General Landscape Uses:
Accent vine.
Availability:
Available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available in Lake Worth at
Amelia's SmartyPlants, Available in Key West at
Key West Botanical Garden.
Description: Clambering or twining woody vine with glossy leaves and attractive yellow flowers.
Dimensions: N/A; vine with stems to 10 feet or more in length.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north to St. Lucie and Lee counties; the West Indies and the Bay Islands of Honduras.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Pinelands, hammocks and coastal thickets.
Soils: Moist, well-drained to moderately well-drained sandy, limestone, or organic soils, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury.
Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Yellow.
Flower Characteristics: Showy, about 2" wide.
Flowering Season: All year; peak spring-summer.
Fruit: Two-parted pod of elongated, slender incurved follicles.
Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for polka-dot wasp moths (
Syntomeida epilais).
Comments: An attractive twining vine with glossy leaves. The sap is poisonous if ingested, is irritating to the eyes and can cause a skin rash.
