Beneficial juvenile ladybugs bear almost no resemblance to their adult form. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
When maintaining a garden, knowing the difference between your enemies and the “good guys” is half the battle. Once, I was teaching a group of landscape maintenance folks about beneficial insects, and quizzed them on their bug identification skills. I flashed up an image of a larval ladybug and asked if they knew what it was. No one in the class could identify it. I followed up with, “If you saw this in a client’s landscape, would you use a pesticide?” All but one responded that they would.
Thankfully, I was able to teach them something useful that day and avoid the unnecessary slaughter of baby ladybugs. But the larger issue to address was this “shoot first, ask questions later,” attitude. In reality, the beneficial—often predatory—insects are larger and fewer in number. It’s analogous to the smaller numbers of any apex predator in comparison to its prey; think about the dozens of lions vs thousands of antelope in the savanna, or hundreds of sharks vs hundreds of thousands of fish in swaths of ocean. The proportions are similar in the insect world. When predator insects are indiscriminately killed off, prey insects that harm plants can multiply in rapid numbers. The reproductive cycles of beneficial insects are often slower than smaller prey insects, so it becomes nearly impossible to restore a healthy balance.
Adult assassin bug feeding on a cornsilk fly. Photo credit: Megha Kalsi, UF
One such beneficial common to northwest Florida gardens is the milkweed assassin bug. Leggy and intimidating with black highlights and bright orange warning coloration, it is a daunting figure to prey insects and humans alike. The milkweed assassin bug, (Zelus longipes) is named for its similarity in appearance to the (unrelated) milkweed bug.
Nearly everything eats a juicy tomato, pepper, or leafy green vegetable, but the assassin bug leaves the plants alone. As suggested by its name, the assassin bug is a killer—a top predator among insects. An assassin bug does not go easy on its prey, which typically consists of beetles, flies, tomato hornworms, and even roaches and mosquitoes. Once the prey is ambushed, the bug uses its rostrum to “impale them, inject venom, and suck the body contents.”
While considered a beneficial species that protects the food we’ve worked so hard to grow, don’t assume the assassin bug is particularly friendly. It does not deliberately attack humans, but will defend itself if threatened. The bite of an assassin bug is said to be quite painful, and will result in a small itchy lump. There are no toxins present, though, and the bite will resolve itself fairly quickly.
So, if you see one of these fascinating little creatures crawling in your garden, leave it be. It is no doubt doing its job, hunting down pest insects one by one and slurping their guts out.
Wax myrtle is an evergreen shrub found commonly along the edges of wetlands. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
Wax myrtle (Myrica/Morella cerifera) is one of those evergreen shrubs that mostly lives out its life in the background. Neither tall and imposing (on average, up to 12’; rarely as tall as 20’), nor full of showy flowers, it is nonetheless an important native species. Behind that low-key persona is a small tree that has played numerous roles in American history. Also known as bayberry, wax myrtle grows in low-lying areas along the edges of wetlands. It is a fast grower and will fill in open spaces if there is enough available light. Wax myrtle is a hardy plant, highly tolerant of salt, and works well in pollinator gardens and urban locations. Both male and female plants are necessary to produce numerous berries, which grow directly on the plant stem. A wide variety of birds use the plants as nesting areas and feed on the berries, including warblers, swallows, wrens, and turkeys.
Wax myrtle shrubs play an important role in feeding and roosting for birds. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
People have long planted wax myrtle shrubs as natural privacy screens, or used an extract from the leaves as a mosquito repellent. The leaves are tough, similar in texture to live oaks, helping hold in water for drought tolerance and keep out salt, enabling them to thrive in coastal areas.
The leaves and berries serve several useful purposes for humans. Native American tribes, particularly the Seminoles in Florida, would use fermented leaves as a medication for headaches and fevers. The berries are a greenish gray/blue color and are the size of BB’s. Each shrub can grow hundreds of small berries along each branch, and berries have a waxy coating that will separate from the berry flesh when boiled.
A wax myrtle plant loaded in its small, waxy berries. Photo from Creative Commons.
Early American settlers would collect this wax and reform it into bayberry candles. They would serve a dual purpose in providing both light and mosquito protection. In those early days, mosquito-borne diseases like yellow fever and malaria were both common and deadly, so it was a matter of survival. The plants have also been used to deter fleas and cockroaches.
According to several native plant enthusiasts who posted bayberry-candle-making videos on YouTube, the rule of thumb is that you’ll need to collect a gallon of wax myrtle berries to create a cup of wax. Besides candles, early settlers also used the wax for soap, sealing wax, and shaving cream. Be mindful that wax myrtle plants are flammable, so it is recommended that if planted in a home landscape, they are in an area safely away from the building walls.
Spanish bayonet plants growing on the back side of a dune at Grayton Beach State Park. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
When you think of self-defense in the natural world, it’s normal to lean towards the animal kingdom. Between their intimidating teeth, claws, horns, and venom, animals can hold their own in a physical battle for dominance or survival.
But plants are no slouch in this department, either. In the book, “Wicked Plants: The Weed that Killed Lincoln’s Mother & Other Botanical Atrocities,” the author discusses no fewer than 200 plants with deadly poisonous properties. Many plants have also evolved spines and thorns, rash-inducing toxins, and thick bark or waxy coatings that keep disease, water, and anything attempting to feed on them out.
