Dalmation Palm???
December 26, 2011
Janet and I went to nearby Quick Point Nature Preserve a few Sundays ago (December 4, to be exact, though I hate to admit it was that long ago). Here’s what I observed: Some spiders make really spacey webs; some dead palm trees look like Dalmations; some weeds dry up in very strange ways; and all sea-grape (Coccoloba uvifera) leaves—including dead ones—are interesting. . . . As we were leaving, I noticed something bright orange along the path. It was a fruit about two inches long growing on a vine. Then I noticed a whole sea-grape shrub covered in the stems and leaves of this vine, and saw that many other nearby plants and trees were totally engulfed by it. Ohhh, noooo, I thought. Maybe this is the dreaded kudzu. It wasn’t, as I found out by Googling, but it is a plant that is considered quite a pest, especially in orange groves. It’s a bitter melon and is also called balsam apple and wild cucumber (Momordica charantia).
Romancing Reality 