General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Ecological Restoration Notes: A somewhat weedy element of open, coastal uplands.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Medium herbaceous sedge.
Dimensions: About 2-3 feet in height; to 4 feet when in flower. Taller than broad when in flower.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north along the coasts to Volulsia and Levy counties; also reported for Georgia and Alabama but the status there is uncertain; West Indies, southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Coastal thickets.
Soils: Occasionally inundated to moist, well-drained to moderately well-drained limestone or calcareous sandy soils, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate to low; it prefers soils with organic content, but will still grow reasonably well in nutrient poor soils.
Salt Water Tolerance: Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury.
Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color: Maroon-red inflorescence.
Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy inflorescence.
Flowering Season: Spring-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous brown achene. All year.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.
Comments: Somewhat weedy and perhaps best approached with caution.
