General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Ecological Restoration Notes: A rare element of drier pinelands including scrub and well-drained sandy patches in pine rocklands.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts and occasionally by native plant nurseries.
Description: Medium shrub.
Dimensions: Typically 3-4 feet in height. Usually taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Southern Georgia south to Miami-Dade and Collier counties. Rare and scattered in South Florida. Rare in Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Martin counties; perhaps never present or extirpated in Broward County; perhaps extirpated in Collier County; apparently absent elsewhere.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Moist to dry pinelands.
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 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.
Flower Color: Pink.
Flower Characteristics: Showy inflorescence.
Flowering Season: Fall.
Fruit: Inconspicuous achene.