Natives For Your Neighborhood
Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

General Landscape Uses: Wildflower gardens.

Availability: Widely available in central Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in northeast and South Florida. Available in Melbourne at Native Butterfly Flowers.

Description: Large herbaceous wildflower.

Dimensions: About 1-2 feet in height; 4-6 feet when in flower. Taller than broad when in flower.

Growth Rate: Moderate.

Range: Eastern and central United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys (where very rare); Bermuda, Bahamas, Cuba and Mexico.

 Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.

 Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.

Habitats: Open coastal areas.

Soils: Seasonally wet to moist, moderately- to poorly-drained freshwater to brackish soils, without humus.

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: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury.

Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun.

Flower Color: Yellow.

Flower Characteristics: Showy spikes.

Flowering Season: All year; peak summer-fall.

Fruit: Inconspicuous achene.

Wildlife and Ecology: Nectar plant for monarch (Danaus plexippus) and other butterflies. Attracts bee pollinators. Birds feed on the insects.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.

Comments: The leaves can be used to make a tea. Goldenrods are not a cause of hay fever as has been suggested. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.