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

General Landscape Uses: Accent or specimen shrub along the coast. Also buffer plantings.

Availability: Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central and South Florida. Available in Lake Worth at Indian Trails Native Nursery, in Boynton Beach at Sustainscape, in Miami at Pro Native Consulting, in Naples at Everglades Native Designs and in Key West at Key West Botanical Garden. .

Description: Medium to large shrub with an irregular rounded crown. Trunks short, bearing several arching stems. Bark yellowish-brown, roughend by lenticels. Leaves glossy dark green, shiny above, slighly hairy when young then becoming glabrous.

Dimensions: Typically 8-10 feet in height. About as broad as tall.

Growth Rate: Moderate.

Range: Monroe County Keys north to Brevard and Levy counties.

 Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.

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

Habitats: Edges of coastal forests and thickets.

Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer; rarely on peat on tree islands in the southern Everglades.

Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.

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, in long, racemose, terminal spikes.

Flowering Season: All year.

Fruit: Yellowish-brown beaded pods (legumes), 2-6" long.

Wildlife and Ecology: Provides food and shelter for wildlife. Nectar plant for hummingbirds and butterflies. The flowers also attract warblers and bees.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed. Care must now be taken to avoid pollination by S. tomentosa var. occidentalis (see below).

Comments: The very hairy, commonly sold necklacepod is S. tomentosa var. occidentalis from Texas. The seeds are toxic if eaten. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.