Red/orange fall color is excellent. Leaves have three separate shapes: ovoid, tri-lobed, or mitten-shaped (left or right). Mature trees tend to have f , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Like other members of this family, sassafras trees are threatened by the spread of the redbay ambrosia beetle and the laural wilt fungus it carries. M , Wildlife, Birds consume fruit. , Habitat, Dry sites. Dry mesic forests. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Fall color, Interesting foliage Larval food for spicebush butterfly(Papilio troilus), tiger swallow-tail(papilio glaucus), palamede

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?

Specimen plant or background plant in moist informal garden. This is a mid-sized bunching grass until the flower stalk shoots up in the fall. Then it , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, The flower stalks need to be removed once no longer showy. , Wildlife, Birds will eat the seeds.  Provides cover. , Habitat, Flatwoods, marshes, coastal swales, cypress ponds, lake shores, cutthroat seep. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Host plant for the Clouded Skipper butterfly (Lerema accius) , Did You Know?, Yerba mate, the traditional tea-like beverage from South America, is made with leaves of a close relative to our holly trees, the Ilex Paraguayanis. Y

This is nearly endemic to Florida (there are a few documented occurrences in southeastern Georgia). Wildflower garden, groundcover. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Short-lived: it tends to die back after a few years. , Habitat, Scrubby flatwoods, scrub, dry flatwoods, dry prairie, sandhill, ruderal. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies and bees (Florida Wildflower Foundation Blog).  Documented bee visitors include Agapostemoiz spl

It is listed as endangered by the state of Florida and as critically imperiled in South Florida by The Institute for Regional Conservation. Specimen , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Tropical rockland hammock, coastal rock barren, beach dune, coastal strand. Lower Keys only. , Did You Know?, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage

Not typically available commercially. One (P. tenuifolius) in the panhandle,the other on the peninsula.  P. tenuifolius is almost endemic (there is an , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Attracts birds when seeds are present. , Habitat, Dry sites. Scrubby flatwoods, sandhill. P. grandifolorus: dry flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts bees and butterflies.

Florida has a number of Phlox species, almost all found in forested settings. The common roadside species (Phlox drummondii) is not a Florida native ( , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Some phlox  species attract hummingbirds. , Habitat, Open woods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies and bees.

Emerald ash borer is a problem in the northeast and if it reaches Florida, it would likely be lethal to this species. This tree is listed as as Endang , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Fruits used by birds. , Habitat, Scrub and scrubby flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Probably bee pollinated.

Persimmon wood is very hard and nearly black--it's in the ebony family. Typically grown for its fruit. Plant in full sun. Also useful as an early suc , 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, Tent caterpillars can be an aesthetic issue and fruit drop can be messy. Persimmons are dioecious, so if you wish to have fruit, make sure that you ha , Wildlife, Fruits are used by a broad array of small mammals and some birds. , Habitat, Dry-moist-wet sites. Disturbed sites, wetland edges, old fields, sandhill. , Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy fruits, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host for royal walnut moth (Citheronia regalis), pecan carpenterworm moth (Cossula magnifi

Wildflower garden. Flowers in spring and summer. , Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, May appreciate periodic light pruning. , Habitat, Dry hammocks, dry hardwood forests , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Pollinated by moths, especially polka-dot wasp moth and the oleander moth. These moths also use it as a larval host.

Tolerates winter flooding. This is a wetland plant. It is rarely grown, but it has potential in appropriate sites. Wet wildflower garden. For appeara , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Moist sites. Hydric and mesic pine flatwoods, edges of sloughs, savannas, bogs, ditches. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Larval host of  Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady Butterfly, Common Checkered Skipper and Tropical Checkered Skipper butterflies and  four

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