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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
Capsicum annuum var. glabriusculum
Edible, very hot fruits
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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, Birds (especially mockingbirds) eat the green, un-ripened peppers.
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Did You Know?, Showy fruits
Attracts bees.
- Pineapple-like showy fruits (female plants)
- Bright red fruits
- Does poorly in very wet soil
- Attractive flowers, typically deep orange
Eryngium yuccifolium
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
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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, 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
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Habitat, Moist-moist-wet sites. Cutthroat seeps, savannas, wet flatwoods, wet prairie, coastal flatwoods.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage
Attracts many kinds of insects, including long-tongued bees, short-tongued bees, wasps, flies, butte
- Christmas tree shape
- Decorative diamond-shaped trunk pattern
- Flowers profusely year round
Eryngium aquaticum
Moist wildflower garden.
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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, Wet prairie, wet pine flatwoods, fresh to brackish marshes, bogs, ditches, swamps. Especially in areas where limestone is close to the surface.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts many pollinators; is especially important for native bees.
- Rapid growth
- Stout, swollen trunk
- Will not tolerate frost
Penstemon laevigatus
Informal shady semi-shady gardens.
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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, Moist hardwood forests
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts bees, butterflies.
Larval host for common buckeye (Junonia coenia).
- Prominent blue-gray crownshaft
- Prized scent, used in commercial perfumes
- Prominant gray-olive crownshaft
- Raised diamond-shaped trunk pattern
Spartina spartinae
Primarily useful for coastal restoration projects.
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Tolerance, Tolerant of frequent or regular inundation (usually areas with tidal inundation)
High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and
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Wildlife, Attracts birds. Nesting and resting habitat.
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Habitat, Salt marshes, dunes.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
- Ringed trunk
- Colorful fall foliage
- Ideal with Mediterranean architecture
- Adequate moisture required
- Distinctive-looking fruit with spiked exterior
Morella inodora
Screen along the edge of swamps. Primarily used for restoration.
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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, Birds eat the fruits.
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Habitat, Shrub-tree bogs, bayheads, swamps, especially with Cyrilla racemiflora.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
- Elegant
- Does poorly oceanside
- Medium stature
- Handsome
- Decorative diamond-shaped trunk pattern
- Adequate moisture required
Litsea aestivalis
Litsea aestivalis is listed as Endangered by the State of Florida. Since that listing, the laurel wilt disease has come to Florida, and is known to k
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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, Fruits eaten by birds and mammals.
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Habitat, Near the edges of forested wetlands and some seasonal ponds wtih open centers.
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Did You Know?, Attracts flies and small bees.
A likely host for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly.
- Highly nutritious fruit
- Beautiful pinwheel flowers, often multicolored
- Cornerstone plant in South Florida
Pityopsis graminifolia
Minimize competition especially if it is over-topping the Pityopsis.
Wildflower garden. Foliage can be attractive year-round as silvery-gray green. A
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray.
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Considertions, Cut back after flowering to keep it neat.
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Habitat, Sandhill, scrub, scrubby flatwoods, flatwoods, dry prairie, disturbed areas.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage
Attracts bees and butterflies. A pollinator study at the Archbold Biological Station documented over 30 species of
- Ringed trunk
- Pleasant rounded shape
- Long-lasting year-round blooms
- Readily pruned into attractive shapes
- Stunning colorful foliage
Melanthera nivea
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
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Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray.
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Considertions, Can get rangy and may need pruning. Reseeds, so plant it where that's not a problem.
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Habitat, Edges of upland hardwood forests, hydric hammocks, maritime hammocks, pine flatwoods, pine-oak-hickory woods, calcareous hammocks, coastal hammocks, o
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Heavily used by butterflies, skippers, bees, and wasps for nectar. This plant is an insect magnet.
- Unique fluffy fronds
- Can be kept narrow
- Not a true jasmine
- Attractive blue-green to silver leaflets
- Slow Growth
Ptelea trifoliata
Understory tree, use as a background plant or 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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Habitat, Floodplains, rich woodlands, upland mixed forest.
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy fruits
Larval host for the giant swallowtail.
Carrion flies pollinate the flowers.
- Very showy bright yellow flowers
- Slender trunk, 4" in diameter
- Relatively uncommon in South Florida
- Native
Quercus nigra
The wood is weak.
Shade tree. Semi-evergreen with leaves falling just before new leaves emerge.
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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, Acorns can be a maintenance problem.
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Wildlife, Provides cover for and nesting areas for birds and squirrels
The acorns are used by squirrels, turkeys, and deer
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Habitat, Floodplains, seep slopes, mesic secondary woods. May invade flatwoods if there is fire exclusion.
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Did You Know?, Larval host plant for Horace's dusky wing (Erynnis horactius), red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) and white-M hairstreak (Parrhasius m-album) b
- Attractive symmetrical appearance
- Does poorly in very wet soil
- Can be grown indoors
- Showy clusters orange-yellow fruits in spring
- Ideal with Mediterranean architecture
