Nature Park 1555 Aqui Esta Dr, Punta Gorda
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PRAS Native Plant List
Plants for Birds in the Nature Park Garden Bed
Native Plants for Birds Garden Bed
Made possible by a grant from FPL’s non-profit NextEra Energy Foundation and Audubon Florida, awarded to the local Charlotte County chapter, Peace River Audubon Society who collaborated with PGI Green Thumbs Inc., a nonprofit volunteer organization in Punta Gorda, Florida.
Alphabetical list of
12 Native Plants for Birds
Found at the Nature Park
in the new garden bed
American Beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) also called French Mulberry. This deciduous woody shrub is found mostly in the understory of pine flatlands or oak hammocks throughout Florida. Clusters of lavender blossoms appear late spring until summer, attracting bees and other pollinators. Starting late summer until mid-winter, arching branches are covered with groups of small, shiny purple fruits. It is a larval host for Spring Azure Butterflies and Snowberry Clearwing Moths in photo below.
​ Benefits to Birds
It is a great. perching bush and its fruits attract Northern Mockingbirds, American Robins, Northern Cardinals, Brown Thrashers, Eastern Towhees, Bobwhite Quail, Eastern Bluebirds, Gray Catbirds and even some warblers. Above is a female Black-throated Blue Warbler
Darrow's Blueberry (Vaccinium darrowii) is a small evergreen shrub with profuse blooms that appear in spring, attracting a variety of pollinators, particularly native bees. The sweet, juicy berries that follow in the summer are attractive to birds and other wildlife, as well as humans. Plants occur naturally in pine and scrubby flatwoods and sandhills throughout much of Florida.The many white to whitish-pink flowers are small (less than ½ inch), urn-shaped, born in dangling clusters, cupped in conspicuous sepals that vary from green to dark pink. Alternate leaves are simple lanceolate to ovate with entire margins. A glaucous coating gives the leaves a bluish-green or silvery hue. Shiny blueberry (V. myrsinites) is similar.
Benefits to Birds
The species attracted to the round, dark blue berry shaped fruits are Cedar Waxwing, Eastern Bluebird, Scarlet Tanager, Gray Catbird, FL Scrub Jay, Eastern Kingbird, Gray Kingbird, White-eyed Vireo, Yellow-throated Vireo, and Palm Warbler.
Flatwoods Plum also known as hog or black sloe plum (Prunus umbellata) is a small deciduous tree with a short trunk and flat-topped crown that can grow to 20’ but it has few root suckers and is not salt tolerant. This indigenous coastal plain native plant produces a white, five-petaled flower in clusters of umbrella-shapes attactive to bees and butterflies in spring. It has an edible tart to sweet plum in summer/fall. It is a tough, adaptable, multi-trunked small tree, great for small spaces and as understory to a large tree.
Benefits to Birds
Gamebirds like Quail and Wild Turkey and larger songbirds like Northern Mockingbirds, Gray Catbirds, Common Grackles, Boat-tailed Grackles, Fish Crows, Blue Jays, Northern Flickers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and Pileated Woodpeckers and other wildlife incuding deer, bears, squirrels, foxes and raccoons are attracted to the fruit.
Gopher Apple (Licania michauxii) is a Florida native evergreen groundcover that grows up to 12 inches tall but as a mature plant it will spread over several square yards and form a thick groundcover. It spreads by underground stems that send up slender aerial shoots on dunes and trailside scrub habitats throughout the state and performs best in dry, deep sandy soil in full sun. It is salt, drought, and fire tolerant. Its tolerance of harsh conditions like salt spray makes it an almost indestructible groundcover. Leaves are stiff, glossy lime-green and its small white flowers appear in summer. Bees, flies & wasps use the flowers for nectar. The fruit is ½ to 1 inch long & starts out white, then maturing to a pink, purplish, or red color, containing a single seed. It should be noted that gopher apple’s botanical name has recently been changed from Licania michauxii to Geobalanus oblongifolius, but the new name has yet to be widely accepted and used by Florida gardeners and naturalists.
