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Cirsium horridulum
Natural landscapes including meadows and butterfly gardens.
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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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Considertions, Purple thistle is a thorny plant - be very careful when handling.
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Wildlife, The seeds are rich in oil, an important food source for seed-eating birds.
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Habitat, Coastal plain, edges of salt marshes, pinewoods, prairies and disturbed areas.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns
Larval host to little metalmark (Calephelis virginiensis) and painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies.
N
- Swollen, succulent branches
- Attracts butterflies and bees
- Readily pruned into attractive shapes
- Lovely dark green, shiny leaves
- Mostly bare in the coldest months
Ilex opaca
Both male and female plants required for pollination and seed set.
Specimen tree. Screen.
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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, Sharp spines (teeth) on leaves.
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Wildlife, Fruits are eaten by birds.
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Habitat, Upland woods, second bottom but will not tolerate long flooding. Often an understory plant.
Documented in Lee County in a site likely to be natural.
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Did You Know?, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance
Bees pollinate flowers.
- Fruit eaten by birds
- Does best in warmer areas of South Florida
- Moderately slow growth
Physocarpus opulifolius
This plant is rare in Florida. It is much more common further north where it is absolutely spectacular in early spring.
Specimen plant. It can be pru
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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 stream (banks). Further north, it also occurs along lake edges.
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Did You Know?, Interesting bark, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
Mining bees are known to be frequent pollinators of ninebark flowers. Both short and long-tongu
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Tolerance
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Habitat
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Did You Know?
- Completely bare in winter
- Edible, healthy fruit
- Unusually shaped, asymmetrical tree
- Requires ample space and light
- Striking silhouette
- Unique flowers, with petals like banana peels
Erithalis fruticosa
This plant is considered to be Threatened in Florida. Please preserve in the landscape and acquire new plants in an environmentally sound manner (seed
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Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water
Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure to salt spray would be uncommon (
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Wildlife, Wildlife food and shelter.
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Habitat, Coastal scrub, hammocks, pine rocklands, coastal flats.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
- Somewhat drought tolerant
- Narrow enough for tight spaces
- Attractive variegated foliage
- Prominent pale green crownshaft
Polystichum acrostichoides
The range of this species includes much of eastern North America up into southern Canada. Its occurrence in Florida is sparse with appropriate substr
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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, Benefits from periodic removal of old fronds.
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Habitat, Rocky hammocks and upper margins of swamps.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
- No longer recommended
- Highly wind tolerant
- Stately and uncommon
- Unusual stilt roots
- Beloved in South Florida
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
Ilex x attenuata
This naturally occurring hybrid has become a landscaping favorite. Ilex x attenuata is a natural hybrid originally found growing in the wild in Florid
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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, Fruits are eaten by birds.
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Habitat, Freshwater and brackish marshes.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage
Bees visit the flowers, but all plants are female. This is apparently one of the few hollies where
- Handsome
- Smaller stature
- Beautiful rounded canopy
Hamelia patens
Closely related plants occur in the Caribbean and Central America. Yellow or orange flowering plants are not the Florida native.
In recent years plant
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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, This species is cold sensitive and will die back if it freezes. Usually resprouts from the base.
There are recent observations of the plant in north F
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Wildlife, Birds and small mammals eat the fruits and disperse seeds.
Hummingbirds come for nectar
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Habitat, Dry sites. Coastal forests, upland forests, hammocks.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Hurricane wind resistance
Larval host for the pluto sphinx moth
Butterflies, noted for attracting zebrawing
Attracts long-tongued bee
- Silvery blue-green fronds
- Lush, dense shade tree
- Easy/Carefree native
- Excellent small hedge
- Attractive light to medium green crownshaft
- Bright red fruits
Agarista populifolia
Toxic to humans. and some animals.
Specimen plant, foundation planting, screen.
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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, Old stems should be pruned. Plant tends to sucker, so plant where suckers are an asset.
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Wildlife, Some birds and other wildlife consume fruit. Foliage is poisonous.
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Habitat, Seepage areas, moist hammocks, swamps, river floodplains
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
Attracts bees and butterflies.
- Highly wind tolerant
- Showy red berries
- Lovely deep green, glossy leaves
- Beloved in South Florida
- Critically endangered
- Excellent small to medium hedge
Coccothrinax argentata
It is listed as threatened by the state of Florida. Should be acquired only from properly licensed sources.
Specimen plant. Slow-growing hedge or ba
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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, Slow growing.
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Wildlife, Used by birds for nesting and food.
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Habitat, Pine rockland, rockland hammock, maritime hammock
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance
Larval host for monk skipper (Asbolis capucinus).
Bees are attracted to the flowers (Khorsand 2009).
- Very full crown
- Prominant olive crownshaft, slightly buldging
- Stunning and colorful while in bloom
- No longer recommended
- Narrow canopy
- Fast growth
Drypetes diversifolia
It is listed as Endangered by the state of Florida.
Shade tree. Can be used as a specimen tree for its light colored bark. Slow growing.
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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 other wildlife consume fruit.
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Habitat, Rockland hammock.
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Did You Know?, Interesting bark
Larval host for Florida white (Appias drusilla) butterfly.
- Excellent small to medium hedge
- Stout, swollen trunk
- Heavy feeder
- Distinctive-looking fruit with spiked exterior
- Beautiful shiny green leaves
Mitchella repens
This little plant produces two flowers with ovaries that fuse into a single fruit.
Typically grown as a curiosity. This is a very small plant that 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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Wildlife, Birds and small mammals consume the berries which mature in the fall and are retained through the winter and spring.
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Habitat, Hammocks, upland hardwood forests, upland mixed forest, seep slopes, second bottom and levees in floodplains.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage
Bumblebees pollinate the flowers. Cross-pollination, required for seed set, is controlled by factors
- Lush, dense shade tree
- Wonderfully fragrant, carries a great distance
- Fruit eaten by birds
