General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also butterfly gardens in wet brackish areas along the coast.
Ecological Restoration Notes: Most common in tidal marshes, where its occurrence is somewhat sporadic.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Scrambling or twining vine with narrow leaves.
Dimensions: N/A; vine with stems to 10 feet or more in length.
Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.
Range:
Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, Mexico and Central America.
Habitats: Tidal marshes, coastal thickets and marl prairies.
Soils: Wet to moist, poorly-drained to periodically inundated brackish or freshwater 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: Greenish-white.
Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous.
Flowering Season: Spring-fall.
Fruit: Slender pod with wind dispersed seeds.
Wildlife and Ecology: Rarely a larval host plant for queen (Danaus gilippus) butterflies; a possible larval host for soldier (Danaus eresimus) butterflies. Nectar plant for butterflies and other insects.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed or cuttings.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
