by Mark Tancig | Jul 11, 2018
Guest Post by Leon County Family & Consumer Sciences Agent Heidi Copeland (pictured)
With all the rain of late, there seems to be an interest in mycology. You know, the fruiting body of fungi called mushrooms! Edible mushrooms in particular.
It is not unusual; our subtropical summer weather tends to make some fungi flourish! Moreover, apparently, there is a bumper crop of fungi this year. Phone calls to the University of Florida/IFAS Extension office about eating mushrooms has increased. Individuals have even brought mushrooms to the office inquiring if they are of the edible variety.
Our reputation as Extension Agents would certainly be damaged if we did not adhere to a few rules… always read a label, use research-based information, and NEVER tell anyone that a mushroom is edible. It is not that there are not delicious wild mushrooms out there; a recent July 2017, publication of Microbiology Spectrum estimates millions of species. However, even the scientists do not agree as only about 120,000 of them have been described, so far. Not all are edible. Some fungi are poisonous to the point of being deadly.
Matt Smith, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and the curator of the UF Fungal Herbarium (FLAS) knows a lot about mycology. In fact, he is also the curator of the fungal herbarium managed by the UF Department of Plant Pathology at the Florida Museum of Natural History in Gainesville. The fungal herbarium is a valuable resource and its collections have many important aspects including information about fungi that are deadly poisonous to humans and pets when consumed.
Lion’s Mane mushroom. Credit: Robert Smith; Cabin Bluff Land Management; Bugwood.org
In addition, the UF fungal herbarium is participating in a National Science Foundation-funded project to digitize and database as many US macrofungi collections as possible. This project, the Macrofungi Collection Consortium, includes 34 institutions in 24 states. The project began in July 2012 and will aim to capture data for roughly 1.3 million fungal specimens.
With that said, there is enough scientific research out there to conclude mushroom identification is indeed difficult. Many mushrooms look similar, but are oh so different!
If you are truly interested in eating what you forage MAKE time to study, with experts! Mushrooms, particularly those you plan to eat that are not identified correctly could send you to the emergency room … or worse. The toxicity of a mushroom varies by how much has been consumed. Poisoning symptoms range from stomachaches, drowsiness and confusion, to heart, liver and kidney damage. The symptoms may occur soon after eating a mushroom or can be delayed for six to 24 hours.
Chanterelle mushroom. Credit: Chris Evans; University of Illinois; Bugwood.org
Delayed symptoms are common. Seek help immediately if you think you may have eaten a poisonous mushroom, even if there are no obvious signs of toxicity. Call the Poison Center’s 24-hour emergency hotline at 1-800-222-1222. You will receive immediate, free and confidential treatment advice from the poison experts.
And if you are determined to make foraging for food a recreational hobby or even want to learn more about what is in your Florida yard, the book Common Florida Mushrooms by University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Emeritus Faculty Dr. James Kimbrough, identifies and describes 268 species of mushrooms found in the sunshine state.
Most importantly, teach your children to NEVER eat any mushroom picked from the ground. It is indeed better to be SAFE than sorry.
People who are interested visiting the fungal herbarium should contact:
Dr. Matthew Smith
email: trufflesmith[nospam]@ufl.edu
by Mark Tancig | Jun 4, 2018
In north Florida, the arrival of warm weather and plenty of rain means it’s time to battle the mosquitoes again. Those pesky little blood-suckers are out and about, often keeping us from enjoying our outdoor pursuits. With some preventative steps, you can reduce the potential for mosquitoes to occur in your yard.
Mosquito larvae. Credit: Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory.
As we should all be aware of by now, mosquitoes require water to complete their lifecycle. Eggs are laid near the water and will dry out if they do not remain near a water source. The larvae, or “wrigglers”, that hatch from the eggs, are aquatic and will not survive out of water. The pupae, often called “tumblers”, are also aquatic and must be in water to survive. From the pupae hatch the adults, the growth stage we want to avoid.
Mosquito pupae. Credit: Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory.
The best method to reduce mosquitoes in your yard is to remove or empty water-holding containers. This prevents the conditions needed for the egg through pupae stages to survive. These water-holding containers can include birdbaths, old buckets, gutters, tarps, rain barrels, and a variety of other items. Even a small bottlecap is enough to breed mosquitoes. Regularly emptying these water-holding containers every 3 to 5 days will stop that most annoying final life stage – the biting adults.
Another way to prevent the aquatic stages of mosquitoes from thriving is to use a larvaecide, specifically Bti. Bti is a bacterium that is sold as either small dunks or doughnuts and can also be found as small granules. Placing a dunk or a few granules in a birdbath will prevent larvae from developing and won’t harm the birds or other organisms that may visit, including frogs, bees, butterflies, and mammals. Bti is a selective pesticide, only effective for control of mosquito, midge, and fungus gnat larvae.
