General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: High climbing or horizontal vine with very long stems.
Dimensions: N/A; vine with stems 10 feet or more in length.
Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north along the coasts to Brevard and Lee counties; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Tidal swamps and marshes.
Soils: Wet, periodically inundated brackish soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate to low; it prefers soils with organic content, but will still grow reasonably well in nutrient poor soils.
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 to light shade.
Flower Color: White with a yellow throat.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: All year.
Fruit: Several-sided pod containing hairy wind dispersed seeds.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.
Comments: The stems often creep along the ground for long distances before climbing up trees. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
