Two different plants are represented in the five pictures attached to this thread, the first three pictures being the first plant and the remaining two pictures being the second plant. Both plants were found in central Florida. The leaves of the first plant are, I believe, hastate in shape.
The first one looks like Coral Bean, Erythrina herbacea, -- Leguminosae. I have found them here, but not very often. They die back to the ground each winter, so they don't get very tall. They are supposed to grow larger further south where it stays warmer in winter.
The second one might be a Sesbania sp. --Leguminosae The one in this area is called Rattle Bush. When the pods dry out you can shake it and it rattles.
Much thanks, tipularia! Erythrina herbacea L. and Sesbania vesicaria (Jacq.) Ell. definitely seem to be the correct plants. According to The Encyclopedia of Edible Plants of North America by Francois Couplan, the cooked young shoots, cooked leaves, flower buds, and flowers of the Erythrina genus are eaten in Central America, and the toxic scarlet seeds are often made into necklaces.
