Nayou Vine (Merremia dissecta)

Flower growing on a vine I spotted while geocaching

It's very morning glory like.

I think I found it maybe, http://www.floridasnature.com/images/Noyau%20Vine%20(Merremia%20dissecta).jpg

an Alamo Vine?

YES. http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/267

Solved. Nayou Vine (Merremia dissecta)

Beautiful but apparently possible invasive. That upsets me too because I collected some seeds from it. :(

The flower

the leaf structure

The seed pod

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) II

3/7/2012

I remembered having heard something about insects landing on poison ivy because their predators know not to attack when they're the irritating vine. I spotted some little flies on some leaves of what I identify as poison ivy. I know I already posted on it, but I found this interesting and snapped a shot.

Virginia Creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

2/27/2012

gound vine to identify

5 leaflets per petiole, 

2 petioles per stalk

leaves:

leanceolate

toothed

branched veins

rounded base

younger leaves had a reddish-green tint

identified as virginia creeper (Parthenocissus quinquefolia)

http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/9202359

Poison Ivy (Toxicodendron radicans)

2/24/2012
More identifying and research from that walk in the park!
Basically as I was walking along it occured to me that I don't know what poison ivy looks like, and that if I plan to be tromping around in wooded areas with possible poison ivy, I should at least be able to recognize it! So I passed this ivy-looking plant and snapped a shot to try and identify when I got back to a computer.

"The compound leaves of poison ivy consist of three pointed leaflets; the middle leaflet has a much longer stalk than the two side ones. The leaflet edges can be smooth or toothed but are rarely lobed. The leaves vary greatly in size, from 8 to 55 mm (0.31" to 2.16") in length. They are reddish when they emerge in the spring, turn green during the summer, and become various shades of yellow, orange or red in the autumn." - http://poisonivy.aesir.com/view/pictures.html
Three pointed leaflets, check
Middle leaflet has a much longer stalk than the two side ones, yep
Leaflet edges: smooth or toothed but rarely lobed, definitely toothed
It doesn't say anything about the winter, which is the season we're in now :/
I mean, it's seeming pretty likely
I'm going to check out some possible look alikes to see if it's just a mistaken one of those

I mean it fits the profile. If you look closely you can even see the red tint in the stalk and petiole.
I'm going to identify it as Poison Ivy, also known as Toxicodendron radicans. The good news is, even if misidentified, I learned a lot about poison ivy, what it can look like, and what NOT to get near.

Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)

Post from 2/21/2012

I found a weird pod-like fruity thing on the ground. When I looked up, all I could see were a tree and what seemed to be a parasitic vine. I supposed the fruit body came from the vine because oak trees, last time I checked, do not produce green fruity things. I took a picture of what looked sort of like one up in the vines but it was too far to see

clinging vines with aerial rootlets along the stem

On second examination, I discovered that rather than being a fruit, the pod is a flower. Look at the cross section. The pink part is the anther/ ovary and the white closest to the end/ flat part is actually a group of petals.

update: 2/23/2012
Through the help of Floridagirl33 (http://www.projectnoah.org/users/florida33girl), although this was not her original suggestion, I finally identified it as Ficus pumila. Also known as the creeping fig.

http://www.floridata.com/ref/f/ficu_pum.cfm
An interesting fact about it's usage here in the state of Florida:
~ The city of Orlando, Florida uses this vine to soften concrete freeway supports which helps to dampen traffic noise as well as provide visual relief. Disney and the other theme parks make use of creeping fig to create "instant" topiary. Wire frameworks are created of geometric shapes, animals, and even famous cartoon characters. The frames are lined with spaghum moss and filled with growing medium. Creeping fig is planted in the frame which rapidly grows to cover the shape in a thin coat of fine-textured juvenile leaves.

 ^^ little green thing mid-picture

^^ the vines

^^cross section

http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/9108020