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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
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
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
Physocarpus opulifolius
This plant is rare in Florida. It is much more common further north where it is absolutely spectacular in early spring.
Specimen plant. It can be pru
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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, Seep stream (banks). Further north, it also occurs along lake edges.
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Did You Know?, Interesting bark, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
Mining bees are known to be frequent pollinators of ninebark flowers. Both short and long-tongu
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Tolerance
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Habitat
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Did You Know?
- Completely bare in winter
- Edible, healthy fruit
- Unusually shaped, asymmetrical tree
- Requires ample space and light
- Striking silhouette
- Unique flowers, with petals like banana peels
Conradina glabra
Listed as Endangered by the State of Florida and the USFWS. This is a rare plant endemic to one panhandle county and should only be acquired from rep
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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, Sandhill. Seen in open sandhill at Appalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve. Upper edges of steepheads in the transition to sandhills, edges of pin
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Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
Attracts many pollinators, especially bees.
- Elegant and compact
- Breathtaking and memorable
- Formal, old-world appearance
- Wonderfully fragrant
Uvularia spp.
All bellworts that occur in Florida are rare. Please do not transplant from the wild unless there is imminent danger of site destruction (permits may
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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, Slope forest, bluffs, river swamps. Rare.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
- Showy fall color
- Not a true jasmine
- Handsome
- Unique swollen blue-green to silver trunk
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
Leucothrinax morrisii
The fan-shaped leaves are about 3 feet across and have silvery undersides.
Listed as Endangered by the FDACS. Please act responsibly and acquire only
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Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges.
High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt
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Wildlife, Used as a bird nesting area and food source.
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Habitat, Coastal strand, maritime hammock, pine rockland, rockland hammock, coastal berm
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Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance
Larval host plant for monk skipper (Asbolis capucinus) butterflies.
- Dark green leaves
- Wind tolerant
- Prominent pale green crownshaft
Pteridium aquilinum
This is one of the world's most widespread species. Multiple subspecies exist within Florida with two being widespread.
Because of its tolerance of a
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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, In rich soils, may be overly aggressive.
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Habitat, Dry sites. Oak-pine-hickory woodslands. Tolerant of disturbance.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
- Beautiful, natural globe shape
- Sometime grows horozontially
- Beautiful rounded canopy
Polystichum acrostichoides
The range of this species includes much of eastern North America up into southern Canada. Its occurrence in Florida is sparse with appropriate substr
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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, Benefits from periodic removal of old fronds.
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Habitat, Rocky hammocks and upper margins of swamps.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
- No longer recommended
- Highly wind tolerant
- Stately and uncommon
- Unusual stilt roots
- Beloved in South Florida
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
