General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wet wildflower gardens.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts and occasionally by native plant nurseries.
Description: Twining, low climbing herbaceous vine.
Dimensions: N/A; a vine with stems to 5 feet or more in length.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, Mexico and Central America. Very rare in the Monroe County Keys from Key Largo to Big Pine Key and perhaps absent in the middle Keys; reported for Key West in the late 1800s.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Marshes.
Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to seasonally inundated freshwater or brackish soils.
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: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Purplish.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Summer-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous capsule.
Wildlife and Ecology: Attracts bees and other insect pollinators.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
