Florida diamond flowers
Stenaria nigricans var. floridana
Rubiaceae


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.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description:
Small herbaceous wildflower.
Height:
About 2-4 inches tall. Spreading and becoming broader than tall.
Growth Rate:
Fast.
Range:
Monroe County Keys and Miami-Dade County; Bahamas. In the Monroe County Keys, disjunct from Miami-Dade County to the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key. Also collected on the island of Key West in the mid 1800s.
Habitats:
Pine rocklands.
Soils:
Moist, well-drained limestone 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:
White.
Flower Characteristics:
Semi-showy.
Flowering Season:
All year.
Fruit:
Inconspicuous globose capsule.
Wildlife and Ecology:
Horticultural Notes:
Comments:


Roger L. Hammer
Beryn Harty, 2015
Monroe County, Florida
Beryn Harty, 2015
Monroe County, Florida
Shirley Denton