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.

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.

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.

They are included here because they are valuable to insects and because they are lovely and good to have in a native garden if you are lucky enough to , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Both species are hemi-parasitic (semi-parasitic) and difficult to grow without appropriate host plants. , Habitat, Open upland woods and disturbed edges. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Larval host for  black buckeye. Attracts insects.

This plant is believed to be extirpated in the wild in Florida.  According to most sources, it was known from a single area south of Miami near Biscay , 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 , Habitat, Coastal areas. Dunes and limerock and said to like hollows near mangroves. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage Nectar attracts  butterflies.

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

Moist wildflower garden. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Wet prairie, wet pine flatwoods, fresh to brackish marshes, bogs, ditches, swamps. Especially in areas where limestone is close to the surface. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts many pollinators; is especially important for native bees.

Specimen shrub. Fine foliage. Does well adjacent to structures or woods. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Requires acid soil. , Wildlife, Attracts many pollinators--is important to native bees. Birds and other wildlife consume the fruit. , Habitat, Dry sites. Upland mixed forests, sandhill, flatwoods, scrub. , Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy flowers

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).

Use as a small specimen shrub in moist areas. Can also be used in floodplains. , Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Wildlife, Used by birds for nesting and food. A wide variety of animals eat the fruit. , Habitat, Shallowly inundated floodplain forest, shallow set sinks, hydric seep slopes and immediately adjacent mesic slopes, hydric hammock, moist mesic hammoc , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage Pollinated by 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.

This is a State-endangered species.  Please honor all state regulations regarding growing and transport of this species. Plant in wet prairie setting , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Foliage and seeds are food source for birds and mammals. , Habitat, Open seep slopes, wet prairie, wet flatwoods at margins of seasonal ponds, wetland transition zones. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts insect pollinators, especially bees.