General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also butterfly gardens.
Ecological Restoration Notes: A relatively common groundcover in mesic flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods and scrub.
Availability:
Available at native plant nurseries in central Florida.
Description: Small to medium woody groundcover. Leaves pale green above, 1 1/2-3 1/2 inches long. Short deciduous, the new leaves emerging in mid to late winter (February-March).
Dimensions: Typically 1-3 feet in height, occasionally taller. Usually taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Slow.
Range:
Georgia south to northeastern Miami-Dade and Collier counties.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Pinelands and scrub.
Soils: Moist to dry, well-drained sandy soils, without humus.
Nutritional Requirements: Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color: Outside creamy white with a reddish-purple base; inside creamy white with a broad band of dark purple across the widest part.
Flower Characteristics: Showy, 2-3" wide; very fragrant with a strong spicy odor.
Flowering Season: Winter-spring, appearing with new leaves.
Fruit: Yellowish-green berry.
Wildlife and Ecology: Provides significant food and moderate amounts of cover for wildlife. Larval host plant for zebra swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) butterflies.
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
