampy areas and have their rhizomes rooted underwater.
     Asarum canadense "wild ginger" of Eastern North America is actually not a ginger, and is not edible. If eaten it causes permanent kidney damage as it contains aristolochic acid. Try saying that 5 times fast.
     Members of the Maranta family can have Rosmarinic acid, a caffeic ester. Arrowroot is a member of the Maranta family. So is Stromanthe, so it is possibly edible and possibly awesome.

Red Sugarcane, Saccharum officinarum

   Last fall I took a road trip to a nursery called A Natural Farm, at Howie in the Hills, Florida. They had many interesting plants, which pleased me very much, including many that I already owned. I ended up buying three sugar cane rooted cuttings, and planted all three in the back yard. The back is sheltered from frost and winds, as best as I can make it. These are some pictures taken shortly after planting.

     Wikipedia says that sugarcane is the worlds most produced crop by quantity. It also says that sugarcane is a true grass. It is propagated by stem cuttings that must contain at least one bud. These three are stem cuttings.
     IFAS recommends cutting linger stalks into 6 bud seed pieces ( about 2-3 feet long) and planting that. Also, "Single node pieces, which contain a single bud, can be planted in pots or trays and later transplanted at the target site."

Shell Ginger Smoothies

     Since learning that Shell Ginger is a superfood, I have found that it can be good in a green smoothie with plant based vanilla flavored protein and frozen blueberries. I have also found that freezing the leaves in advance and then removing the center spine improves their consistency in the smoothie without sacrificing any nutrition.

Pink Mystery Flower

May 2019

     I wish I knew what this wildflower was called. It is quite beautiful and large, at least 18 inches tall. Found in the spring time in the grasses on the Weeki Wachee Preserve.
     One of the suggestions that I have received online says that this is a Thistle. What do you think?

Purple Mystery Flower

May 14th, 2019

Found this growing in the side of a baby fig tree that I bought from the botanical gardens. Whatever this is, it's beautiful, so probably toxic, right?