Back on the Trail

I haven’t spent much time on the trail lately because George Rogers and I have been working on an on-line plant course.   But more about that later.  First, a few images that caught my eye.  Down at the dock the white mangroves are in flower.

 

Also there was the Saltmarsh Morning-Glory, a vine whose leaves remind me of a bird’s foot.

 

Orchids and Arums were coexisting in some muddy water.

 

 

And one of the tallest Carolina Redroots that I have seen is in flower.

 

 

Here’s a closer view of the head because I love the texture of the flowers.  They look like they are coated with cotton.

 

 

Now, about the course:

Native Plants of South Florida

An Introductory On-Line Course by George Rogers and John Bradford

Open Enrollment! Any tree hugger can join in!

Free! (except for book purchase)

Register now.  Begins Sept 1 2014

• 16 habitat-based lessons. View the course at  http://nativeplantclass.weebly.com
• You’ll need our self-published book: Guide to the Native Plants of Florida’s Treasure Coast.  To see the book, preview the class, open Lesson 1, and click a link to the book vendor. We make no money from the book—any revenue supports our web site.
• Grab a field trip For each habitat type (most types span multiple lessons) you take a field trip on your own with camera in hand. We list suggested sites in our general area.
• The class evolved in Palm Beach and Martin Students from anywhere are welcome.
• There’s a quiz each lesson, and three Non-credit students use these as review exercises.
• The mission is learning to recognize wild plants. There is no attention to gardening or landscaping (but see the book offered below).

To register or for more information:  John Bradford (cyclura@bellsouth.net) or George Rogers (rogersg515@gmail.com). After Aug. 18: George Rogers 561-207-5052

This on-line class is an open-enrollment public-access derivative of George Rogers’s “Plants of Florida Ecosystems” (ORH2511) taught on-line and in the field at Palm Beach State College in Palm Beach Gardens.  It is possible to take our on-line class for college credit, and it is possible to register for a credit-only field trip version of the class Fall Term 2015, perhaps after taking the free on-line class non-credit now.

A Trail To The River Images in an eBook

The digital age has opened up a multitude of ways to present your images to the public.  And many of the ways are free.  The blog you are reading does not cost me a cent and enables me to share the images I see along The Trail.

Many image-storing sites are free or have a very low cost.  For $30 a year I can store thousands of plant and fungi images on a site called Blue Melon.  The images can easily be downloaded and used by anyone.  They are stored in folders that are labeled with the scientific name of the plant of the plant or fungi family.  If you want to take a look, the address is: http://www.bluemelon.com/poaceae/

If you are trying to identify a plant found in one of the conservation areas of Martin, Palm Beach, or St. Lucie Counties take a look at: http://tcplants.org   This is actually 7 free sites linked together.  The main site has a tutorial designed to guide you through the identification process.

My first exposure to Word Press was setting up a free site that enabled my friend and mentor George Rogers to share some of his fascinating botanical information and for me to post a few plant pictures.  For anyone not aware of this blog, it is a great read.  Here is the link:  http://treasurecoastnatives.wordpress.com

George and I have a book entitled “Guide to the Native Plants of Florida’s Treasure Coast”.  It is a self-published book from blurb.  And is available with either a soft or hard cover.  But a year or so ago they started offering the book as an eBook, in addition to the printed version.  I use an iPad and find eBooks to be incredibly useful – quickly download and generally inexpensive.  Here is a link to the Guide to the Native Plants of Florida’s Treasure Coast eBook:  http://store.blurb.com/ebooks/436414-guide-to-the-native-plants-of-florida-s-treasure-coast

Looking through the images I’ve taken for the A Trail To The River Blog, I decided to put a number of the images into an eBook and offer it as a free download.   Here is the link:  http://store.blurb.com/ebooks/442716-a-trail-to-the-river

  

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