Various mosquito breeding habitats. Credit: Mark Tancig, UF/IFAS
Even if you’ve cleaned up or drained all water-holding containers on your property, there will likely still be some adult mosquitoes looking for a bloodmeal. Wearing long pants and sleeves, using mosquito repellents, and keeping window screens in good order are effective methods to prevent being bitten.
Local mosquito control agencies will often provide services to fog for adults. However, this will want to be your last resort, as the pesticides used to control adults are not as selective as the Bti used for the larvae. This results in non-target damage, meaning that insects besides mosquitoes, including beneficial insects, may also be harmed. Therefore, controlling mosquitoes during their aquatic lifestages helps reduce the need for pesticides that can harm beneficial insect populations.
The UF/IFAS Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory Research and Education Center has a great website – https://fmel.ifas.ufl.edu/ – of mosquito-related information, including the various species of mosquitoes in Florida and which repellents work the best. For additional information on controlling mosquitoes and other pests, please contact your local Extension Office.
by Mark Tancig | May 4, 2018
Irises by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889.
Have you noticed all of the blooming irises? Their striking shapes and colors grab my attention each time. Irises are named for the Greek word for rainbow and are often called flags. Irises, both true Iris and those with iris in the common name, are not only easy on the eyes, but also easy to grow in the Florida garden. North Florida gardeners have many varieties of iris to choose from, including those that prefer wet sites, drought-tolerant species, intricate hybrids, and native species.
All irises are in the plant family Iridaceae and have six flower petals; a lower set, called the sepals, or falls, and an upper set, known as standards, that are often upright. The base of the sepals, known as the signal, can have a variety of colors and patterns. Irises are clump forming plants with long, strap-shaped leaves. They need occasional dividing and propagate easy by rhizomes. Few pests bother them.
Here are a few common iris plants that grow well in our area.
African Iris blooming on January 2nd, 2018 in the Leon County Extension Office Demonstration Garden. Credit: Mark Tancig, UF/IFAS Extension Leon County.
African Iris (Dietes vegeta)
This non-native plant is not actually a true Iris but is a tough and versatile plant. Its sepals are bright white with a yellow signal. The standards are purple. This plant can be grown in full sun or part shade, from standing water to droughty conditions. It works nicely as a border or foundation planting. Flowers only last a few days but are produced throughout the year. We had one blooming in our Demonstration Garden through a cold snap this past January. Cold weather can cause leaves to turn brown or gray, requiring some maintenance to improve appearance.
Bearded Iris. Credit: Mark Tancig, UF/IFAS Extension Leon County.
Bearded Iris (Iris x germanica)
A non-native, true Iris, bearded irises are the fancy hybrids that can come in many different colors. The “bearded” refers to the many hairs along the signal. Bearded irises prefer sunny locations and bloom in spring.
Iris versicolor. Credit: Mark Tancig, UF/IFAS Extension Leon County.
Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor and Iris virginica)
Two species of Iris go by the same common name, blue flag iris. These two are often misidentified in the nursery trade as well. Both have purple flowers that bloom in the spring, are native, and occur naturally in wetland areas. Gardener can have easy success with these in irrigated and/or rain gardens with some light shade. To tell the two apart requires a careful look at the lower sepals, or falls. Iris versicolor’s sepal has a greenish-yellow signal (base), surrounded by a white background with dark purple veins. The sepal of I. virginica has a bright yellow signal with little prominent veining. They also both have a 3-angled fruit.
A Louisiana iris hybrid. Credit: Mark Tancig, UF/IFAS Extension Leon County.
Louisiana Iris (Iris spp.)
The name Louisiana iris refers to five true Iris species – I. brevicaulis, I. fulva, I. giganticaerulea, I. hexagona, and I. nelsonii – that are native in and around Louisiana. They easily hybridize with each other and these hybrids have become popular garden cultivars. Louisiana iris prefer moist soils and full sun.
Walking Iris (Neomarica gracilis). Credit: Mark Tancig, UF/IFAS Extension Leon County.
Walking Iris (Neomarica spp.)
Another unofficial iris, most plants in the Neomarica genus share the same “walking” attribute. Small plantlets can develop at the top of the flower stalk and then fall over to start a new clump of plants. These do best in part shade to shade and have a long flowering period. They are somewhat cold tender so may die back but will return in the spring.
Yellow Flag Iris (Iris pseudoacorus)
The invasive, exotic yellow iris. Credit: Ann Murray, UF/IFAS.
