General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description: Medium shrub with erect stems. Leaves succulent, semi-deciduous.
Dimensions: From 3-10 feet tall. Colonial, forming large patches.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Eastern and southeastern United States west to Texas and south to Miami-Dade and Collier counties. Not recorded for southeastern Florida except for a single Miami-Dade County collection made by John Kunkell Small and J.J. Carter on Virginia Key in 1906.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
Habitats: Coastal marshes.
Soils: Wet to moist, poorly-drained to 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: 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 to light shade.
Flower Color: Greenish-white.
Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous.
Flowering Season: Summer-fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous achene.
Wildlife and Ecology: Provides some food and moderate amounts of cover for wildlife.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed or cuttings.
References: Schaefer & Tanner 1997
