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Sassafras albidum
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
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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, 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
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Wildlife, Birds consume fruit.
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Habitat, Dry sites. Dry mesic forests.
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Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Fall color, Interesting foliage
Larval food for spicebush butterfly(Papilio troilus), tiger swallow-tail(papilio glaucus), palamede
- Healthy edible fruit
- Handsome
- Breathtaking and memorable
- Highly salt tolerant
- Unique purple-brown crownshaft
- Excellent small hedge
Halesia diptera
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.
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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, Hummingbirds and cardinals are known to be interested in the nectar. Squirrels may eat the fruits.
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Habitat, Dry-moist sites. Upland hardwood forests on fertile mesic slopes and ravines, hammocks, floodplain forests, slope forests, seep slopes, floodplains wi
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy flowers
Larval plant for several moth species.
Primary pollinators are bees.
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Did You Know?
- Attractive light to medium green crownshaft
- Attractive dark green leaves
- Drought tolerant
- Narrow crown
Saccharum giganteum
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
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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 flower stalks need to be removed once no longer showy.
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Wildlife, Birds will eat the seeds. Provides cover.
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Habitat, Flatwoods, marshes, coastal swales, cypress ponds, lake shores, cutthroat seep.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Host plant for the Clouded Skipper butterfly (Lerema accius)
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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.
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- Easily trimmed to maintain desired size
- Christmas tree shape
- Massive, nutrient-dense edible fruit
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.
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- Swollen, succulent branches
- Attracts butterflies and bees
- Readily pruned into attractive shapes
- Lovely dark green, shiny leaves
- Mostly bare in the coldest months
Kosteletzkya pentacarpos
Wetland wildflower garden.
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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, Attracts hummingbirds.
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Habitat, Salt, brackish, or fresh water marshes, sloughs, ditches, borders of mangrove and other swamps, wet forest clearings.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts butterflies and various pollinators.
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Propagation, Fruit ones don't come true from seed so propagate vegetatively with either cuttings or by grafting onto a hardy
rootstock.
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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
- Flowers profusely year round
- Easy/Carefree
- Moderately salt tolerant
- Showy creamy white flowers
- Wonderfully fragrant flowers
Sideroxylon alachuense
Can be pruned either as a small tree or a large shrub. Can also be used as a hedge.
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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, Thorns.
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Wildlife, Fruits eaten by birds and small mammals.
Good cover plant.
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Habitat, Moist hammocks. Rare.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage, Thorns
Native bees love the flowers.
- Colorful older leaves
- Moderately slow growth
- Classic Southern tree
Hymenocallis palmeri
This is one of Florida's more widespread spiderlilies. It is sometimes seen in roadside ditches. It is feasible to transplant this species if a 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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Habitat, Open wet flatwoods, marl prairies and savannas, moist but not flooded roadside swales.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Moth-pollinated, especially sphinx moths.
- Cold tolerant
- Elegant
- Lovely dark green, shiny leaves
- Attractive light to medium green crownshaft
Staphylea trifolia
This plant is listed as Endangered in Florida where the southern limit of its range barely makes it into the state.
Moist site garden though will tol
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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, Floodplains, moist deep woods, thickets.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Attracts bees.
- Salt tolerant
- Recently classified invasive
- Relatively uncommon in South Florida
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
Callicarpa americana
Fruits are magenta. There is a white-fruited/white-flowered variety, uncommonly found naturally in Florida, that is sold occasionally.
Specimen plant
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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, Cut back in winter to encourage blooming and good form.
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Wildlife, Many bird species consume the fruit. including catbirds, mockinbirds, and robins.
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Habitat, Dry mesic hardwoods, xeric hammock, scrubby flatwoods, flatwoods, disturbed dry-moist woods.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Hurricane wind resistance
Larval host for for spring azure butterflies and snowberry clearwing moths.
Attracts various p
- Stunning
- Deciduous
- Underutilized
- Easily trimmed to maintain desired size
Fagus grandifolia
Shade tree. It is known for its smooth light gray bark. Its leaves turn yellow and then light brown remaining on the tree until nearly spring and prov
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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 is a large tree that will produce dense shade and many root suckers. Take this into consideration when deciding where to plant it. Slow growing.
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Wildlife, Fruits (a nut in a bur) are valued by wildlife.
Tree valued for nesting by some songbirds.
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Habitat, Upland, mesic to dry mesic hardwood forests.
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Did You Know?, Interesting bark, Fall color, Interesting foliage
Larval host for walnut sphinx (Amorpha juglandis).
- Excellent choice for narrow spaces
- Excellent small hedge
- Critically endangered
- Ideal for smaller spaces
Ostrya virginiana
The wood is noted as being very strong, hence the common name "ironwood"
Does not do well much south of its natural range.
Small specimen tree. Also
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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 not popular with most birds, but it provides good cover.
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Habitat, Dry-mesic deciduous woods. Hammocks, bluff microsites.
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Did You Know?, Interesting bark, Fall color, Hurricane wind resistance
- Falls over easily, may require staking
- Produces aromatic flowers year-round
- Elegant and compact
- Massive stature when mature
- Attractive light to medium green crownshaft
