General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wet wildflower gardens.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts and occasionally by native plant nurseries.
Description: Twining, low climbing herbaceous vine.
Dimensions: N/A; a vine with stems to 5 feet or more in length.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Southeastern United States west to Texas and south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, Mexico and Central America. Very rare in the Monroe County Keys from Key Largo to Big Pine Key and perhaps absent in the middle Keys; reported for Key West in the late 1800s.
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: Marshes.
Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to seasonally inundated freshwater or 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: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Purplish.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Summer-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous capsule.
Wildlife and Ecology: Attracts bees and other insect pollinators.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
