General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wildflower and butterfly gardens.
Ecological Restoration Notes: Most common as an understory herb along the coast on the margins of hammocks and tidal swamps.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts and occasionally by native plant nurseries.
Description: Erect, medium to large annual herb with 6-angled stems and opposite leaves.
Dimensions: Typically 1-4 feet in height. Usually taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Florida from the Monroe County Keys north mostly along the coasts to Volusia and Levy counties; disjunct in Calhoun County; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Coastal hammocks and thickets.
Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance: Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements: Light shade to full sun.
Flower Color: Red.
Flower Characteristics: Showy tubular flowers, about 1" long.
Flowering Season: All year.
Fruit: Inconspicuous green to brown capsule.
Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for Cuban crescent (Phyciodes frisia) butterflies. Nectar plant for large orange sulphur (Phoebis agarithe) and other butterflies.
Horticultural Notes: Easily grown from seeds or cuttings.
Comments: Recruits readily from seed in the garden and can become quite weedy in disturbed areas. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