Benefits to Birds
Ground-nesting birds like Northern Bobwhite Quail, Eastern Meadow-lark, Brown Thrasher find cover from Red-shouldered Hawks, American Kestrels and Great Horned Owls. Wild Turkeys, Loggerhead Shrikes, FL Scrub Jays and Eastern Towhee are found in habitats with this plant.The ripe fruits are a favorite of gopher tortoises, raccoons, opossums and foxes.
(Seaside) Mist Flower or Cape Sable Whiteweed (Ageratum littorale) is on the Florida Endangered Plant List because it is in danger of extinction due to
seaside land development, and a more recent contributing factor, sea level rise. It is a slightly succulent herbaceous perennial with horizontal underground stems that form colonies overtime; generally, short-lived and 10-20 inches tall, but self-seeds readily in shoreline habitats or open spaces of hammocks. It has delicate light blue 1/4 inch flower heads with tiny, tine petals in clusters borne on long leafless and hairless stalks. The opposite leaves are serrated, ovate and hairless on petioles and fruits are tiny, brown and powdery. It contains coumarin (a chemical also used in commercial mosquito repellents) which emits a scent that mosquitoes find unappealing. It is poisonous to humans if ingested (all parts of the plant including the flowers, leaves, and stems contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids, which are toxic to humans and animals).
Benefits to Birds
Bees, butterflies and parasitic wasps may be attracted to the long lasting flowers spring throughout summer. These insects, in turn, can be a food source for insect-eating birds like Bluebirds, Orioles, Warblers, and Red-wing Blackbirds. It can serve as a groundcover and potentially offer shelter for birds, particularly in bare coastal areas where it is native. It provides seeds for Juncos and Goldfinches. Its potentially a habitat for ground birds. Its role in attracting pollinators can also indirectly benefit bird populations by increasing insect availability.
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Scarlet Tanager above
Mourning Cloak Moth below
Mulberry Red (Morus rubra) is a medium-sized tree with a short trunk, broad rounded loose crown. Its milky sap is slightly toxic. The leaves get up to 8 inches long, are ovate with or without lobes. The tip is elongate, emerging abruptly from the rounded blade with serrate margins and round base or truncate to somewhat heart shaped. The lower surface is covered with fine hairs and soft to the touch, turning bright yellow in the fall. It has an aggressive, fast-growing root system that grows quickly. The tree can also quickly grow too tall (30 to 50 feet in only 10 to 20 years. Red Mulberry is dioecious but can be monoecious, with male and female flowers on different branches of the same plants. Both male and female flowers are stalked, axillary pendulous catkins and appear in April and May. The blackberry-like fruit, 3/4 to 1 1/4 inches long reaches full development from June to August. Each fruit is composed of many small drupelets which develop from separate female flowers ripening together (8).
Benefits to Birds
The berries are a favored food of most birds and a number of small mammals including opossum, raccoon, fox squirrels, gray squirrels and humans. The fruits also are used in jellies, jams, pies, and drinks. In the past, the fruits were valued for fattening hogs and as poultry food. The tree is the larval host to the Mourning Cloak Moth (Nymphalis antiopa) above. Thrushes, Robins, Waxwings, Vireos, Orioles, Cardinals, Finches, Blue Jays, Crows, Mockingbirds, Baltimore Orioles, Brown Thrashers, Tufted Titmice, Gray Catbirds, Bluebirds, Eastern Kingbirds, Scarlet Tanagers, and Swainson's Thrush are attracted to the fruit.
