General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Ecological Restoration Notes: It can be used as one of many understory herbs in pine rocklands. It is rare in other pinelands in South Florida.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts and occasionally by native plant nurseries.
Description: Medium herbaceous wildflower.
Dimensions: About 1-3 feet in height. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Eastern United States west to Louisiana and south to the Monroe County Keys; Bahamas. Rare in South Florida outside of Miami-Dade County. In the Monroe County Keys, disjunct from Miami-Dade County to the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key. Perhaps never present or extirpated in Broward County.
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: Pinelands.
Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, without humus.
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: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Lavender-pink.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: All year.
Fruit: Inconspicuous achene.
Wildlife and Ecology: Nectar plant for butterflies. Attracts native bees and other beneficial insects.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.
References: A Gardener's Guide to Florida's Native Plants
Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
