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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
Asclepias perennis
Small specimen plant in wet areas. Does well in bog gardens and rain gardens or bioswales.
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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, Toxic.
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Habitat, Marshes, swamps
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Larval host to the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus), and soldier butterfly, (Danaus eresimus).
A
- Relatively uncommon in South Florida
- Can be trimmed into manicured shapes
- Beautiful pinwheel flowers, often multicolored
- Ideal with Mediterranean architecture
- Wide umbrella-shaped canopy
Seymeria spp.
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
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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, Both species are hemi-parasitic (semi-parasitic) and difficult to grow without appropriate host plants.
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Habitat, Open upland woods and disturbed edges.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Larval host for black buckeye.
Attracts insects.
- Compact size
- Does best in cooler areas of South Florida
- Colorful new leafs
- Tropical silhouette
- Excellent small to medium hedge
Symphyotrichum concolor
Benefits from controlled burns. There are contradictions in herbarium databases, and reliable observations in counties where there are no herbarium sp
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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
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Wildlife, Used as browse by deer to the extent that in some states, browsing is an issue.
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Habitat, Dry, sandy
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Nectar plant for many butterfly species but also visited by other native insect pollinators.
- Tiered branches
- Wind tolerant
- Sometime grows horozontially
- Massive stature
- Width often exceeds height
- Slender and elegant
Sambucus nigra subsp. canadensis
Used extensively in Indian cultures. Fruits are very high in Vitamin C.
Casual settings, wetland edge or screen plant. Rain gardens and bioswales. Lo
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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, Many would consider this plant weedy: it does self seed and spread via rhizomes. It's wood is weak; stems break easily. Use where these characteristic
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Wildlife, Fruits popular with birds.
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Habitat, Disturbed wetland edges, wet roadsides, etc.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage
Flowers attract many pollinators.
- Damaged by citrus canker
- Recently classified invasive
- Very showy bright yellow flowers
- Relatively compact and narrow canopy
- Requires ample space and light
Panicum hemitomon
Shoreline stabilizer or plant as cover in a pond. Can tolerate wide water level fluctuations. Frequently used in marsh restoration and wetland creatio
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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, Has deep, aggressive rhizomes and is difficult to control in a garden setting once established but highly valuable if used for stabilization or marsh
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Wildlife, Provides cover for small fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Seeds eaten by some birds and small animals.
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Habitat, Basin marsh (maidencane marsh), ponds, streams, sloughs, swamps, wet disturbed sites, sandhill. This species may become domininant in wetlands with
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Did You Know?, Larval host for clouded skipper (Lerema accius) and Delaware skipper (Anatrytone logan) butterflies.
- Deciduous
- Tall and stately
- Unique foliage
- Tiered branches
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
Spartina alterniflora
Used for shoreline protection. A major saltmarsh plant. Useful for erosion control.
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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, Birds and other animals eat the seeds.
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Habitat, Salt marsh, tidal flats, beaches.
,
Did You Know?, Interesting foliage
Larval food for Louisiana eyed silkmoth (Automeris louisiana)
- Stunning
- Long emerald crownshaft
- Beautiful purple-brown crownshaft
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.
,
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
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.
,
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
Gaylussacia mosieri
Rarely gown likely because of its need for moist sites.
Shrub in an informal, moist garden and would make a good backdrop for a bog garden, or a good
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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 a variety of birds and mammals.
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Habitat, Bogs, wet savannas, edges of bayheads, mesic to hydric flatwoods.
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Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy flowers
Pollinated by native bees.
- Excellent edible fruit
- Stunning long emerald crownshaft
- Not a true jasmine
