General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Ecological Restoration Notes: A rare epiphyte in hammocks and swamps.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Epiphytic wildflower.
Dimensions: Stems about 2-3 feet in length; erect or pendent.
Growth Rate: Slow.
Range:
Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland north to Martin and Lee counties; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. Very rare outside of Collier County. In Broward County, known from two locations; in Palm Beach County, known from one location; perhaps extirpated in Martin County.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Swamps and moist forests.
Soils: Epiphytic; grows on the trunks and branches of trees and shrubs.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow on nutrient poor substrate, but needs some nutrient inputs to thrive.
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 substrate and high humidity and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Light shade.
Flower Color: White.
Flower Characteristics: Showy. Fragrant, especially at night.
Flowering Season: All year.
Fruit: Capsule containing numerous minute seeds. Dispersal is by wind.
Horticultural Notes: Primarily grown from seed in a sterilized flask.
Comments: It is listed as endangered by the state of Florida. See also Florida Natural Areas Inventory's
Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Florida page (Chafin 2000).
