A Walk in a Fern Bluff Park (28 April 2007)

Friendly Oaks Park, Page 2

by Jerry Cates

Wheel Mallow (Modiola caroliniana)

For several weeks now I've noticed a tiny, green-colored, button-like structure in the grass at several of our parks.  My first guess was that it was some kind of nondescript weed I needn't pay much attention to, but--in the back of my mind--I knew that was a mistake.  Always, in the past, the apparently unimportant things tended to become, on further study, significant.

The funny thing was, I never saw a flower on these plants. Only this rather ugly thick button. Oh, nearby, I did see tightly closed buds, with a hint of red in the center, but that was it. Today, I picked two specimens of the plant, both with buds, placed them on ice in a small cooler, and took them back to the lab.  A few hours later the buds opened up, and this is what I saw:

This plant is considered a noxious weed, particularly by cattlemen, as it has been traced to stock poisonings.  Others in the Mallow family cause nitrate poisoning, and that is likely the problem with this plant.  Of course, for human observers who do not eat our flowers, the plant poses no risks.

The name, wheel mallow, comes from the fact that the fruit of this member of the mallow family, shown in the photo at the top of this page, looks something like a wheel of cheese. The plant is native to tropical America, as far south as northern Argentina, and as far north as coastal Massachusetts. Being tolerant of both drought and salt, it thrives in wastelands as well as in well-fertilized soil.

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Archives of previous walks in the park: 12 May 2007,  05 May 2007; 28 April 2007, 21 April 2007, 14 April 2007,  1 April 2007 Easter Egg Hunt; 24 March 2007,  17 March 2007; Nov. 03, 2001; April 04, 2001; March 25, 15, 10-11, 04, 2001; February 24,  18, 10, 2001Bugsinthenews