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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
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
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
Gaylussacia frondosa var. tomentosa
Shrub for woodland edge or casual garden.
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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 prized by a variety of birds and mammals.
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Habitat, Sandhills, scrub, flatwoods, cypress swamp margins. Acid soils. Mesic to dry-mesic flatwoods, edges of bayneads, cypress depressions, cutthroat seeps.
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Pollinated primarily by native bees.
- Clusters of tubular flowers
- Excellent hedge choice
- Intoxicating fragrance
- Stately and uncommon
Pithecellobium unguis-cati
Specimen shrub. Thorniness makes it a good property edge hedge.
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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, Spiny
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Wildlife, Birds eat the fruits (and the red&black arils).
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Habitat, Dry coastal hammocks and shell mounds.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Thorns
Larval host for cassius blue (Leptotes cassius theonus), large orange sulphur (Phoebis agarithe), and Miami blue (Cyclargus th
- Ringed trunk
- Striking silhouette
- Drought tolerant
- Slender trunk, 4" in diameter
- Flowers year round
Vachellia choriophylla
Listed as Endangered in Florida.
Specimen tree prized for its dark green foliage.
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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, Brittle wood.
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Wildlife, Provides food and cover for birds and other wildlife.
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Habitat, Dry sites, Coastal berm, pine rocklands, rockland hammock, upland edges of mangrove swamps and buttonwood hammocks.
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Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
- Moderately slow growth
- Retains leaves until just before blooming
- Lovely dark green, shiny leaves
- Often hosts orchids, ferns and bromiliads
Echinacea purpurea
Requires a reliable cold period to persist. In most of Florida it can be treated as an annual in gardens.
Listed as Endangered by the State of Florida
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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, The further south you go, the more short-lived this species gets. Except in extreme north Florida, treat as an annual or at least don't assume that i
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Wildlife, Small birds and small mammals consume the seed.
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Habitat, Upland glades, openings in upland mixed forests on calcareous soils.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts many pollinators, especially bees.
- Not recommended
- Unique, sweet almond flavor
- Attractive and unique swollen trunk
Palafoxia feayi
Endemic to the Florida peninsula.
Since this gets tall, plant it at the rear of a wildflower garden. Blooms in mid-fall with blooms concentrated at t
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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, Scrub and scrubby flatwoods.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts butterflies and moths
Types of bees that have been observed visiting the flowers at the Archbold Biological Station (Deyrup
- Christmas tree shape
- Silvery blue-green fronds
- Sometime grows horozontially
- Unique swollen blue-green to silver trunk
- Uncommon
- Beautiful, natural globe shape
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
Geobalanus oblongifolius
High tolerance for salt spray (IFAS).
Groundcover in dry, sunny settings. Can also make a good soil stabilizer.
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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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Wildlife, Fruits are eaten by small mammals and gopher tortoises.
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Habitat, Scrub, scrubby flatwoods, sandhill, dry secondary woods. Pine rocklands.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Butterflies including buckeyes, rattlebox moths, wasps, ants and bees use the flowers. Bees are the primary pollinators. Documented be
- Formal appearance
- Self-shedding fronds
- Thick branching into attractive silouttes
- Swollen, succulent branches
- Beautiful rounded canopy
Quercus laurifolia
Depending on who you ask, there are two laurel oaks in Florida. Q. laurifolia (swamp laurel oak) and Q. hemisphaerica (Darlington oak, sand laurel oa
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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, Somewhat weak, and compared to live oak, short-lived.
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Wildlife, Produces acorns that are used by rodents, including squirrels, and other mammals
Acorns used by woodpeckers, jays, and wild turkeys.
High in tannins.
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Habitat, River floodplains, secondary woods.
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Did You Know?, Larval host for Horace’s Duskywing (Erynnis horatius) and White M Hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album).
Larval host for several moth species (some of the c
- Massive stature
- Unique foliage
- Attractive contrast between flowers and foliage
- Unusual deep green leaves with bronze underside
Saururus cernuus
Both the common and scientific genus names refer to the lizard-like shape of the drooping flower head.
This is a wetland plant. It can form dense pat
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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, Eaten by wood ducks and other foraging birds.
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Habitat, Shallow water of streams, swamps, wet forests, ditches.
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Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
Nectar plant for hairstreaks and other insects esp. bees and flies, but apparently mostly wind p
- Fragrant in the evening
- Tall and romantic
- Pyramidal crown