Myrsine (Myrsine cubana) also known as Colicwood, is a coastal upland dense, vertical growing shrub or multi-trunk small tree. It has luxuriant, shiny, deep green, large leaves that give the plant a rich appearance for screening or enclosing. Small inconspicuous greenish-yellow flowers occur in clusters that are found along the branches. Flowers are succeeded by decorative, shiny, black berries; plants of both sexes must be grown close by to obtain fruiting. Female plants produce tiny hard fruit down from the outer ends of its stems that consists of mostly a pit with a small amount of pulp. The plant is upright shaped and grows up to 14 feet tall with a 7 to 8 foot spread. Myrsine is salt air and poor soil tolerant.
Benefits to Birds
Berries provide a food source in winter when berries are scarce and its dense foliage provides protective cover and shelter. Species that utlize it include Red-bellied Woodpeckers, American Robins, Cedar Waxwings.
Pigeon Plum (Coccoloba diversifolia) also known as tietongue is in the buckwheat or polygonaceae family and typically exhibits a deep taproot system with a central root that grows deep into the soil, providing stability and access to moisture that other roots might miss. It is a densely foliated evergreen, shade tree with a narrow rounded crown so is a good choice for avenues or narrow entryways. It is salt tolerant and does best in moist, well-drained soils and can get 50 feet tall.The branches spread to a width equaling its height and it is often multi-trunked. And it also has a very attractive grayish mottled bark that peels off in broad flakes as it ages. Its dark green alternate simple leaves are entire, oblong to ovate, leathery and about 4 inches long. Whitish-green flowers are small but abundant and are borne in 2 to 3-inch long terminal clusters. While the blooms are about 3/16 inches across; male and female flowers are on separate trees. Furthermore, the fruits of the female trees are borne in clusters and are small, oval to round, about 1/2 inch in diameter, with thin flesh and a single seed. The fruits are edible but sour and are used to make juice, jelly, and wine.
Benefits to Birds
Rock Doves/Pigeons, Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Mourning Doves, Common Ground Doves, American Robins, Northern Mockingbirds are attracted to the fruit and insects it may attract. Other wildlife consume fruits and seeds.
Tropical Sage (Salvia coccinea) thrives in sandy, nutrient-rich soil and enjoys a sunny spot, although it can adapt well to partial shade and in clay soil with good drainage. It typically reaches 1 to 3 feet and can spread 1 to 2.5 feet wide. While this perennial can endure drought conditions, it truly shines and produces stunning blooms when given extra water during dry spells; however, it occurs naturally in hammocks, woodlands and disturbed sites Plus, it often self-seeds, allowing for delightful surprises each season. The red, pink or white trumpet-shaped flowers grow about an inch long and are beautifully arranged in whorls along the upright spike stem in tubular blooms. Leaves are deltoid to oval shaped with toothed margins and long petioles oppositely arranged. A sage smell eminates from crushing the leaves but it is not edible. Flowers bloom continuously from early summer all the way to the first frost, attracting bees, hummingbirds and butterflies. Seeds are born in capsules. Other names include Bloody Sage, Indian Fire, Red or Scarlet Sage. It is in the mint family Lamiaceae.
Benefits to Birds
Ruby-throated hummingbirds feed on the nectar. Additionally, the dense thickets formed by the plant provide shelter and protection for smaller birds. Once the flowers have finished blooming, the seed heads can be left on the plant to attract seed-eating birds like finches and nuthatches.
Simpson Stopper (Myrcianthes fragrans) also known as twinberry is slow growing and tolerant of salt and alkaline growing conditions. It is a shrub or small tree growing 8-20 ft. in full sun to light shade and in average to dry soil of seaside hammocks. It provides springtime flowering in April or May, colorful orange to red berries in late summer to early fall. It has evergreen leaves. The small, spidery flowers are fragrant during the spring and early summer and attract a diversity of pollinators including bees & butterflies. The showy orange-red fruit is edible for people except the seeds but is not often considered palatable but is attractive to birds. It takes well to pruning so size can be kept in check so it can be used as an accent, a clipped shrub, in a mixed buffer or in dense masses of a naturalistic landscapes.
