Natives For Your Neighborhood
Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

Ecological Restoration Notes: Highly invasive and to be eradicated whenever encountered.

Range: Nonnative and invasive in Florida. Native to South America.

 Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.

Wildlife and Ecology: Larval host plant for red-banded hairstreak butterfly (Calycopis cecrops) and the only known larval host for the recently introduced fulvous hairstreak butterfly (Electrostrymon angelica). Nectar plant for Boisduval's sulphur (Eurema boisduvaliana), cassius blue (Leptotes cassius), fulvous hairstreak, giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes), long-tailed skipper (Urbanus proteus), Miami blue (Cyclargus thomasi bethunebakeri), southern broken-dash (Wallengrenia otho) and other butterflies.

References: Hammer 2004