General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wet to moist wildflower gardens.
Availability:
Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida.
Description: Small to medium herbaceous wildflower.
Dimensions: Typically 10-15 inches in height. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Rare in South Carolina and southern Georgia south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland. Not documented on barrier islands in Florida, but possibly historically present; it grows well 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: Marshes and swamps.
Soils: Wet to moist, seasonally inundated organic, sandy 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: Blue.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Summer-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous capsule.
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
