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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
Physostegia leptophylla
Water gardens and pond edges. Moist wildflower gardens.
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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, Humminbirds are attracted to the nectar.
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Habitat, Wet prairie, wet savannas, pond edges.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Generally pollinated by bumblebees. Other long tongued bees, hummingbirds and the occasional butterfly sip nectar from the flowers (Ne
- Formal, old-world appearance
- Not recommended
- Huge extremely fragrant flowers
Phlox spp.
Florida has a number of Phlox species, almost all found in forested settings. The common roadside species (Phlox drummondii) is not a Florida native (
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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, Some phlox species attract hummingbirds.
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Habitat, Open woods.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts butterflies and bees.
- Very full crown
- Smaller stature
- Wonderfully fragrant
- Does best in cooler areas of South Florida
- Moderately drought tolerant
- Decorative diamond-shaped trunk pattern
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
Carya glabra
Called pignut because pigs eat the nuts.
Excellent specimen or shade tree in areas where its roots will not be disturbed.
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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, Does not tolerate root disturbance. The author has lost multiple trees due to a fungal root pathogen that was apparently able to enter the tree when r
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Wildlife, A favorite food of squirrels.
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Habitat, Xeric hammock, mixed upland forest, pine-oak-hickory woods.
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance
Larval host for many moths including; luna moth (Actias luna), hickory leafroller moth (Ar
- Majestic
- Beautiful exotic foliage
- Delicious edible fruit
- Year-round blooms
- Christmas tree shape
Hibiscus aculeatus
Tolerates winter flooding.
This is a wetland plant. It is rarely grown, but it has potential in appropriate sites.
Wet wildflower garden. For appeara
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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, Moist sites. Hydric and mesic pine flatwoods, edges of sloughs, savannas, bogs, ditches.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Larval host of Gray Hairstreak, Painted Lady Butterfly, Common Checkered Skipper and Tropical Checkered Skipper butterflies and four
- Can be trimmed into manicured shapes
- Unusually shaped, asymmetrical tree
- Fragrant clusters of flowers in fall
- Cold tolerant
- Wide umbrella-shaped canopy
- Not recommended
Sporobolus junceus
In nature, this grows in habitats with frequent fire. In the garden, it will grow best if you remove built-up thatch (or burn it once every few years
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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, Flatwoods, sandhills.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage
- Stout, swollen trunk
- Very rare
- Beloved in South Florida
- Stunning long emerald crownshaft
- Colorful fall foliage
Sisyrinchium angustifolium
Groundcover. Foliage is low and neat even during periods when there are no flowers (flowers in mid-spring). Plant not visible in winter. Can be natura
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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, Cutthroat seeps, moist roadsides, hammocks, bogs, river banks.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Beneficial sweat bees, bumble bees, bee flies, and syrphid flies are attracted to nectar and pollen.
- Attractive and unique swollen trunk
- Requires high humidity
- Adequate fertalization required
- Unique fluffy fronds
- Dense, full crown
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
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
Litsea aestivalis
Litsea aestivalis is listed as Endangered by the State of Florida. Since that listing, the laurel wilt disease has come to Florida, and is known to k
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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 eaten by birds and mammals.
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Habitat, Near the edges of forested wetlands and some seasonal ponds wtih open centers.
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Did You Know?, Attracts flies and small bees.
A likely host for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly.
- Highly nutritious fruit
- Beautiful pinwheel flowers, often multicolored
- Cornerstone plant in South Florida
Aronia arbutifolia
Often grows with ink berry and palmettos.
Beautiful early spring-blooming shrub. Grow at edge of wooded areas or as a specimen.
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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, Various birds eat the berries including titmice, nuthatches, warblers, chickadees, cardinals, grosbeaks, and orioles.
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Habitat, Wet sites. Seep slopes, wet flatwoods, edges of swamps.
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Did You Know?, Interesting bark, Fall color, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Flowers attract bees and butterflies. Pollinated by bees.
- Massive stature
- Very rare
- Stunning colorful foliage
- Very full crown
- Briefly bare for about a month in the winter
