General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wet to moist wildlfower and butterfly gardens.
Availability:
Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida.
Description: Medium herbaceous wildflower with wiry stems.
Dimensions: About 2-3 feet in height. Usually taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland; Bahamas and Cuba.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of Postal Code Areas of IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Marshes.
Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to poorly drained sandy or limestone soils, without humus.
Nutritional Requirements: Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: White.
Flower Characteristics: Showy inflorescence.
Flowering Season: Summer-fall.
Fruit: A pair of inconspicuous carpels pendent from a supporting axis.
Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for black swallowtail (
Papilio polyxenes) butterflies. Attracts bee pollinators.
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
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