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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.
Y
- Easily trimmed to maintain desired size
- Christmas tree shape
- Massive, nutrient-dense edible fruit
Ernodea littoralis
Low specimen plant, mass plantings. Can be used as a low hedge, even sheared. Useful for beach dune stabilization.
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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, Clonal.
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Wildlife, Provides food for birds.
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Habitat, Dunes, coastal areas with rocky soils (sunny, open areas), pine rockland
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Flowers attract butterflies.
- Briefly bare for about a month in the winter
- Beautiful silhouette
- Majestic, sprawling canopy
- Excellent small to medium hedge
- Cornerstone plant in South Florida
Salix nigra
While it naturally occurs in or near wetlands, this tree can also grow in uplands. Stems root readily and most of the stems stuck in a moist substrate
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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, Weak wood--tends to break.
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Habitat, Floodplains.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
The catkins of small bees and flies who feed on the pollen, wind pollinated.
Caterpillars of Limenitis archippus
- Unique, sweet almond flavor
- Stunning long emerald crownshaft
- Not a true pine
- Forms an open canopy
- Unique, sweet, almond-like flavor
Varronia globosa
Background shrub.
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Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water
Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray.
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Considertions, Can become weedy in the right conditions.
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Wildlife, Birds and other wildlife consume food. Attracts various pollinators especially bees and butterflies.
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Habitat, Old fields, open areas, edges of hammocks.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Attracts butterflies including malachite, atala, and daggerwinds (Haehle and Brookstone 1999).
- Not recommended
- Readily pruned into attractive shapes
- Elegant and compact
- Salt tolerant
Acer negundo
Its twisting shape makes it an interesting specimen 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, Fast growing, fairly weak hence somewhat prone to breaking.
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Wildlife, Squirrels and other rodents eat the seeds.
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Habitat, Found naturally in floodplains. Has become widely established in ruderal settings.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
Attracts pollinators, particularly native bees. Larval host for Cecropia silkmoth (Hyalophora cecropia).
- Dense canopy
- Beautiful rounded canopy
- Attractive flowers, typically deep orange
- Handsome
- Abundance of orange-red flowers in summer
- Damaged by citrus canker
Erythrina herbacea
Forming a thicket for wildlife protection.
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt spray without i
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Considertions, It has thorns, but they are rather small.
The seeds of Cherokee bean are poisonous and purportedly used for rat poison in Mexico.
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Wildlife, Attracts hummingbirds.
Due to its dense foliage and thorny stems, coral bean serves as a refuge for small birds and animals.
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Habitat, Dry sites. Upland mixed forest, thickets, tropical hammocks, coastal dunes, sandhill, flatwoods, tropical hammock, pine rocklands. This species can b
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Thorns
Attracts long-tongued pollinators.
- Cornerstone plant in South Florida
- Unique, sweet almond flavor
- Compact and versatile
- Healthy edible fruit
- Flowers year round
Aralia spinosa
FNPS Blog article
Specimen plant or background 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, When its huge triply compound leaves are shed in the fall, only the main thorny stem is left standing through the winter months--hence the name devil'
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Wildlife, Birds and small mammals consume the fruit. Birds include nuthatches, orioles, chickadees, titmice, and warblers.
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Habitat, The edges of dry hammocks and dry hardwood forests.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Thorns
Attracts butterflies and bees. Documented bee species include Colletes mandibularis, Hylaeus confluens, Augochlo
- Slow Growth
- Wonderfully fragrant at night
- Easily trimmed to maintain desired size
- Symmetrical shape
- Narrow enough for tight spaces
- Fragrant clusters of flowers in fall
Asimina pygmea
Flowers range from maroon to maroon and white, to maroon and green mixed. One common name is gopherberry - because golpher tortoise eat the fruit.
Sp
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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, difficult to establish because of long taproot.
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Wildlife, Birds and small wildlife consume the fruit.
The fruit of dwarf pawpaw is sometimes called gopherberry because the fruit is eaten by gopher tortoises.
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Habitat, Flatwoods, scrub, sandhill
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Larval host to the Zebra Swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus)and pawpaw sphinx (Dolba hyloeus). Pollinated by flie
- Massive, breathtaking and impressive
- Beautiful exotic foliage
- Attractive mottled bark
- Wonderfully fragrant at night
Pyrrhopappus carolinianus
Basal rosette has weedy appearance.
Roadside plantings or meadow.
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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, Is often considered a weed.
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Habitat, Disturbed areas
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts pollinators.
- Attractive glossy leaves
- Wonderfully fragrant flowers
- Sprawling and informal shrub
- Healthy edible fruit
- Beautiful purple-brown crownshaft
Nymphoides aquatica
This species is listed as invasive in parts of the world where it is not native.
Water garden, planting of surface water management pond. Often used
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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, Water. Ponds, lakes, quiet streams, swampa, ditches, canals. This species can be seen in the Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area in Hillsborough
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Pollinated by bees and flies.
- Easy/Carefree native
- Handsome
- Pyramidal crown
- Does best in cooler areas of South Florida
- Easily trimmed to maintain desired size
- Does poorly in very wet soil
Peperomia obtusifolia
Most plants sold as P. obtusifolia are from tropical American stock; local sources are recommended both to protect the genome and to enhance your like
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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, Swamps (epiphytic on trees/logs).
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
The floral morphology of Peperomia species suggests wind- and/or insect pollination, but not much is known.
- Pleasant rounded shape
- Relatively compact and narrow canopy
- Susceptible to breakage, even in moderate winds
- Often hosts orchids, ferns and bromiliads
