General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: High climbing or horizontal vine with very long stems.
Dimensions: N/A; vine with stems 10 feet or more in length.
Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north along the coasts to Brevard and Lee counties; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.
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: Tidal swamps and marshes.
Soils: Wet, periodically inundated brackish soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate to low; it prefers soils with organic content, but will still grow reasonably well in nutrient poor soils.
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: White with a yellow throat.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: All year.
Fruit: Several-sided pod containing hairy wind dispersed seeds.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.
Comments: The stems often creep along the ground for long distances before climbing up trees. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
