General Landscape Uses:
Naturalistic landscapes and butterfly gardens.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Shrub up to 5 feet tall with leathery, woolly leaves 2-3 inches long. Fragrant white or cream flowers.
Dimensions: Typically 5 feet in height, spreading to be more broad than tall.
Range:
Southern Georgia and Florida south to Highlands County; very rare in the Florida Panhandle.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Sandy pinelands, sandhills.
Soils: Moist to dry, well-drained 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 to light shade.
Flower Color: White or cream
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Spring to summer.
Fruit: Berries 1.5-3 inches long.
Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for zebra swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus floridanus) butterflies.
Horticultural Notes: Can be difficult to establish due to the long taproot.
References: Hall (
2020)
Comments: We have been adding data for this species for central and northern Florida and welcome any feedback or review. If you would like to contribute information or images, please contact George Gann via the IRC staff page. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
