Back in June, when the Stigmaphyllon was in bloom in a newly disturbed area, I noticed another plant growing right along with the vine:
It had what I thought was a “grassy” kind of flower:
Later I noticed it along the path where I walk with the dogs in the planted pine forest.
It has soft, velvety leaves and it blooms like a grass. Could it be a grass with those wide leaves?
The answer is yes.
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I just happened to have my camera with me the morning I saw this foam under the leaves of a short weed (verbena family, maybe?).
Looked a little closer and saw something there:
What could it be (click on image for a larger view)?
I put the image up on Flickr and almost immediately a photographer there using the name aw c’mon suggested a possible identification: the Túngara frog, a Leptodactylid. He says:
Several types of frogs lay
their eggs in this manner some froth
masses containing just a few eggs
some with much more. I listed one of
the more common species.
The Encyclopedia Britannica says the tungara frog (Physalaemus pustulosus) is
also called Central American mud-puddle frog terrestrial, toadlike frog common in moist, lowland sites from Mexico to northern South America.
The frog is cryptically coloured, its rough brown skin matching the leaf litter in which it lives. Although a mere 25–35 mm (1–1.4 inches) in length, this small amphibian consumes a wide range of insects; unlike many frogs of its size, it does not specifically feed on ants.
Not a positive ID, but really neat!
UPDATE: I’d like to bring Grisham’s comment, made today (September 3, 2008), up here because it calls into question the frog ID, Here’s what he said:
This is a year late, but the froth globules you see are actually “Cuckoo Spit”, produced by young froghoppers, which are known as Spittle Bugs. Look very closely at the “frog”. Notice the compound eyes, the little arthopod leg on the left? See those things that look like webbed feet? Those are its wingbuds sprouting from its thorax. Now you know why these insects are called froghoppers.
Having been emotionally attached to the idea that this was a frog, I resisted the insect idea (you can see my comments below Grisham’s), but on further looking into the matter, I conclude that he’s probably right. Drat! The frogs seem to lay their eggs in mud puddles. Now, I’ve also seen spittle in mud puddles around here, so I guess if I’m going to find that frog, I’d better look in the right place.
Finding a froghopper, though, isn’t so bad. It’s certainly an interesting looking insect!
Sedges have edges
Rushes are round
I’ve heard this expression for years, but never gave it a lot of thought. Suddenly I found myself trying to use it for plant identification. I found one complete version here
“Sedges have edges, rushes are round, grasses are hollow right up from the ground.”
and a few other variations elsewhere, with all the variations in the grass description. The reason for remembering this poem is this little plant.
After all, grasses and sedges are a significant part of a savanna (see quote in right-hand column), and it’s about time I started identifying a few of them. I thought this one would be easy because of its white top. I also thought, at first, it was a grass. Then I felt it. It has a solid, round stem. So I thought it was a rush. But I was wrong on both counts.
