Last Saturday I took a day off from my garden and joined a wildflower walk in the Kissimmee Prairie Preserve in Central Florida. The Prairie is the last dry prairie in Florida, encompassing 54,000 acres and is grassland as far as the eye can see. There are three seasons of wildflowers in the prairie and the butterflies are reported to be spectacular. Last Saturday was too windy and overcast to see the butterflies, though I did see amazing wildflowers. The flowers in the photo are Whitetop Sedge and Black Eyed Susans.
We saw several types of Milkworts, this is Yellow Milkwort (Polygala rugelli). Native Americans used this as a snakebite remedy.
This is Purple Milkwort (Polygala cruciata, I think) there are a lot of Milkworts. These are also called Drumheads.
Yet another Milkwort, these are commonly called Swamp Cheetos.
This is a Rhexia virginica, a Meadow Beauty. I think the common name is right.
A Purple Thistle (Cirsium horridulum) This this is a bit sharp, but a wonderful butterfly host and nectar plant. For some reason I have the much less attractive Yellow Thistle in my yard. It is usually asked to leave the garden.
That concludes my wildflower adventure from last Saturday. To see more Six on Saturday posts visit Jon at http://www.thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com.
Happy Gardening!
The Shrub Queen 
Those are some pretty flowers. It is hard to pick a favorite, but I do like the name Swamp Cheetos.
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The Swamp Cheetos are really cute, I think I like the purple ones better.
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Thanks for sharing these lovely photos of your little excursion. Such beauty. I am tickled by the name ‘Swamp Cheetos’. The purple thistle reminds me of my husband’s purposely cultivated weed garden which featured a few native thistle and milkweed plants. He was pretty proud of his beautiful weeds, but soon lost interest in taking care of the garden. Promises of not letting the plants spread to my more manicured flowerbeds were difficult (impossible) to keep. While I was less than enamored, the butterflies sure loved his garden offerings.
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Talk about precious! Nice to see some land set aside for nature, as FL is pretty well developed and wild parks never seem to be very common. Thanks for posting about your visit!
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It is precious – there is a lot of empty land in the middle of Florida, literally nothing out there. Surprising.
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What a lovely view of a Florida wild space and several native plants that I am seeing for the first time. Thank you for sharing!
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Amazing milkwort, something I’ve not heard of before.
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I found they are all over the Eastern US…which was news to me.
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Oh my goodness, what wonderful flowers, most of which are totally new to me. The prairie must be an amazing sight in real life, and butterflies as well!
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It is amazing and just huge.
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What a fabulous area to have near you.
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How fascinating – I didn’t know you had prairies in Florida!
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What beautiful blooms in your prairies … thanks for sharing them. “Prairie” is also use in French. ( same name ) (but not such beautiful flowers)
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I never thought of French prairies! or Florida ones, either. Interesting place to visit, supposed to be one of the best places to view stars.
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It’s always good to hear about these precious areas being set aside for all to enjoy. What an interesting collection of flowers, all new to me. I think I’d want more than milkwort for a snakebite though!
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The flowers are definitely different. I agree about the snake bite!
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‘Swamp Cheetos’, that’s funny. There was a banana slug that lived under the porch at my Pa’s home in Montara who was named Cheeto. Other slugs came and went, but Cheeto seemed to stay there for at least a few weeks.
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I guess that was a porch cheeto?
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He/she was icky, and ate kitty food. When the weather got drizzly foggy, the kitties got in their ‘loaf’ positions on the porch, and if they stayed still long enough, Cheeto would cruise right over them, leaving a slime trail.
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To clarify, the slug ate cat food??
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Yes, he/she ate can food. He/she did not eat kitties as food. Unlike other more damaging slugs, banana slugs eat only dead organic matter, rather than fresh vegetation. Besides, kitties are faster than they are. Banana slugs would do a lot of damage if they ate fresh vegetation or kitties! They are big slugs that eat a lot.
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Well, they sound repulsive
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Have you ever tasted a kitty?
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Love the idea of that extensive grassland.
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It’s lovely to see what grows wild in your region. Also good to hear that such a large area of land is protected. 😃
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