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Phlox spp.
Florida has a number of Phlox species, almost all found in forested settings. The common roadside species (Phlox drummondii) is not a Florida native (
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Wildlife, Some phlox species attract hummingbirds.
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Habitat, Open woods.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts butterflies and bees.
- Very full crown
- Smaller stature
- Wonderfully fragrant
- Does best in cooler areas of South Florida
- Moderately drought tolerant
- Decorative diamond-shaped trunk pattern
Magnolia pyramidata
Any pruning should happen during the growing season, not when the plant is dormant.
This small tree is listed as Endangered by the FDACS. Please acqu
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Wildlife, Seeds are eaten and dispersed by birds and small mammals.
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Habitat, Slope forest, upland mixed forest. Rare.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
Beetles are the primary pollinators of magnolia flowers. The flowers have a hardened carpel to avoid damage by the
- Excellent choice for narrow spaces
- Pleasant rounded shape
- Moderately drought tolerant
Ulmus rubra
This tree is subject to Dutch elm disease which is not know to occur in Florida as of 2018 (IFAS, 2018).
Medium shade tree for informal settings. Som
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Considertions, Susceptible the Dutch elm disease.
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Wildlife, Seeds used by songbirds when little else is available. Used for nesting.
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Habitat, Rich mesic to dry mesic forests, wooded bluffs, calcareous soils.
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage
Larval host for question mark butterfy (Polygonia interrogationis).
- Lovely dark green, shiny leaves
- Decorative diamond-shaped trunk pattern
- Can be kept narrow
- Excellent small to medium hedge
- Sometime grows horozontially
- Highly wind tolerant
Quercus shumardii
Shade tree. Relatively conical or oval in form. Straight trunk.
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Wildlife, Acorns used by mammals and birds.
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Habitat, Wet calcareous hammocks, wetland edges and floodplains. Sometimes in bluff microsites.
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance
Larval host for the white-m hairstreak and Horace's duskywing.
- Very fast growth rate
- Excellent choice for narrow spaces
- Huge extremely fragrant flowers
- Thrives only briefly, about 1 year
- Rapid growth
- Delicious edible fruit
Stewartia malacodendron
The cream-colored petals are crimped at the margins with numerous dark-purple stamen filaments and bluish anthers. Silky hairs cover the lower leaf su
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Habitat, Slope forest, upland hardwood forest, baygall. On acidic soils.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
- Rare and unique
- Beautiful pinwheel flowers, often multicolored
- Sprawling and informal shrub
- Attractive tiered canopy
Nymphaea jamesoniana
Likely more common than suggested by the known county occurrences as likely overlooked since its blooms are nocturnal.
It is not clear to this author
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Considertions, Open only at night. Fragrant.
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Habitat, Aquatic. Marsh, lake. Roadside ditches.
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Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers
This particular water lily blooms only at night. Personal observation, and a published research study suggest that t
- Massive stature when mature
- Towering
- Prominent pale green crownshaft
Dryopteris ludoviciana
Groundcover for moist, shady areas. This is an attractive fern that can form large patches in the right habitat area.
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Habitat, Seep slopes, wet hammocks. Shady, moist to wet swamp forests and floodplains.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
- Compact and versatile
- Decorative diamond-shaped trunk pattern
- Unique foliage and silhouette
- Showy fall color
- Prefers acidic soil
- Tropical silhouette
Vernonia gigantea
The genus name honors the English botanist William Vernon, who did fieldwork in North America.
Back of a moist wildflower garden. Can also use on the
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray.
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Habitat, Exposed sand and gravel bars of streams during low water, stream banks, hydric to wet mesic pine flatwoods. Rich soils. Ruderal.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Nectar attracts butterflies and native beens.
Larval host for spring azure butterfly.
- Colorful new leafs
- Rare, despite being a South Florida native
- Beautiful rounded dense canopy
Quercus nigra
The wood is weak.
Shade tree. Semi-evergreen with leaves falling just before new leaves emerge.
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Considertions, Acorns can be a maintenance problem.
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Wildlife, Provides cover for and nesting areas for birds and squirrels
The acorns are used by squirrels, turkeys, and deer
.
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Habitat, Floodplains, seep slopes, mesic secondary woods. May invade flatwoods if there is fire exclusion.
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Did You Know?, Larval host plant for Horace's dusky wing (Erynnis horactius), red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) and white-M hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album) b
- Attractive symmetrical appearance
- Does poorly in very wet soil
- Can be grown indoors
- Showy clusters orange-yellow fruits in spring
- Ideal with Mediterranean architecture
Illicium parviflorum
The natural range of this plant is quite limited, but it has become a native landscaping favorite over a much broader range.
Hedges, specimen shrubs,
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Habitat, Bottomland forest, hydric hammock, baygall, banks of spring run and seepage streams, wet upland mixed forest. Can be seen near several of the spring r
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
Insect pollinated.
- Can be trimmed into manicured shapes
- Towering
- Stout, swollen trunk
- Beautiful pinwheel flowers, often multicolored
Iris verna var. smalliana
Noted for fragrance.
Casual shade garden. It spreads, so eventually acts as a groundcover.
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts bees, esp. bumblebees.
- Stunning
- Wonderfully fragrant, carries a great distance
- Arched, recurving fronds
- Colorful older leaves
- Slow Growth
Mimosa quadrivalvis
There are two varieties in Florida which are essentially equivalent for landscape purposes: Mimosa quadrivalvis var. angustata and M. quadrivalvis va
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray
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Considertions, Recurved prickles, take care when handling.
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Habitat, Sandhill, scrub and flatwoods
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns
Attracts small insects pollinators. Bees documented on this species include Agapostemon splendens, Augoch
- Striking silhouette
- Can be kept narrow
- Mostly bare in the coldest months
