Natives For Your Neighborhood
Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

General Landscape Uses: Water gardens and along pond and lake edges.

Ecological Restoration Notes: A somewhat rare understory element of swamps and marshes.

Availability: Widely available in central Florida. Commonly available at native plant nurseries in northeast and South Florida. Available in in Key West at Key West Botanical Garden.

Description: Large herb with large leaves and bright yellow flowers.

Dimensions: Typically 4-6 feet in height. Individual stems are taller than broad, but clusters of plants may form a mass.

Growth Rate: Fast.

Range: Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland. Not documented on barrier islands in southeastern Florida, but possibly historically present; it grows well at Pan’s Garden in Palm Beach.

 Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.

 Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.

Habitats: Swamps and marshes.

Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to poorly drained organic soils.

Nutritional Requirements: High; requires rich organic soils for optimal growth.

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: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.

Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.

Flower Color: Yellow.

Flower Characteristics: Showy.

Flowering Season: Spring-summer.

Fruit: Brown capsule.

Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host and nectar source for Brazilian skipper (Calpodes ethlius) butterflies. Attracts bee, bat and hummingbird pollinators. Provides food for birds.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed or division.

Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.