| Swamp-lily, Seven-sisters, String-lily
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| Crinum americanum
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| Amaryllidaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Water gardens and along pond and lake edges. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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A common understory element of freshwater marshes. |
| Availability: |
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Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in South Florida. |
| Description: |
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Medium herbaceous wildflower from a basal rosette. Leaves strap-like, leathery, 1-4 feet long. |
| Height: |
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Typically 2-3 feet in height. About as broad as tall, the flowers emerging taller. |
| Growth Rate: |
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Moderate. |
| Range: |
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Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade County and the Monroe County mainland; West Indies (Cuba, Jamaica). |
| Habitats: |
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Marshes and swamps. |
| Soils: |
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Wet to moist, seasonally inundated organic soils. |
| Nutritional Requirements: |
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High; requires rich organic soils for optimal growth. |
| Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. |
| Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation. |
| Drought Tolerance: |
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Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought. |
| Light Requirements: |
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Full sun to light shade or moderate shade. |
| Flower Color: |
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White. |
| Flower Characteristics: |
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Showy. Fragrant. |
| Flowering Season: |
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Spring-fall. |
| Fruit: |
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Green fleshy capsule. |
| Wildlife and Ecology: |
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Larval host for Spanish moth (Xanthopastis timais). |
| Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from seed and division. |
| Comments: |
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Luber grasshoppers chew the leaves. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.
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James Johnson, 2014 In habitat, Everglades National Park, Florida
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James Johnson, 2012 In habitat, Big Cypress National Preserve, Florida
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