Natives For Your Neighborhood
Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

General Landscape Uses: Accent coastal wildflower and bedding plant.

Ecological Restoration Notes: A relatively common element of coastal areas, especially the ecotones between mangrove swamps and coastal uplands.

Availability: Widely cultivated.  Available in Boynton Beach at Sustainscape, in Sanibel at Captiva Conservation Foundation.

Description: Small to medium shrub with silvery-green leaves and attractive yellow flowers.

Dimensions: Typically 2-3 feet in height; to 5 feet in South Florida. Colonial, and spreading much broader than tall.

Growth Rate: Moderate.

Range: Eastern and southeastern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; Bahamas, Cuba and southern Mexico.

 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: Coastal wetlands and beaches.

Soils: Wet to moist, well-drained to periodically inundated brackish soils.

Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.

Salt Water Tolerance: Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury.

Drought Tolerance: Moderate to low; requires moist to wet soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.

Flower Color: Yellow.

Flower Characteristics: Showy compound heads, about 1" wide.

Flowering Season: All year; peak spring-summer.

Fruit: Inconspicuous achene.

Wildlife and Ecology: Provides moderate amounts of food and cover for wildlife. Nectar plant for great southern white (Ascia monuste), gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), large orange sulphur (Phoebis agarithe), southern broken-dash (Wallengrenia otho) and other butterflies.

Horticultural Notes: Grown from seed or cuttings. Break up seed heads into a pot with 2" or more of potting soil and sprinkle a little soil into the pot, almost covering the seeds. Place in light shade or full sun and keep moist.

References: Hammer 2004

Comments: In Florida, distinguished from B. arborescens by its silver foliage (in the Bahamas, B. arborescens is also silver). In Florida and Cuba, the two species form a rare natural hybrid, B. x cubana. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.