| Mangrove spiderlily, Perfumed spiderlily
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| Hymenocallis latifolia
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| Amaryllidaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Wildflower gardens. Moist coastal locations. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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A relatively commmon element of coastal uplands. |
| Availability: |
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Available at native plant nurseries in central and South Florida. Available in Boynton Beach at Sustainscape (561-245-5305). |
| Description: |
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Medium herbaceous wildflower from a basal rosette. Leaves strap-like, leathery, up to 2 1/2 feet long. |
| Height: |
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Typically 2-3 feet in height, more when in flower. About as tall as broad. |
| Growth Rate: |
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Moderate. |
| Range: |
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Monroe County Keys north along the coasts to Volusia, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties; Texas; West Indies. |
| Habitats: |
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Coastal beaches and thickets; sometimes along the margins of mangrove swamps. |
| Soils: |
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Moist, well-drained to occasionally inundated brackish sandy soils. |
| Nutritional Requirements: |
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Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive. |
| Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water. |
| Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Frontline; grows in direct salt wind but away from constant salt spray. |
| Drought Tolerance: |
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Moderate to high; plants growing in extremely dry soils may die during extended periods of drought. |
| Light Requirements: |
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Full sun to light 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. Maturing in fall. |
| Wildlife and Ecology: |
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| Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from seed and divisions. |
| Comments: |
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Luber grasshoppers chew the leaves. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page. |
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