This non-native Iris is one that you want to keep out of the garden. Yellow flag iris is known to invade natural wetlands and has been designated invasive by the UF/IFAS Assessment of Non-Native Plants. It’s easily distinguished from the other irises listed above by its bright yellow flowers. If you have this iris, remove fruit and carefully dig out the rhizomes, place in a trash bag, and dispose of it in your solid waste bin.
For questions regarding iris identification or care, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Office.
by Mark Tancig | Mar 26, 2018
How many times have you pulled up to an intersection and couldn’t see oncoming traffic because a shrub was in the way? It’s frustrating, and unsafe. To help each other out, we should all pay attention to landscape plants that may be blocking the view of oncoming traffic and/or pedestrians, including your own driveway. Keeping a clear sight distance doesn’t mean you need a moonscape, but proper planning and maintenance of the landscape can look good and keep a clear sight distance.
“Site distance” is what traffic engineers call being able to see driving lanes and sidewalks, in both directions. I knew engineers had such a term and assumed they would have a precise way to measure it. Of course, since they’re engineers, they did. A local traffic engineer with the Leon County Public Works Department sent me the sketch. The figure should help, but, basically, you need to think of it as a sight triangles. The three points in each triangle are 1) the driver’s location at an intersection stop (where triangles meet), 2) the centerline of each lane, and 3) a point 300 – 500 down each lane. To determine if the view is clear, stand where a driver would stop, and approximate the height of the driver’s eye.
Please be safe as you rush to measure!
I can’t see if anyone’s coming! Credit: Mark Tancig/UF IFAS.
If you have vegetation in the way, assess the situation. First thing to determine is what plant(s) you have. If you don’t know, send a photo to your local Extension Office. Next, determine if the identified plant(s) can be pruned to get out of view and/or below the height of the driver’s eye. Transplanting to another location is a possibility, if it’s a plant that transplants well and isn’t too large. Otherwise, removing and replacing is the best option for the safety of the community.
When needing a low-growing replacement, consider the following Florida-Friendly plants:
African Iris (Dietes vegata) – Part Sun/Shade
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia spp.) – Sun
Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium angustifolium) – Part Sun/Shade
Butterweed (Packera glabella) – Shade
Coontie (Zamia florida) – Sun – Shade
Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus orientalis) – Part Sun/Shade
There are many, many more plants to choose from, including dwarf varieties of common ornamental plants. Your local Extension Office can help provide resources to help you make a good choice. Online resources, such as the Florida-Friendly Landscaping Pattern Books and the Guide to Plant Selection and Landscape Design, are also available.
by Mark Tancig | Feb 5, 2018
An important skill for the Florida gardener is to be able to identify and control invasive, exotic plant species. These plants invade and disrupt Florida’s unique natural ecosystems, often spreading from surrounding urban and suburban landscapes. Being proactive in reducing their spread helps protect the integrity of Florida’s natural areas. Cooler days, fewer bugs, dormant vegetation (including poison ivy!), and striking plant characteristics make this time of year perfect for identifying and controlling invasive, exotic plants in urban/suburban woodlands. For additional motivation, February 26 through March 2 has been proclaimed National Invasive Species Awareness Week.
National Invasive Species Awareness Week is February 26 to March 2 this year.
In north Florida, two easily recognizable invasive, exotic plants are coral Ardisia (Ardisia crenata) and heavenly bamboo (Nandina domestica). Both of these plants were introduced decades ago as ornamental plants due to their showy foliage and fruit and ease of cultivation. I picture an adventuring botanist or gardener returning from some exotic locale and sharing what a beautiful and easy growing plant they had found. These characteristics make them easy to notice.
Coral Ardisia (left) and heavenly bamboo (right) are easy to recognize this time of year. Credit: UF/IFAS; Gil Nelson.
In small areas, manual control methods can be used to successfully rid an area of these common pest plants. Simply pick off the berries and place them in a small container – a 5-gallon bucket works great. Pull up the mature plant being sure to remove the roots. The seeds should be double-bagged and placed in the garbage for disposal in a landfill. The plants can be tossed to the side and allowed to dry out and breakdown. For larger plants, a shovel or root jack can be used to help ensure that the roots are removed from the soil. Follow up is often necessary for total control.
Chemical control methods are more efficient and practical for large areas. County Extension offices can help you select the right herbicide control program for your individual site and particular invasive, exotic species present.
During February and leading up to National Invasive Species Awareness Week, look for opportunities in your community to help rid natural areas of these pesky plants. For more information on invasive, exotic species, including photos, videos, and control recommendations, visit the UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants website – plants.ifas.ufl.edu.
You can help rid local natural areas of invasive, exotic plants. Credit: Mark Tancig
Guest Post by Leon County Family & Consumer Sciences Agent Heidi Copeland (pictured)