Simpson’s stopper is a threatened plant species and is listed on the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ threatened list. With this status, it is always important to obtain plants from a reputable nursery and never from the wild.
Benefits to Birds
Benefits include providing birds with both food and shelter. The plant's small, fragrant white flowers attract butterflies and bees, while the orange-red berries it produces in late summer and fall are a food source for various bird species. Additionally, the dense branches offer protection while they feed on the small red fruits and provides nesting opportunities, creating a haven for them within the landscape. Bird species attracted to it include Indigo and Painted Buntings, Northern Cardinals, Northern Mockingbirds and Blue Jays.
Wax Myrtle (Myrica cerifera) has lots of different names: Southern Wax Myrtle, Southern Bayberry, Eastern Bayberry, Bayberry, Candleberry, Tallow Shrub. A wispy, 6-12 foot multi-trunked, perennial evergreen shrub can reach 20 ft. in height. This shrub is used for screens, hedges, landscaping, wetland gardens, habitat restoration, and as a source of honey. Because it is dioecious (there are separate male and female plants), if you want berries you must have male plants close enough to the berry-producing female plants for pollination to occur. The tiny pale blue fruits occur on female plants in the winter as drupes on a spike.The light olive-green foliage is aromatic, with an appealing, piquant spicy fragrance when crushed. Leaves are simple alternate, oblanceolate with pinnate venation and are glabrous or waxy. The handsome gray bark is almost white on some plants. Colonists separated the fruits' waxy covering in boiling water to make fragrant-burning candles, a custom still followed in some countries. It can spread by root suckers and seeds and is fast-growing. It tolerates a wide range of soil conditions, including drought, heat, and salt spray. It fixes nitrogen in the soil and can repel mosquitoes and fleas. Leaves were used for a gynecological aid and an emetic; the bark, as a blood purifier and a kidney aid (D. E. Moerman 1986). Leaves can be substituted for bay leaves to flavor soups, stews and make tea.

Benefits to Birds
It is a crucial source for food during the dry season when food is scarce and a source of shelter for wildlife. The wax coating on the berries prevent them from drying out. Yellow-rumped Warblers are particularly fond of the berries, having a unique ability to digest the coating. Northern Bobwhite Quail, Wild Turkey, Tree Sparrows and Carolina Wrens also enjoy the berries. The thick evergreen foliage provides excellent year-round shelter for birds. Clonal colonies create a great nesting habitat for Brown Thrashers offering valuable cover and concealment during harsh winter weather. The nectar of its flowers attract honeybees and butterflies which are vital components of a diverse ecosystem. It is considered a pioneer species on distrubed sites but can be a fire hazard due to waxy features.
It is the larval host for two moths:
Red-banded Hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) and Banded Hairstreak (Satyrium calanus).
Weeping Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria pendula) makes a very distinct, irregular, weeping form with its upright crooked trunks and slender, curved, pendulous branches clothed with small, oval, grey-green foliage. Capable of reaching 30 feet or more in height, Weeping Yaupon Holly is most often seen 15 to 20 feet tall with a spread of only 10 to 20 feet. The inconspicuous male and female flowers appear on separate plants and are followed in fall and winter by a spectacular display of the translucent red berries which attract wildlife. The flowers attract bees for several weeks. A sturdy North American native, Weeping Yaupon Holly is adaptable to a wide range of cultural conditions, from well-drained to wet, acid to alkaline, and sun to part-shade. It is very tolerant of drought and sea salt, and is one of the most durable and adaptable of the small-leaved evergreen Hollies for use in southern landscapes. Light pruning may be necessary to maintain shape, but unlike the species it requires less maintenance because it does not sprout from the roots.
