General Landscape Uses:
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 to medium erect wildflower.
Dimensions: About 6-18 inches in height, sometimes taller, or vine-like to 3 feet in length. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Slow.
Range:
Monroe County Keys and Miami-Dade and Collier counties; West Indies. In the Monroe County Keys, disjunct from Miami-Dade County to the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key and nearby islands.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of suggested ZIP codes from South Florida north to southern Brevard, Osceola, Polk, and Pasco counties.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
Habitats: Pinelands and marl prairies.
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: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Yellow.
Flower Characteristics: Showy, about 1" long and 3/4" wide.
Flowering Season: All year.
Fruit: Slender cylindrical pods.
References: Hammer 2004
Comments: The flower resembles a small form of the commonly cultivated allamanda. The sap can cause eye irritation and a skin rash. It is listed as threatened by the state of Florida. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
