Use as a specimen plant or as an understory in a mixed hardwood forest setting. This tree blooms in early spring before the leaves come out. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Hummingbirds and cardinals are known to be interested in the nectar.  Squirrels may eat the fruits. , Habitat, Dry-moist sites. Upland hardwood forests on fertile mesic slopes and ravines, hammocks, floodplain forests, slope forests, seep slopes, floodplains wi , Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy flowers Larval plant for several moth species. Primary pollinators are bees. , Did You Know?

Natural landscapes including meadows and butterfly gardens. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, Purple thistle is a thorny plant - be very careful when handling. , Wildlife, The seeds are rich in oil, an important food source for seed-eating birds. , Habitat, Coastal plain, edges of salt marshes, pinewoods, prairies and disturbed areas. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns Larval host to little metalmark (Calephelis virginiensis) and painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies. N

Wetland wildflower garden. , 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 ( , Wildlife, Attracts hummingbirds. , Habitat, Salt, brackish, or fresh water marshes, sloughs, ditches, borders of mangrove and other swamps, wet forest clearings. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies and various pollinators. , Propagation, Fruit ones don't come true from seed so propagate vegetatively with either cuttings or by grafting onto a hardy rootstock. , Did You Know?, The plant is smaller, typically a large shrub, and more cold hardy. The fruits are sweet, with a thinner, edible red skin and the white flesh interior

In the natural environment, this species benefits from periodic fire. Very difficult to see except when in bloom. Retain if present. Could be grown a , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Rarely grown as difficult to find seeds or bulbs and seedlings are subject to fungal diseases. , Habitat, Mesic flatwoods, wet prairie, wet flatwoods, open seepage areas such as cutthroat seeps. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies including swallowtails. Reported possible pollinators include spicebush swallowwtail, cloudless sulfur (Phoebis se

Makes a good border plant that becomes a pink haze in the fall. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Birds and other wildlife consume seed. , Habitat, Flatwoods, sandhills, lake shores, disturbed sites. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Larval host for zabulon skipper (Poanes zabulon).

Slower growing and generally smaller than live oak. Extremely drought tolerant. In environments where there is fire, this is often a small clonal shru , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Wildlife, Valued by the Florida scrub-jay for its acorns which are relatively low in tanins and often used as a nesting tree. Acorns used by woodpeckers and wil , Habitat, Scrub, sandhill, scrubby flatwoods, flatwoods, coastal hammocks. Increases in flatwoods under winter burn management. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host plant for oak hairstreak (Fixsenia favonius), Horace's duskywing (Erynnis horatius), red-b

Based on the BONAP range map, this species is a "near endemic" -- it occurs only in the panhandle and a 3 counties in southern Alabama. At this time, , Tolerance, Unknown Unknown , Wildlife, Small birds eat the seed. , Habitat, Wet flatwoods, bogs, savannahs, prairies , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Nectar plant for many butterfly species but also visited by other native insect pollinators.

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 , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Open only at night. Fragrant. , Habitat, Aquatic. Marsh, lake. Roadside ditches. , 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

Wildflower garden. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Attracts hummingbirds. , Habitat, Sandhill, secondary woods, flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts bees.

Use in a wildflower garden. Good for roadside wilflower plantings. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Seeds eaten by small birds. , Habitat, Mostly ruderal. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts bumble bees, butterflies Larval host for the silvery checkerspot, found only in extreme north Florida.

In a 2020 study of salt in irrigation water (https://journals.ashs.org/hortsci/view/journals/hortsci/55/7/article-p1119.xml), this species was found t , Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, Can become weedy. , Wildlife, Attracts  hummingbirds. , Habitat, Dry sites. Open, ruderal. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies.

In the opinion of this author, this species has a weedy look.  Occurs throughout Florida but is more frequent in flatwoods pond settings and small flo , 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 , Considertions, An aggressive grower. Plant where that characteristic is appropriate. , Habitat, Riverine forests, flatwoods, beaches, fresh and brackish marshes, disturbed sites. , Did You Know?, Larval host for tawny edged skipper.