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Cornus alternifolia
Small specimen tree. Can also work as an understory tree.
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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, Birds and small mammals consume the fruit.
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Habitat, Slope forest, upland hardwood forest. Bluffs, creek forests.
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
Larval host for cecropia silkmoth (Hyalophora cecropia) and spring azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon).
- Smaller stature
- Imposing stature
- Does best with periodic fertalization
- Easily trimmed to maintain desired size
- Susceptible to breakage, even in moderate winds
- Not a true pine
Ulmus americana
This tree is subject to Dutch elm disease. Dutch elm disease has not been detected in Florida (IFAS 2008). In most of eastern North America, this tree
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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, While Dutch elm disease has not been detected in Florida (IFAS, 2018), the planting practices that result in massive losses of street trees north of F
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Wildlife, Seeds used by birds in spring when little else is available.
Used for nesting.
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Habitat, Floodplain forest, wet mesic forests, hardwood swamps.
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage
Larval host for: Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma), Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis), Painted Lady (Vanessa ca
- Beautiful pinwheel flowers, often multicolored
- Very full crown
- Ideal with Mediterranean architecture
Ernodea littoralis
Low specimen plant, mass plantings. Can be used as a low hedge, even sheared. Useful for beach dune stabilization.
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Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges.
Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure t
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Considertions, Clonal.
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Wildlife, Provides food for birds.
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Habitat, Dunes, coastal areas with rocky soils (sunny, open areas), pine rockland
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Flowers attract butterflies.
- Briefly bare for about a month in the winter
- Beautiful silhouette
- Majestic, sprawling canopy
- Excellent small to medium hedge
- Cornerstone plant in South Florida
Pteridium aquilinum
This is one of the world's most widespread species. Multiple subspecies exist within Florida with two being widespread.
Because of its tolerance of a
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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, In rich soils, may be overly aggressive.
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Habitat, Dry sites. Oak-pine-hickory woodslands. Tolerant of disturbance.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
- Beautiful, natural globe shape
- Sometime grows horozontially
- Beautiful rounded canopy
Bidens laevis
Depending on the weather, this may be either an annual or perennial in Florida.
Informal gardens in wet sites.
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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, The fruits stick to pant legs and animal fur leading to moniker beggarticks. Generally no an issue in the wetland sites where this will grow.
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Habitat, Swamps, river edget
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts native bees and butterflies
- Tall and romantic
- Fruit attracts wildlife
- Striking symmetrical appearance
- Unique and prized
- Beloved in South Florida
- Grows tall, but not massive
Ulmus crassifolia
While this tree has a limited native distribution in Florida, it also occurs as far west as Texas in similar types of settings.
Shade tree. Can be us
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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, While not known to occur in Florida, this species is potentially susceptible to Dutch elm disease.
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Wildlife, Seeds used by birds when little else is available. Used for nesting.
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Habitat, Floodplain forest, hydric hammock, bottomland forest. On limestone.
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Did You Know?, Interesting bark, Fall color, Interesting foliage
Larval food for the Question Mark butterfly (Polygonia interrogationis)
- Massive, nutrient-dense edible fruit
- Somewhat drought tolerant
- Extremely popular
Erythrina herbacea
Forming a thicket for wildlife protection.
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt spray without i
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Considertions, It has thorns, but they are rather small.
The seeds of Cherokee bean are poisonous and purportedly used for rat poison in Mexico.
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Wildlife, Attracts hummingbirds.
Due to its dense foliage and thorny stems, coral bean serves as a refuge for small birds and animals.
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Habitat, Dry sites. Upland mixed forest, thickets, tropical hammocks, coastal dunes, sandhill, flatwoods, tropical hammock, pine rocklands. This species can b
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Thorns
Attracts long-tongued pollinators.
- Cornerstone plant in South Florida
- Unique, sweet almond flavor
- Compact and versatile
- Healthy edible fruit
- Flowers year round
Galactia striata
Host plant for Zestos Skipper butterfly which is believed to be extirpated (extinct) in FLorida. Also used by Cassius blue, longtailed skipper, and Za
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Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges.
Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray.
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Considertions, Scrambling vine likely best suited to informal settings. Individual stems may be up to 10 ft long.
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Habitat, Hammocks
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Did You Know?, Larval host plant for cassius blue (Leptotes cassius), long-tailed skipper (Urbanus proteus), zestos skipper (Epargyreus zestos) and zarucco duskywing
- Narrow canopy
- Elegant
- Unique fluffy fronds
- Wide umbrella-shaped canopy
- Striking symmetrical appearance
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
Trichostema dichotomum
Noted for fragrance. Trichostema setaceum is similar but less common in central and southern Florida.
There are now at least 4 different Trichostema
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure to salt spray wo
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Considertions, May seed overly enthusiastically.
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Habitat, Scrub, xeric hammock, overgrown sandhill, flatwoods.
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Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers
Attracts various pollinators, especially bees.. Documented bees include Caupolicana electa and Dialictus placidensi
- Requires protection from strong winds
- Retains leaves until just before blooming
- Prominant olive crownshaft
- Recently classified invasive
Silene catesbaei
Rare and listed as endangered. Please obtain this plant only from reputable native plant nurseries or friends -- do not harvest from the wild. Little
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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. On calcareous soils.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Visited by small insects including bees but the specific pollinators are apparently not known.
- Uniquely shaped with a muscular look
- Showy reddish peeling bark
- Produces aromatic flowers year-round
- Available multi-stalked
- Somewhat salt tolerant
- Can be kept narrow
Verbesina virginica
Each stem has soft, fleshy green flanges running longitudinally down its length. When winter weather brings ice, the stems exude water that freezes in
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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, Moist forest edges.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts native bees.
Nectar source for butterflies.
- Long-lived perennial
- Flowers year round
- Tall and stately
- Narrow crown
