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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.
Y
- Easily trimmed to maintain desired size
- Christmas tree shape
- Massive, nutrient-dense edible fruit
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
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
Quercus arkansana
This is a rare species in Florida. Retain it if present.
Shade 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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Wildlife, Squirrels, racoons, deer and other animals eat the acorns.
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Habitat, Upland pine forest, pine-oak-hickory woods, bayheads. Slopes.
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Did You Know?, Larval host for the white-M hairstreak.
- Wonderfully fragrant flowers
- Beautiful sweeping fronds with drooping leaflets
- Completely bare in winter
Quercus michauxii
Shade tree. While native to moist sites, this oak does well in moderately dry areas as well. Makes a good street tree and can be used in parking lot i
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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, Fallen/falling acorns can be a maintenance issue.
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Wildlife, Acorns prized by squirrels, deer, turkey and other wildlife.
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Habitat, Mesic sites near swamp edges and second bottoms of floodplains. May occur in uplands on shallow soils over limestone.
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Did You Know?, Larval food for brown duskywing butterfly (Erynnis horatius), gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus), and white-M hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album).
- Symmetrical shape
- Beautiful pinwheel flowers, often multicolored
- Unique, sweet, almond-like flavor
Agalinis fasciculata
Retain if present. This and other members of the genus are hemiparasites and not easy to grow unless you happen to also have appropriate hosts present
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Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges.
Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray.
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Habitat, Moist flatwoods.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Larval host and nectar source for the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia).
Attracts native bees.
- Unique swollen blue-green to silver trunk
- Available multi-stalked
- Very showy clusters of red flowers
- Wonderfully fragrant, carries a great distance
Rosa carolina
Information on salt tolerance comes from northern nurseries and likely relates to tolerance of salt used for de-icing or roadways. The extent to whic
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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, Thorny (well, you would expect that for a rose!)
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Wildlife, Fruits eaten by birds and small mammals.
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Habitat, Dry deciduous forests. Also cultivated.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Thorns
Attracts a variety of insects, especially important for native bees.
- Uncommon edible fruit
- Can be grown indoors
- Attractive dark green leaves
Phoebanthus spp.
Not typically available commercially.
One (P. tenuifolius) in the panhandle,the other on the peninsula. P. tenuifolius is almost endemic (there is an
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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, Attracts birds when seeds are present.
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Habitat, Dry sites. Scrubby flatwoods, sandhill. P. grandifolorus: dry flatwoods.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts bees and butterflies.
- Very showy bright yellow flowers
- Wonderfully fragrant flowers
- Available single or multi-stalked
Bletia purpurea
Retain if present in natural setting. Can be grown in a wildflower 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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Habitat, Pine rocklands, swampy forests on stumps and logs just above high water levels, in humus.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
The flowers do not produce nectar but use food deception to attract various bees including Euglossa, Thygater and Melipona, a genus of
- Width often exceeds height
- Raised diamond-shaped trunk pattern
- Colorful older leaves
- Attractive contrast between flowers and foliage
Phytolacca americana
Interesting red stems. Makes a good specimen plant in an informal garden. Weedy in appearance if in large numbers and stems tend to split when branche
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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, The roots and seeds are poisonous.
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Wildlife, Birds eat the berries.
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Habitat, Flatwoods, disturbed areas.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Attracts bees including Augochlora pura, Augochloropsis metallica, A. sumptuosa, Dialictus miniatulus, D. nymphalis, D. p
- Decorative diamond-shaped trunk pattern
- Elegant
- Beautiful pinwheel flowers, often multicolored
- Attractive dark green leaves
- Available single or multi-stalked
- Attracts butterflies and bees
Ulmus rubra
This tree is subject to Dutch elm disease which is not know to occur in Florida as of 2018 (IFAS, 2018).
Medium shade tree for informal settings. Som
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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, Susceptible the Dutch elm disease.
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Wildlife, Seeds used by songbirds when little else is available. Used for nesting.
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Habitat, Rich mesic to dry mesic forests, wooded bluffs, calcareous soils.
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage
Larval host for question mark butterfy (Polygonia interrogationis).
- Lovely dark green, shiny leaves
- Decorative diamond-shaped trunk pattern
- Can be kept narrow
- Excellent small to medium hedge
- Sometime grows horozontially
- Highly wind tolerant
Asclepias lanceolata
Don't confuse this native with the non-native tropical or scarlet milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), that is often sold in big box stores, which has re
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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, Toxic.
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Wildlife, Larval host plant for monarch (Danaus plexippus) and queen (Danaus gilippus) butterflies; possible larval host of soldier (Danaus eresimus) butterflie
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Habitat, Wet flatwoods, savannas, marshes, swamps
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Larval host plant for monarch (Danaus plexippus) and queen (Danaus gilippus) butterflies; possible larval host of soldier (Danaus eresi
- Narrow crown
- Fragrant clusters of flowers in fall
- Easy/Carefree
