Magnolia Seeds

This week, a bright red seed caught my eye. It was suspended from a cone-like structure in a tree and dangled and swayed in the breeze on a silken thread like a spiderling. The tree is a southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora). It is native to our area—a large evergreen with leathery leaves that are green on top and fuzzy-brown underneath.

This is what we learned:

• The cones contain the fruit of the tree and develop in the center of a large, creamy white and saucer-shaped flower that is about 8” in diameter. 
• The seeds dangle to attract the attention of birds who eat them. The red fleshy part of the fruit provides food for the birds. 
• The bird digests the fruit and leaves behind the seed—ready to grow into a new tree. 

 If you live in a part of the country where these trees thrive, you can gather the seeds, scrape off the red fleshy part, and plant them to grow magnolia trees in your yard or neighborhood!

Green Unseen

    At the farmers market today we bought new plants for the yard. We like to buy and grow plants that are native to our area because they feed and shelter our local wildlife, they are adapted to our climate, and they grow well without extra water or fertilizer.
    We bought two plants we thought were natives with long dark green spear shaped leaves. We were told their common name is cast iron plant. Now, isn’t that’s curious? How did they get that name? Here’s what we learned:

• It got the name cast iron plant because its so hardy it seems to last forever—just like a cast iron frying pan.

• It is NOT native to our area as we thought. It is native to China! Wouldn’t you love to fly to China and see these plants in their native habitat?

• The scientific name is Aspidistra elatior and they belong to the Liliaceae Family (lily Family).

• It lives well in the shade, in drought, and even indoors!

    We had a big surprise when we discovered two stowaways hidden in the leaves. We didn’t see them at first because they were camouflaged by the green leaves. Can you guess what we found?
    Two cute little green treefrogs. Here’s some things we learned abut our discovery:

• Most treefrogs breed in shallow ponds, but the green tree frog breeds in deeper water. ----->
• You can tell this is a treefrog by the prominent white stripe along his body.
• The little guy below may be a young green treefrog or a squirrel treefrog. It's hard to tell because he doesn't have the prominent white stripe. 
• You can hear treefrogs calling on warm, wet evenings.

For more information about Cast-Iron Plants, check out: http://www.floridata.com/ref/A/aspi_ela.cfm

For more information about green treefrogs, check out:
http://www.wec.ufl.edu/extension/wildlife_info/frogstoads/hyla_cinerea.php

A Snake That is Not A Snake

Tina is one of our cats at our office in Pelican Perch. She is endlessly curious and always interested in what is going on in the yard. From time to time she will bring us a gift.…an animal from outside.

She seems to say, “Look what I found!” as her discoveries are laid gently at our feet like a kitten being returned to the litter.

One day Tina brought us a snake. Or, what looked like a snake. On closer inspection and after doing some research, here’s what we learned:

• Our snake is actually a glass lizard. This one was about two feet long. If you see a glass lizard in a sticky situation you will quickly understand where they got their name.

• Glass lizards have a defense mechanism when faced with danger. The lizard will release its tail and it will break off like …glasss! The bodiless tail will wiggle around and draw the attention of the predator while the tailless lizard stays motionless until the danger passes.

Tina’s glass lizard posed for a photo and then was safely returned to the wild where he will begin to grow a new tail.

Look at the picture and you’ll be able to tell this is a lizard and not a snake. How? Snakes do not have ear openings or movable eyelids. The eyelid is difficult to see here, but the ear opening is clearly visible, identifying him as a lizard.

Let the Backyard Adventures Begin!

    Welcome to my nature blog where you will find cool and interesting facts about plants, animals, habitats and having fun! 

    My name is Pelican Pete and I was hatched from the imagination of my creators, Hugh and Frances Keiser. They are a lot like me...but can’t fly.  We all live on a barrier island in St. Augustine, FL, just along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. As you can tell by the white feathers on my belly, I’m only a year old, but boy have I already had my share of adventures!

    Hugh and Frances are ever-so-curious people, in love with nature and the outdoors as much as I am.  Miss Frances likes to research using books and the Internet, and she loves talking to scientists and experts that know all about the plants and animals we discover. We will be sharing all that information and give you links to continue your own research. We want to know all about your discoveries too! It will be so much fun to learn new things together – it’s a strange and exciting world we share!!!!!

There is so much to learn, discover and see!
So come on along and explore with me!

Your pal,

Pete