General Landscape Uses:
Accent vine.
Availability:
Native plant nurseries. Available in Lake Worth at
Amelia's SmartyPlants (561-540-6296).
Description: Clambering or twining woody vine with glossy leaves and attractive yellow flowers.
Dimensions: N/A; vine with stems to 10 feet or more in length.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north to St. Lucie and Lee counties; the West Indies and the Bay Islands of Honduras.
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, hammocks and coastal thickets.
Soils: Moist, well-drained to moderately well-drained sandy, limestone, or organic soils, with or without humusy top layer.
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: Showy, about 2" wide.
Flowering Season: All year; peak spring-summer.
Fruit: Two-parted pod of elongated, slender incurved follicles.
Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for polka-dot wasp moths (
Syntomeida epilais).
References: Hammer 2004
Comments: An attractive twining vine with glossy leaves. The sap is poisonous if ingested, is irritating to the eyes and can cause a skin rash.