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Plenty of hummingbirds visiting this winter and so far this spring.   That is itself notable, because, say, back in the 1930s (see dig deeper below) the party line was that hummingbirds migrated seasonally through South Florida, especially in the Spring, but there were not many permanent residents.   With time that changed so that there now seems to be an all-winter (and probably year-round) presence.   The obvious leading thought is that the increased use of exotic garden flowers allowed this, and climate change could be a factor too.

 That prompts the question of what native flowers supported South Florida hummingbirds before modern horticulture.  Textbooks will tell you hummingbirds go for tubular reddish, orange, or sometimes yellow flowers, although additional colors are on the menu sometimes.   Like most floral visitors, they do not read the textbooks, they can visit “wrong” blossoms.  Hummingbirds are lured visually, not by fragrances.

Problem is, there aren’t that many reddish-orangish-yellowish tubular flowers native to South Florida.    Those sustaining the h-birds must be a small group.    No question is new in nature.  Back in 1975 botanist Dan Austin, then at Florida Atlantic University, wondered about all that and gathered data.  Today’s blog is a review of his research over 40 years ago, so relevant today.

I’m going to re-list the species he listed, with some comments:

1. Twisted Airplant (Tillandsia flexuosa).  One of three bromeliads in the list.  This speciesis not common, a threatened species, although it and any of today’s unusual species might have been more common in pre-European times.

2. Scarlet-Creeper (Ipomoea hederifolia).  One of the morning glories in the list.   Not that abundant.

3. Northern Needleleaf (Tillandsia balbisiana).  Another threatened bromeliad.

4. Leafless Beaked Ladiestresses (Sacoila lanceolata).  A threatened red-flowered ground orchid.  Not common.

5. Coral-Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).   Rare in South Florida.

6. Coral-Bean (Erythrina herbacea).  A small tree in varied habitats.

7. Cardinal Airplant (Tillandsia fasciculata). Another bromeliad.  Common and showy.  This may be the most important species.

8. Red Geiger Tree (Cordia sebestana).  Nativity debatable, and if so, only in the Lower Keys.

9. Man-in-the-Ground (Ipomoea microdactyla). A rare, endangered red morning glory in Miami-Dade County.

10. Firebush (Hamelia pattens).   Shrub or small tree with orange flowers.  Very common in cultivation, although not all cultivated material is strictly native.   Perhaps not very abundant in S. Florida before cultivation.

11. Waxmallow (Malvaviscus arboreus).  Red-flowered shrub, not native as Dr. Austin noted.

12. Scarlet Calamint (Calamintha coccinea).  A red-flowering mint. Almost absent from S. Florida.

Slim pickings for the hummers! Take away the species not native to S. Florida or with only a tiny native toehold (8, 11, 12), and the list gets short.

We have no time machine to look back, but the natives that are rare-to-not-that-abundant in S. Florida (1, 4, 5, 9), and you have as possible hummingbird staples only Scarlet-Creeper, Coral-Bean, Firebush, and two bromeliads:   Northern Needleleaf and Cardinal Airplant.  Wow!  We sure are lucky to have hummingbirds.

Should we be pleased that cultivated species have broadened the menu?    I don’t know.  You can look at it in different ways.   The cultivated species probably allow more hummingbirds to eat, at least in coastal urban-suburban areas, but they also probably interfere with natural migration and nesting patterns.    Thank goodness for natural areas!

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