Native Plant Patch: Oakleaf Fleabane

I have always been a defender of weeds and wild things … the overlooked and unappreciated … the underdogs in the natural world.

So there’s no better place to start with my articles about wild patches of nature. I’m going to post photos of native plant patches that have been left to their own devices and point out all the wildlife that use them. People are always amazed at the amount of life and beauty in a seemingly lifeless, and useless, wild patch of plants that I can point out to them.

Check out all the beauties that call a small patch of oakleaf fleabane calls home!

Oakleaf fleabane is a wonderful, native, wildflower that emerges in late winter and early spring with small white flowers with yellow centers.

I always advocate leaving them be so the pollinators have nectar and pollen early in the year.

Since the flowers are small the pollinators that use the flowers are small. Most of these insects are very small and tend to go unnoticed but they are important residents of our Florida green spaces.

Erigeron quercifolius is the botanical name for this wildflower.

Just a few of these wildflowers, left to go wild, in your green space will create a mini-meadow and provide for pollinators that you may not realize you even had in, and around, your yard. The patch that I have is in my front lawn and it provides me with flowers and pollinators to watch and enjoy.

Oakleaf fleabane grows without any human interaction at all. It is commonly found in lawns and roadsides.

It grows in full sun and uses natural rainfall as its only source of water.

They provide so much for so many creatures in a very small space. Insects abound where this native, Florida, wildflower grows. We are losing pollinators at a fantastic rate because of habitat destruction and poisons. Every little bit of pollinator habitat helps. Create a mini-meadow and enjoy all the tiny creatures that show up!

All the creatures that use these flowers need these flowers to survive … to get through their lives … to complete their life cycles. In addition to the pollinators there are predators that live amongst the petals and stems. The cycle of life is created, but on a very small scale of tiny creatures.