Easter Rabbits

Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) playing the
role of the Easter Bunny.
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Steve Kline. 

The Easter Bunny is the most enduring secular symbol of Easter. Children eagerly await this character of spring who delivers colored eggs, not to mention candy.  The Easter Bunny started in medieval Germany as the Easter Hare that judged children’s behavior and rewarded those that were good, much like Santa with his naughty and nice list. 

Real rabbits and hares are classified in the family Leporidae and they are found worldwide.  Exotic rabbits and hares have been introduced to Australia and Pacific Islands including New Zealand where they have become invasive pests.  North America is home to about a dozen rabbit and hare species.  Hares are larger than rabbits, have larger hind feet and longer ears.  Hares are born with fur while baby rabbits lack fur, and hares make nests in shallow depressions while rabbits dig burrows to have their young. 

Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus).
Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California.
Photo courtesy of Mr. Jim Guyton. 

North American hosts four species of hares. Three of these hares are called jackrabbits, the White-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus townsendii), the Black-tailed Jackrabbit (Lepus californicus) and the Antelope Jackrabbit (Lepus alleni).  Jackrabbits are found in western North America.  They are light brown, with long ears that dissipate heat in these warm climes.  Their long back legs and large feet allow jackrabbits to jump up to 10 feet and they can run at more than 30 miles per hour.   

Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus).
Denali National Park, Alaska 

The fourth North American hare is the Snowshoe Hare (Lepus americanus). Snowshoe Hares live in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions and extend their range south along mountain ranges. These hares are brown in summer but molt and grow in a white winter coat to blend in with the snow.  Snowshoe Hares share large hind feet with jackrabbits, but their ears are smaller to conserve heat in their cold arctic or alpine homes.  

Eastern Cottontail.
Ecola State Park, Oregon. 

Cottontails are a group of rabbits native to North, Central and South America.  The Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus) is the most widespread of the cottontails ranging from the Great Plains east to the Atlantic and from southern Canada to Florida, Texas, Arizona and south into the tropics.  Eastern Cottontails have also been introduced in the Pacific Northwest of the United States and southern British Colombia.  Eastern Cottontails are about half the size of jackrabbits and have brown fur, prominent ears and a white, fluffy tail that gives them their name.  Like all rabbits and hares, Eastern Cottontails can have multiple litters per year and each litter may have up to a dozen young.     

Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii). 
Pima County, Arizona. 

The Desert Cottontail (Sylvilagus audubonii) is smaller and paler than the Eastern Cottontail. It is found from the high plains of the United States west to the Pacific, south into Mexico but is absent in the Northwest.  

Marsh Rabbit (Sylvilagus palustris).
Palm Beach County, Florida 

Marsh Rabbits (Sylvilagus palustris) are an interesting cottontail found only on the Southeastern Coastal Plain.  They range from Southern Virginia to Alabama and the whole peninsula of Florida.  They are smaller and darker than Eastern Cottontails.  Marsh Rabbits are always live near water, and they are strong swimmers.  While most rabbits hop, Marsh Rabbits tend to walk, making it easier for them to move through the thick vegetation of their marsh home.  

The Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) is a predator of
rabbits and hares throughout its range. 
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Coyotes (Canis latrans) are important
predators of rabbits and hares across North America. 
Pima County, Arizona. 

The Bobcat (Lynx rufus) is yet another
predator of the Leporidae.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

This Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
has caught a young Eastern Cottontail. 
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Rabbits and hares have a high reproductive rate. This is necessary because they have many predators. These include foxes, wolves, coyotes, wild cats, snakes, hawks, owls and even alligators.  When environmental conditions are right rabbit and hare populations can increase dramatically.  Arctic hares have a boom-and-bust population cycle. When food is abundant the hares have many young and this means their predator's populations will increase in sync.  After a few years the populations of both predator and prey collapse. 

Marsh Rabbit.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Rabbits and hares have been associated with spring for millennia.  As with many religious holidays, our Easter celebration incorporates more ancient pagan symbols into the season.  Thus, the Easter Bunny. But beyond the idealized Bunny that is overwhelming in the retail environment, there are real rabbits and hares out there carrying on as they always have. 

Thanks to Steve Kline and Jim Guyton for kindly allowing me to use their rabbit pictures in this blog. 

A Toxic Trio

 

Wild Poinsettia (Euphorbia cyathophora).
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Florida, with its subtropical climate, has an array of fascinating plants.  It also has more than its share of invasive species from all over the tropical world.  Orchard View Park in Delray Beach has a mix of native and introduced plants. Three of these plants stand out because they are visually striking but also poisonous.

Air Potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) leaves.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

 

A single heart-shaped leaf of Air Potato.
Palm Beach County, Florida.  

An Air Potato bulbil.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Air Potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) is a vine native to Africa, Asia and Australia.  It is classified in the true Yam family, the Dioscoreaceae.  These yams should not be confused with Sweet Potato (Ipomoea batatas) which is in the Morning Glory family, the Convolvulaceae.  Air Potato was introduced to Florida in an Orlando area botanical garden in 1905, but it escaped and is now found throughout the peninsula. This vine rambles over bushes and grows high into the trees.  It has shiny, heart-shaped leaves and a stem that produces large, potato-like structures called bulbils.  Air Potato plants make several physiologically active compounds including the steroid diosgenin.  Diosgenin is the starting material for several medically important steroids including contraceptives.  While the Florida Air Potato is considered toxic, other varieties around the world are used for food, but the bulbils must be boiled before eating to make them safe.

'

Crab's Eye (Abrus precatorius) leaves
and dried fruits containing seeds.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Another toxic invasive plant in the park is Crab’s Eye (Abrus precatorius).  This member of the Fabaceae, the Pea family, has compound leaves and the peapod-like fruits contain the seeds that give the plant its name.  The seeds are brilliant red with large black spots like the eyes of some fever dream crab.  The bright seeds are used in some tropical countries to make beads, giving rise to another common name, Rosary Pea.  But these seeds contain abrin, a toxic protein.  Abrin is so poisonous that consuming a single seed can be lethal.  The seeds of this plant are sometimes used as means of suicide in India where the plant is native.  Crab’s Eye has been introduced to tropical and subtropical locations worldwide.   

Wild Poinsettia flowers and leavers.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

The third toxic plant in the park is Wild Poinsettia (Euphorbia cyathophora).  The Wild Poinsettia flowers are small, yellow and green.  These flowers are set off by the bright red and green bracts below the flowers. Wild Poinsettia is native to tropical and subtropical America and is naturally found in Florida.  It is a close relative of the ubiquitous Poinsettia of Christmas fame (Euphorbia pulcherrima).   The stems and leaves of Wild Poinsettia contain a white, milky latex that can cause contact dermatitis, eye irritation and in rare cases of anaphylaxis.   

Fruits and seeds of Crab's Eye.
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Since plants are rooted in the ground and cannot flee from danger, they must rely on other means to protect themselves from being eaten by animals.  One way they do this is to produce toxic compounds to protect themselves from hungry herbivores. The latex of Wild Poinsettia and the steroids of Air Potato are good examples of this type of chemical protection.  Even the deadly toxin abrin made by Crab’s Eye will cause gastrointestinal distress in low doses and discourage grazing animals.  I enjoy these plants and appreciate their protective adaptations but from a distance.  I definitely don’t eat them.