I am joining the Six on Saturday crew today featuring seeds. I started planting tomato seeds this week for my fall garden and noticed many plants producing seed in the garden. As usual, the tropical plants behave differently and the seeds start early, perhaps to catch the end of the rainy season and get a better chance at life?
This is Beautyberry (Calliocarpa americana) – a shrub native to the Southeastern US. The berries are more spectacular in Florida, I think and locals make (I am told) tasteless jam from the fruit.
Flowers on a Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebellini). These palms will produce dates. but are dioecious. I am not sure if this is the male or female flower.
Gumbo Limbo (Bursera simarouba) berries, I suppose. These remind me of Crabapples, the birds love them. The Gumbo Limbo is sometimes called the Tourist Tree because of its flaky, red “sunburned” bark.
Firebush (Hamelia patens), this one flowers and fruits simultaneously; birds enjoy the fruit, bees and butterflies the flowers. I can hear the shrub buzzing first thing in the morning.
Seeds forming on Sabal Palm (Palmetto sabal). These seeds eventually turn black and fall to the ground. Native Americans ground the husks into flour.
My neighbor grew these Roselles from seed. This is a tropical vegetable, a relative of Hibiscus and Okra. The foliage is edible; new leaves are reminscent of Arugula and the older leaves can be cooked as greens. The calyx of the flower is what these are usually grown for – they are burgundy colored and are used as a substitute for cranberries in the tropics. These were planted as seedlings in May and are now 4′ tall. Waiting for flowers and ‘cranberries’ – hoping for Roselle relish for Thanksgiving.
That is my six for this Saturday. To see more posts visit http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com
The Shrub Queen 
When I see Beautyberry up here I always think the purple is so vivid; it’s almost like it belongs in a cartoon.
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I know, a garden writer around here calls it lurid..
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I am Laughing Out Loud!! What a great word for it!
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Your seed photographs are unusual and interesting!
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Thank you, Florida is the land of unusual.
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Interesting leaf and flower shapes. And we have those beautyberries up here too! Hope you’re doing well.
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Thank you, did not realize Beautyberry made it to Canada. All is well and quiet here, fingers crossed for lots of quiet.
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Those berries are quite stunning!
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Thank you..
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Your Beautyberries are much earlier than ours. The Roselles are really interesting. I recognized the leaves as hibiscus, but was not expecting your description.
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I ate some of the new foliage, pretty tasty. A edible Hibiscus is a weird thing in my book.
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I love beautyberry, mine just started flowering and there was a Monarch on it today. Sadly, I haven’t seen as many this year as last year. I’m hoping it is just a late year and we’ll see more of them this week.
Is there a nursery that could help you determine the sex of your Phoenix roebellini? I love dates, and date-nut bread especially!
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Wow, I think the Beautyberry flowered in May here. Monarchs come and go here, seeing a lot of Julias this year. The robellini – don’t want another, you would not believe the thorns on it. I wear a hardhat to trim off the old fronds after a course of antibiotics and steroids from getting stabbed.
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Oh, my, that doesn’t sound like a great plant to have. I hate roses for the same reason!
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Me, too and black spot..
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The date palm bloom seems to be female, but only because it is elongated and pendulous. I really do not know if that is normal for the male bloom on that species. For other species of the genera, the male bloom is shorter and stouter. Male trees are less common than female trees.
Beautyberry is still rad!
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Thanks, it is rad…
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wow tomatoes now! strictly a spring gig here, your climate obviously allows you to double up.
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Actually, no we grow tomatoes from September til May. It is too hot here for them to pollinate in the summer, same with corn. There are some weird tropical vegetables for summer but I don’t grow them.
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Ah I see. It’s a topsy turvy world.
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