General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wildflower gardens in wet to moist areas.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Medium herbaceous wildflower with grass-like leaves.
Dimensions: About 2-3 feet in height when in flower. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland north to Brevard, Orange and Citrus counties; disjunct in Flagler County; West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South America and Africa.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Swamps, marshes and open disturbed sites.
Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to poorly-drained sandy, organic or calcareous soils, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content 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 to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color: Green-purple.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Summer-winter.
Fruit: Capsule containing numerous minute seeds.
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
