Both male and female plants required for pollination and seed set. Specimen tree.  Screen. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Sharp spines (teeth) on leaves. , Wildlife, Fruits are eaten by birds. , 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. , Did You Know?, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance Bees pollinate flowers.

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.

Benefits from controlled burns. There are contradictions in herbarium databases, and reliable observations in counties where there are no herbarium sp , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure to salt spray wo , Wildlife, Used as browse by deer to the extent that in some states, browsing is an issue. , Habitat, Dry, sandy , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Nectar plant for many butterfly species but also visited by other native insect pollinators.

Some literature sources suggest that this species may have some salt tolerance as it apparently grows along the upper edges of some salt marshes, but , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Moist-wet sites. Wet flatwoods, roadside ditches in former flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers This plant is an insect magnet! It attracts insects including long-tongued bees, green metallic bees, bee flies, butterflies, and skipp

Screen along the edge of swamps. Primarily used for restoration. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Birds eat the fruits. , Habitat, Shrub-tree bogs, bayheads, swamps, especially with Cyrilla racemiflora. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage

Wildflower garden. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Sometimes the flower stalks are too tall and heavy to stand. Can be cut back mid-summer to reduce height. In a large garden, the twisted fallen stalks , Habitat, Mesic to wet flatwoods, seep slopes, bogs, savannas, ditches, cutthroat seeps, bogs, boggy swamps. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies and bees.