Red/orange fall color is excellent. Leaves have three separate shapes: ovoid, tri-lobed, or mitten-shaped (left or right). Mature trees tend to have f , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Like other members of this family, sassafras trees are threatened by the spread of the redbay ambrosia beetle and the laural wilt fungus it carries. M , Wildlife, Birds consume fruit. , Habitat, Dry sites. Dry mesic forests. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Fall color, Interesting foliage Larval food for spicebush butterfly(Papilio troilus), tiger swallow-tail(papilio glaucus), palamede

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 , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, The flower stalks need to be removed once no longer showy. , Wildlife, Birds will eat the seeds.  Provides cover. , Habitat, Flatwoods, marshes, coastal swales, cypress ponds, lake shores, cutthroat seep. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Host plant for the Clouded Skipper butterfly (Lerema accius) , 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

This is one of Florida's more widespread spiderlilies. It is sometimes seen in roadside ditches. It is feasible to transplant this species if a plant , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Open wet flatwoods, marl prairies and savannas, moist but not flooded roadside swales. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Moth-pollinated, especially sphinx moths.

Younger specimens have a conical shape, but older trees tend to flatten out at the top. In some areas, the strangler fig (Ficus aurea)has strangled ma , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Can produce knees, even if grown in uplands. , Wildlife, Attracts seed-eating birds. Valuable as roosting and nesting areas for colonial wading birds. , Habitat, Riverine swamps, large swamps around lakes. Inundated areas associated with some form of flowing water. Floodplains, sloughs, strands. May be assoc , Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host for baldcypress sphinx (Isoparce cupressi) moth.

Known for very dense wood, hence the common name.  Said to have the heaviest wood on any American tree. Specimen plant or small shade tree. , 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 , Wildlife, Fruit eaten by birds and other wildlife. , Habitat, Dry sites. Hammocks. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance

Shade tree. Forest tree. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Wildlife, Birds, squirrel and other wildlife consume the acorns. , Habitat, Xeric to dry-mesic pine-oak-hickory woods, sometimes on bluff microsites. , Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host for the white-M hairstreak.

Relatively small for an oak. Use as specimen tree or in a grove. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Birds, squirrels, racoons, deer and other wildlife eat the seeds. , Habitat, Well drained bottomlands and bluffs. , Did You Know?, Larval host for brown duskywing butterfly (Erynnis horatius), and gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus), and white-M hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album).

In a wildflower garden or meadow, because it's noticeable only when flowering. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Disturbed areas , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Larval host to the Buckeye butterfly, Junonia coernia. Nectar source for bumblebees and other long tongue bees, butterflies and skipper

Based on BONAP maps, the ISB maps and specimens, and one author's personal observations, the range of this species appears to be those parts of the co , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Upland mixed forests, sandhill, cypress swamps, moist pinelands, white cedar swamps, sandhills near sinkhole ponds, often climbing on pond cypress or , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Said to attract early spring pollinators (Using Georgia Native Plants Blog).

Small specimen tree. Slow growing. Hedge. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Thorns of up to 3 inches long from branches and trunk. , Wildlife, Birds and other wildlife consume the fruit.  Browsed by deer and rabbits. , Habitat, Open woods, upland woods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Larval food for hummingbird clearwing moth(Hemaris thysbe), striped hairstreak butterfly(Satyrium liparops), and blinded

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 , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , 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 , Wildlife, Small birds and small mammals consume the seed. , Habitat, Upland glades, openings in upland mixed forests on calcareous soils. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts many pollinators, especially bees.

Wildflower garden. Mass plantings. , 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 , Wildlife, Small birds and other wildlife consume the seed. , Habitat, Flatwoods, sandhill, wet prairie, cutthroat seeps, dry hammocks, disturbed sites. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage Larval host for zabulon skipper (Poanes zabulon).