Florida five-petalled leafflower
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Phyllanthus pentaphyllus var. floridanus
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Phyllanthaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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It can be used as one of many understory herbs in pine rocklands. |
Availability: |
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Grown by enthusiasts. |
Description: |
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Small herb. |
Height: |
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About 4-8 inches in height. Spreading from underground stems (rhizomes) and forming small, open patches much broader than tall. |
Growth Rate: |
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Fast. |
Range: |
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Endemic to the Monroe County Keys and Miami-Dade County. In the Monroe County Keys, apparently disjunct from Miami-Dade County to the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key and nearby islands; also reported for Key Largo, but perhaps introduced there. |
Habitats: |
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Pine rocklands. |
Soils: |
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Moist, well-drained limestone soils, without humus. |
Nutritional Requirements: |
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Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils. |
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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Low; salt wind may burn the leaves. |
Drought Tolerance: |
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High; does not require any supplemental water once established. |
Light Requirements: |
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Full sun. |
Flower Color: |
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Yellowish-green. |
Flower Characteristics: |
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Inconspicuous. |
Flowering Season: |
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All year. |
Fruit: |
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inconspicuous, 3-lobed capsule. |
Wildlife and Ecology: |
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Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from seed. |
Comments: |
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