Florida coastal indigo
Indigofera miniata var. florida
Fabaceae


Landscape Uses:

Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wildflower and rock gardens.

Ecological Restoration Notes:

It can be used as one of many understory herbs in pine rocklands. It seems to prefer weedy conditions and will spread from seed in pine rockland creations.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description:
Small herbaceous wildflower.
Height:
About 1-3 inches in height. Spreading and forming large, open patches.
Growth Rate:
Fast.
Range:
Endemic to Florida from the Monroe County Keys north to Alachua and Levy counties. In South Florida, very rare outside of Monroe and Miami-Dade counties; perhaps never present or extirpated in Broward County; in Palm Beach County, known only from the Juno Dunes area; apparently absent elsewhere. Also very rare or absent in the upper and middle Florida Keys.
Habitats:
Pinelands and open disturbed sites.
Soils:
Moist, well-drained limestone or sandy soils, without humus.
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:
Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance:
High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements:
Full sun.
Flower Color:
Pink.
Flower Characteristics:
Semi-showy.
Flowering Season:
All year.
Fruit:
Small pod (legume).
Wildlife and Ecology:
Horticultural Notes:
Can be grown from seed.
Comments:
Spreads from seed in the garden and prefers open, disturbed areas, but is not really weedy.


Roger L. Hammer