General Landscape Uses:
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations.
Ecological Restoration Notes: Most typically an understory herb in brackish marshes along the coast.
Availability:
Rarely grown by native plant nurseries.
Description: Erect medium wildflower with wiry zigzag stems.
Dimensions: About 1-3 feet in height. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Monroe County Keys and Miami-Dade County north along the west coast to the Franklin County; Bahamas and Cuba.
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: Marshes and pinelands, often in brackish soils.
Soils: Wet to moist, periodically inundated brackish, sometimes freshwater, soils.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
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.
Flower Color: Pale blue or whitish.
Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy.
Flowering Season: Fall-winter.
Fruit: Inconspicuous achene.
Wildlife and Ecology: Attracts native bees and other beneficial insects.
Comments: The zigzag stem of this species is quite noticable. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
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.
