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Fall Color in the Florida Prairie, by Tim Kozusko

10/8/2012

6 Comments

 

Fall Color in the Florida Prairie, by Tim Kozusko
Kissimmee Prairie wildflowers give autumn leaves a run for the money.

Picture
Kissimmee Prairie in the Fall
The changing seasons in Florida are subtle at first, but once you know what to look for they are easy to notice. As late summer turns to autumn on the Kissimmee Prairie you will not see many leaves change color, for there are few deciduous trees in this part of Florida. There are few trees of any kind; it is a prairie after all! What you will see is the blush of color from the autumn-blooming asters and grasses. 

Fueled by a nutrient flush from early growing season fire, and quenched by summer rains, the Prairie comes alive in color, adding the yellows of goldenrod and goldentops to the blues and purples of the gayfeather and paintbrush.


Picture
Red-banded Hairstreak on Yellowtop
Picture
Catesby's Lily with treefrog
Picture
Bushy Bluestem
Where fire has triggered flowering, wiregrass and lopsided Indiangrass will “tower” over the palmettos and impart a look reminiscent of wheat fields. As autumn progresses you will see the fluffy seeds of the groundsel bush and the broomsedge grasses mature and take to the air on the breeze as the first cold fronts move through.

But there is much more to this display. Many of these plants are annuals that grow through the summer, flower, and die, leaving seeds behind to brush next year’s pastels over the landscape. The plants have captured sunlight and stored it in tissues, pollen, and fruits that either feed migratory songbirds or the insects that the birds eat to replace energy spent flying south.
Picture
Lopsided Indiangrass ©Tim Kozusko
Picture
Eastern Meadowlark in the Gayfeather
Have you visited the Kissimmee Prairie lately? Now is the perfect time to see its beautiful fall colors.
6 Comments
Aydelette Kelsey link
10/8/2012 07:08:37 am

This is great.

Reply
Donna Bollenbach link
10/17/2012 04:15:53 am

Beautiful description and images. I miss the Prairie!

Reply
Robert Smith link
3/8/2013 05:37:44 pm

Wonderful article, It is really an amazing write up.....thank you so much for this great work....

Reply
Phoenix Sky Harbor Parking link
3/8/2013 05:40:32 pm

Nice photography as well as information....

Reply
Dr Underground Seed link
4/7/2013 07:06:37 pm

The change from one season to another is such a nice thing to watch. In some nations this change cannot be noticed due to certain geographic specialties. In certain Asian countries all seasons are not available in their pure form. But it is not the case with American as well as European nations where these changes can be clearly observed.

Reply
Julie link
8/29/2013 07:55:57 am

Great blog post.

Reply



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