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

General Landscape Uses: Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wildflower and butterdly gardens.

Ecological Restoration Notes: A common understory herb in a variety of open, upland ecosystems.

Availability: Grown by enthusiasts.

Description: Small herbaceous wildflower.

Dimensions: Typically 3-6 inches in height. Spreading and forming small, open patches.

Growth Rate: Moderate.

Range: Southern and eastern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, Mexico and Central America. In the Monroe County Keys, disjunct from Miami-Dade County to the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key.

 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 open, coastal uplands.

Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or 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: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury.

Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun.

Flower Color: Yellow.

Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy, about 5/16" long.

Flowering Season: All year.

Fruit: Brown inflated pod (legume). Seeds "rattle" when the fruit is ripe.

Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for ceraunus blue (Hemiargus ceraunus) butterflies.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.

References: Hammer 2004

Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page.