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Rudbeckia spp.
Multiple species are native to Florida. Most are attractive and many are easy to grow. This is a catch-all for species not listed individually. Ple
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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, Small seed-eating birds pick out the seeds from the mature flower heads.
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Habitat, Vary by species. Mostly sandhills, bogs, roadsides, ruderal.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attract butterflies, bees and wasps.
- Long emerald crownshaft
- Can be grown indoors
- Somewhat drought tolerant
- Colorful new leafs
- No longer recommended
Asclepias tuberosa
Sometimes difficult to establish in new areas, but definitely worth the effort.
Wildflower garden, meadow.
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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, Reported to attract hummingbirds.
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Habitat, Sandhill, clayhill, scrub, ruderal
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts butterflies, bees, other insects.
Larval host to the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus) a
- Pineapple-like showy fruits (female plants)
- Retains leaves until just before blooming
- Long emerald crownshaft
- Thrives only briefly, about 1 year
- Beautiful purple-brown crownshaft
- Attracts butterflies
Solidago odora var. chapmanii
This forms clumps but does not form large clones, which means it will not take over a garden.
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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Wildlife, Songbirds such as goldfinches and sparrows eat the seeds, and mice and deer browse the foliage and flowers.
Provides cover for many small animals inc
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Habitat, Typically a plant of mesic to dry flatwoods and scrubby flatwoods. Can be ruderal.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Used for nectar by butterflies.
Attracts a wide variety of pollinators, especially bees. Documented bee visitors include Colletes maiz
- Not as popular as it once was
- Slow Growth
- Long-lived perennial
- Native
Rhododendron minus var. chapmanii
Endemic to Florida
Listed as Endangered by the USFWS and FL
Specimen plant. Screen plant. Can be grown in a mass under trees.
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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, Attracts pollinators, including hummingbirds.
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Habitat, Mesic flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods, seep slope. Ecotone between flatwoods and edges of titi swamps.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts insects. Apparently important to bumble bees.
- Killed by citrus greening (HLB)
- Elegant and compact
- Colorful new leafs
- Excellent edible fruit
Iris verna var. smalliana
Noted for fragrance.
Casual shade garden. It spreads, so eventually acts as a groundcover.
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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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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Attracts bees, esp. bumblebees.
- Stunning
- Wonderfully fragrant, carries a great distance
- Arched, recurving fronds
- Colorful older leaves
- Slow Growth
Nymphoides aquatica
This species is listed as invasive in parts of the world where it is not native.
Water garden, planting of surface water management pond. Often used
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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, Water. Ponds, lakes, quiet streams, swampa, ditches, canals. This species can be seen in the Lower Hillsborough Flood Detention Area in Hillsborough
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Pollinated by bees and flies.
- Easy/Carefree native
- Handsome
- Pyramidal crown
- Does best in cooler areas of South Florida
- Easily trimmed to maintain desired size
- Does poorly in very wet soil
Lantana depressa var. depressa
This is a rare South Florida native that has entered the nursery trade. A major concern is hybridization with Lantana strigocamara, a multicolored inv
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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, Birds eat the fruits and spread the seeds.
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Habitat, Pine rockland. On limestone. Vacant lots.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
May be pollinated by butterflies during the day and by moths at night (Osorio 2012). Also visited by bees.
- Forms an open canopy
- Lovely dark green, shiny leaves
- Attractive mottled bark
- Narrow canopy
- Beautiful rounded dense canopy
- Wonderfully fragrant, carries a great distance
Zanthoxylum clava-herculis
Wood is quite soft and weak. This author had one break in a storm. It did however resprout from low on the trunk and the sprout is now about 15 ft t
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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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Considertions, Quite thorny.
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Wildlife, Birds and other wildlife eat the fruit.
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Habitat, Hammocks, wet woods, dunes, shell middens.
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Did You Know?, Interesting bark, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns
Larval host for giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes).
- Attracts butterflies and bees
- Showy display of fruit
- Beautiful sweeping fronds with drooping leaflets
- Killed by citrus greening (HLB)
Chrysophyllum oliviforme
Specimen tree. Valued for its foliage which is shiny green on top and silky brown beneath.
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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, Slow growing. May be top-killed by frost in extreme northern parts of its range or when planted to the north of its natural range. Does resprout from
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Wildlife, Birds and other wildlife consume fruit.
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Habitat, Tropical rockland hammocks.
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Did You Know?, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance
Insect pollinated.
- Requires high humidity
- Fruit attracts wildlife
- Very showy clusters of flowers
- Readily pruned into attractive shapes
- Killed by citrus greening (HLB)
- Recently classified invasive
Calamintha coccinea
Short lived. Rarely grown as it is difficult to establish.
Retain it in the landscape if is is occurring naturally.
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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, Difficult to establish and requires highly specific site conditions.
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Wildlife, Attracts hummingbirds.
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Habitat, Scrub, in open areas. Sandhills, coastal hammocks. Mostly near the coast.
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Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers
Attracts bees, and butterflies.
- Attractive contrast between flowers and foliage
- Can be kept narrow
- Very showy clusters of flowers
- Can be grown indoors
- Symmetrical shape
Helianthus agrestis
This is Florida's only native annual sunflower. The Bradford County location is near both a major road and a railroad and may be a waif.
Moist wildf
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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 and small mammals eat the seeds.
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Habitat, Pinelands, savannas, ruderal.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers
Primarily pollinated by bees. The goldenrod soldier beetle (a.k.a. leatherwing beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) is a goldenrod pol
- Showy reddish peeling bark
- Very showy clusters of red flowers
- Grows tall, but not massive
Viburnum rufidulum
Specimen plant, screen plant, understory tree/shrub.
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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, Attracts pollinators. Birds and other wildlife consume fruit.
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Habitat, Upland hardwood forests, bluffs, secondary woods.
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Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits
Larval host for the spring azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon).
Both native and non-native viburnums (Viburnum spp.) attra
- Flowers year round
- Imposing stature
- Silvery blue-green fronds
- Highly wind tolerant
- Lovely deep green, glossy leaves
- Unique, stout pineapple-like trunk when young
