General Landscape Uses:
Accent or specimen epiphyte; on live oaks along forest edges.
Ecological Restoration Notes: A relatively common epiphyte in hammocks and swamps.
Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts.
Description: Epiphytic wildflower.
Dimensions: About 12-18 inches in height; up to 36 inches in flower. Forming small clumps about as broad as tall.
Growth Rate: Slow.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north to Volusia, Orange, Polk, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties; West Indies, Mexico and Central America. Rare in the Monroe County Keys south of Key Largo and perhaps absent in the middle Keys.
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: Moist forests and swamps.
Soils: Epiphytic; or terrestrial in moist, well-drained humusy leaf litter, acid to neutral pH.
Nutritional Requirements: Low; it grows on nutrient poor substrate.
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: Light shade to full sun.
Flower Color: Purple.
Flower Characteristics: Showy inflorescence.
Flowering Season: Spring-fall.
Fruit: Green to brown capsule with hairy, wind dispersed seeds.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed and division.
References: A Gardner's Guide to Florida's Native Plants
Comments: It is listed as endangered by the state of Florida.
