General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wet to moist wildflower and butterfly gardens.
Availability:
Commonly available at native plant nurseries in South Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available in Lake Worth at
Amelia's SmartyPlants (561-540-6296).
Description: Medium herbaceous wildflower.
Dimensions: Typically 2-3 feet in heigth. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Endemic to Florida from Nassau County and the Panhandle south to Miami-Dade, Highlands, and Lee counties. Presumed extirpated in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. In Broward County, last collected in the Parkland area in 1982. Not documented on barrier islands in South Florida, but possibly historically present; it is cultivated 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: Wet pinelands.
Soils: Wet to moist, seasonally inundated 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: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Yellow.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Fall-winter.
Fruit: Inconspicuous achene.
Wildlife and Ecology: Nectar plant for butterflies and birds. Also provides source of insects for birds.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
