Edible, very hot fruits , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Birds (especially mockingbirds) eat the green, un-ripened peppers. , Did You Know?, Showy fruits Attracts bees.

Can be used as an accent plant or grown in the mid-rear of the garden. Also suitable in wildflower gardens. Its broad tolerance of soil and moisture c , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, The coarse foliage and prickly balls of flowers are not popular as a source of food with mammalian herbivores, although they may nibble off the ends o , Habitat, Moist-moist-wet sites. Cutthroat seeps, savannas, wet flatwoods, wet prairie, coastal flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage Attracts many kinds of insects, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butte

Grows well well north of its native range.  Documented in very southern counties with an outlier in Martin County -- that outlier is also unique in th , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Can get messy after cold spells. , Wildlife, Seeds are eaten by birds.  Provides cover for lizzards and other small animals. , Habitat, Pine rockland. Also cultivated. Dry sites. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage Larval host for Byssus Skipper (Problema byssus).

Informal shady semi-shady gardens. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Moist hardwood forests , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts bees, butterflies.  Larval host for common buckeye (Junonia coenia).

The author treats this as a friendly weed. Pull them if where there is something more desirable. Back of a wildflower garden in a casual setting. Gro , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Reseeds overly enthusiastically and may become weedy as the year progresses. , Habitat, Ruderal, disturbed hammocks. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage

Salt tolerance has not been studied but it has been recorded (in New England) in salt marshes, suggesting tolerance of at least brackish water and lik , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, It's a prolific reseeder. , Habitat, Upland mixed forests, flatwoods, sandhill, ruderal areas. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Flowers attract pollinators, likely bees, flies, and/or butterflies and moths.

Although it has square stems and opposite leaves like members of the mint family (Lamiaceae), this is a member of the daisy family, but it has no ray , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, Can get rangy and may need pruning. Reseeds, so plant it where that's not a problem. , Habitat, Edges of upland hardwood forests, hydric hammocks, maritime hammocks, pine flatwoods, pine-oak-hickory woods, calcareous hammocks, coastal hammocks, o , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Heavily used by butterflies, skippers, bees, and wasps for nectar.  This plant is an insect magnet.