Natives For Your Neighborhood
Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

General Landscape Uses: Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also butterfly gardens.

Ecological Restoration Notes: Frequent but rarely abundant in a wide variety of ecosystems.

Availability: Grown by enthusiasts.

Description: Medium erect wildflower.

Dimensions: Typically 6-12 inches in height; up to 24 inches in flower. Taller than broad.

Growth Rate: Fast.

Range: Widespread in eastern North America west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, southern Mexico, Central America and northern South America (Trinidad). Rare in the Florida Keys.

 Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.

 Map of suggested ZIP codes from South Florida north to southern Brevard, Osceola, Polk, and Pasco counties.

 Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.

Habitats: Pinelands, prairies and open, coastal areas.

Soils: Moist to wet, well-drained to poorly-drained sandy or limestone soils.

Nutritional Requirements: Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils.

Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.

Drought Tolerance: Moderate to high; plants growing in extremely dry soils may die during extended periods of drought.

Light Requirements: Full sun.

Flower Color: White or violet.

Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy.

Flowering Season: Spring-fall.

Fruit: Inconspicuous spherical capsule.

Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for common buckeye (Junonia coenia) butterflies.

References: Miami-Dade County Landscape Manual (2005).

Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.