The sharp spines of yucca plants serve as self-defense, but can also be used for making tools. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
Yucca plants display several examples of vegetative self-defense. Even the common names of several Florida species; Adam’s needle, Spanish dagger, and Spanish bayonet, signal their obvious danger. They are native to deserts and desert-like conditions, including the dry, sandy dunes of Florida beaches. Dry habitats lend themselves to tough plants, as they adapt thick leaves to keep water in and needles or thorns to collect and condense water and ward off herbivores that might seek their stored water resources. Yucca are of course highly salt and drought tolerant, so they make great landscape plants for coastal properties.
Brown seed pods visible on a yucca plant in the fall. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
Spanish bayonet, one of several species common to Florida, is so intimidating that I regularly see homeowners plant it under windows as a burglary deterrent. Its leaves taper into a stiff and potentially painful point. If you look around online, there are numerous instructional videos and articles from survivalist or “bushcraft” enthusiasts explaining how to strip the leaves, leaving only the point and several fibers for a DIY needle and thread. This technique has been passed down for generations and is useful for building and repairing shelters or clothing. The tough filamentous fibers were used for weaving blankets and baskets.
The bell-shaped flowers are highly attractive to butterflies, and also edible for humans (although be careful, some people report itchy reactions). After spring blooming, brown seed pods will remain on the upright stalks through the fall.
A spectacular array of blazing star in bloom. Photo credit: Troy Springer, Florida Wildflower Foundation
Walking through a northwest Florida wildflower prairie in autumn, the star of the show is Liatris. Known as dense gayfeather or blazing star, this tall (up to 7’!) stunner of a plant is covered up with clusters of small purple flowers. The flowers are are composed of tiny, frilly five-petaled florets. Each cluster may have groups of up to 18 flowers at a time, crowding the stalk with color.
Migrating monarchs feed on blazing star in late fall. Photo credit: Whitney Scheffel
Before blooming, the spiky grasslike structure grows upright and produces a series of dozens of green leaflets, similar in form to rosemary.
While delicate in appearance, the blazing star is a hardy plant adapted to a wide range of habitats. Some varieties can grow in the pure sand of beach dunes and scrub, while Liatris spicata thrives in the soggy wet soils of bogs and pine flatwoods. The species is known for attracting bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, so it makes a great addition to a pollinator garden. The flowers perform best in full sun.
Side-by-side, the bottlebrush-like blazing star plant before and after blooming. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
Blazing star is particularly impressive in a large group, so you can plant dozens together (by seed or container) for a beautiful effect. After blooming deep purple this time of year, they’ll turn a goldish bronze that adds to the interesting fall color of a garden. Liatris will also re-seed every year after dying back in the winter.
There are many plants native to the United States known commonly as colic root, including blazing star. This nickname arose from its traditional medicinal use treating stomach cramps. Additional uses of a tea made from the plant were used for everything from sore throats and kidney issues, while an incense made from dried roots was burned for sinus relief.
A view of the recently completed UWF Heritage Roots Garden. Photo credit: Mike Thomin, Florida Public Archaeology Network
Just about a year ago, a dream team of history and plant nerds assembled around a common goal. The idea was to transform an open, weedy space adjacent to the University of West Florida (UWF) Archaeology Institute into a lush garden. The garden would be unique, however, in its purpose; to showcase native plants important to the wide swath of humanity that has made northwest Florida home for centuries. The plants featured here were to be planted deliberately, demonstrating how human relationships with vegetation over time have made the area habitable.
This sign describing the edible, medicinal, and building uses of Black-eyed Susan plants is typical of the educational information at the garden. Photo credit: Mike Thomin, Florida Public Archeology Network.
If you walk on the site today, that idea and initial sketches have been made reality. Concentric circles of gravel, mulch, and grass form the shape of a gopher tortoise shell. The tortoise has spiritual significance to members of the local Muscogee tribe and ecological importance as a keystone species. Within the planted space are native groundcovers, shrubs, and trees that have long provided food, traditional medicine, building materials, and dyes and textiles for clothing. This flora makes human life tolerable in a hot, rainy, often difficult environment.
Locally brewed yaupon tea was served as part of the opening ceremony for the garden. Photo credit: Mike Thomin, Florida Public Archaeology Network.
Illustrated signage designed for the site explains ethnobotanical principles, highlighting the relationship that people have had with fifteen plants as they provided healing, nourishment, or protection over the years. The plants are identified on signage in Latin binomial, English common names, and Muscogee language. At the center of the garden is a gravel rectangular space, highlighted by a large piece of local iron rock that represents the tribal Sacred Fire.
One featured plant includes the yaupon holly (Ilex vomitoria), whose leaves are brewed as a highly caffeinated tea. The tea is used ceremonially by many southeastern American Indian tribes, and was popular with early American settlers when tea was difficult to import. Yaupon tea is experiencing a bit of a popular resurgence, with commercial products readily available now. Known as the “black drink,” we all drank a cup of the tasty beverage as part of the open house and ceremonial blessing of the garden a few weeks ago.
Chief Dan Helms of the Santa Rosa Band of the Lower Muscogee tribe blesses the UWF Heritage Garden. Photo credit: Mike Thomin, Florida Public Archaeology Network.
The design team developed a scavenger hunt for youth visitors and is working on a self-guided tour to educate the public about native plants, their cultural heritage, and their role in supporting a healthy watershed. The garden is open to the public during daytime hours, and located near the entrance to UWF at the eastern corner of University Parkway and Campus Drive.
Habitat, whether for wildlife or people, relies on the provision of food, water, shelter, and space. All these needs are met within the UWF Heritage Roots Garden. We hope that visitors will develop a deeper appreciation of the region’s historical and ecological legacy, strengthening modern cultural connections with the past. We hope to tie in the Heritage Garden to other UWF campus garden spaces, including the Edward Ball Nature Trail and the UWF Community Garden.