Leaves and berries can be toxic to dogs but less than other hollies because they contain caffeine. Dogs metabolize caffeine differently than humans - their bodies can't break it down as quickly, which means it stays in their system longer, potentially leading to mild to moderate toxicity. Symptoms might include restlessness, rapid breathing, heart palpitations, and muscle tremors. However, because Yaupon contains relatively low caffeine levels, a dog's casual nibble on a leaf or two is unlikely to cause a trip to the vet. Yaupon was used by Native Americans for traditional medicine, sacred ceremonies, friendship rituals and as a stimulating tea-like beverage. It was referred to as the Beloved Tree, Big Medicine, ASI, The Purifier and the Black Drink.
Benefits to Birds
This native plant is a valuable plant offering both food and shelter for local avian populations throughout the year. Its stiff branches support bird nests and its small white flowers attract pollinators. Armadillos, black bears, gray foxes, western foxes, raccoons and skunks eat the fruits. White-tailed deer browse the foliage and twigs. Rabbits have a taste for Yaupon's tender shoots, leaving behind a signature of their snacking: clean-cut edges on lower branches.The evergreen nature of the yaupon is important to wildlife as it provides cover during the winter months. The bright red translucent berries are a vital winter food source for Eastern Bluebirds, Gray Catbirds, Northern Mockingbirds, American Robins, Cedar Waxwings and various gamebirds and waterfowl. The weeping branches offer valuable nesting and roosting habitat for birds providing cover and protection. This plant contributes to the local ecosystem, promoting biodiversity to a garden and creating a thriving wildlife community.
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Tribute to Joyce and the volunteers of PGI Green Thumbs - PRAS is so pleased and grateful!
QR sign is installed for details on the relationships between bird species and each new plant.
Screech Owl claims he will catch mice and is thankful for his house.
PGI Green Thumbs Are Flying High With Success of New Bird Garden
As has been true over and over again for the Green Thumbs organization during its ten plus years of existence, volunteers rallied to add yet another landscaped bed to the Punta Gorda Nature Park. Faced with a short time window to take advantage of a generous grant from the FPL Foundation, and working closely with Bren Curtis, President of the Peace River Audubon Society (PRAS), the organization that administered the grant, volunteers quickly created a project plan and distributed responsibilities to get all facets of the work completed within one month.
Instrumental in organizing the project were board members Joyce Laubach, Ellen Wade, Helen Cavanaugh, Margaret Whitney and Pat Smith. Team creation of a comprehensive project plan enabled the team to systematically plan and execute.
As a Charlotte County Florida Master Gardener, Joyce was the logical lead in identifying the plants, aided by suggestions solicited from all the volunteers and based on the input of PRAS in identifying those native plants best suited to the bird garden theme.
Volunteer Peggy Jensen, a Green Thumbs founding member, has long taken the lead in maintenance for the park area where the new bed was created, and chipped in on every aspect of bed design, planting and keeping the new plants watered and tended.
Margaret Whitney also helped with bed prep and has custom made lovely, leaf shaped bird baths to provide a vital water source for park wildlife.
Volunteer Joan LeBeau, a certified Arborist, has advised on plant care and participated in planting and establishing the new bed.
One of the newest Green Thumb volunteers, Pat Post, is loving her new role as primary caretaker of the bird garden. Pat and husband Chuck will play an ongoing role, consistent with the Green Thumbs’ practice of assigning virtual ownership of specific beds. This fosters volunteer sense of pride that helps inspire dedication to the role.
Throughout the project, enthusiasm was high as the team worked to stretch the grant money to make the new bed as lovely and successful as possible.
Almost all Green Thumb volunteers played some role in making the bird garden a reality. Prominent among them are Jerry and Lori Larson, who are both Green Thumbs and PRAS board members. They helped direct selection of Punta Gorda Nature Park as the project site. Other volunteer roles included ground-breaking, planting, mulching, watering and weeding. The following additional volunteers participated in various aspects of project completion: Pat & Ernie Chance, John Kraybill, Marilyn Larkin, Bob Mueller, Mike Gussin, Pat Halloran.