Often grows with ink berry and palmettos. Beautiful early spring-blooming shrub. Grow at edge of wooded areas or as a specimen. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Various birds eat the berries including titmice, nuthatches, warblers, chickadees, cardinals, grosbeaks, and orioles. , Habitat, Wet sites. Seep slopes, wet flatwoods, edges of swamps. , Did You Know?, Interesting bark, Fall color, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Flowers attract bees and butterflies.  Pollinated by bees.

Predominantly a Florida plant, but it has also been recorded in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas. The species name "tomentosa" refer , Tolerance, Unknown Unknown , Habitat, Scrub, sandhill, edges of xeric hammocks, scrubby flatwoods , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Larval host for monach (Danaus plexippus) , queen (Danaus gilippus) and soldier (Danaus eresimus) butterflies.  Nectar plant for many b