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Floristic Inventory of the Florida Keys Database Online

Varronia bullata L. subsp. humilis
(Jacq.) Feuillet
Butterflybush, Curacao bush, Bloodberry

Varronia bullata
Copyright by: Roger L. Hammer

Family: Boraginaceae

Group: Dicot

Substrate: Terrestrial

Habit: Shrub

Perennation: Perennial

Native Range: South Florida, the West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.

State of Florida Status: Endangered

IRC SOUTH FLORIDA Status: Rare

Map of select IRC data for peninsular Florida

SOUTH FLORIDA Occurrence: Present

SOUTH FLORIDA Native Status: Native

SOUTH FLORIDA Cultivated Status: Cultivated

Comments: Visit our Natives For Your Neighborhood website for more information and images.

Synonyms: Cordia globosa.

FLORIDA KEYS Occurrence: Present

FLORIDA KEYS Native Status: Native

IRC FLORIDA KEYS Status: Imperiled

Map of select IRC data for the Florida Keys

Florida Keys History and Distribution: First collected between 1838 and 1853 by John Loomis Blodgett on the island of Key West.  Reported in 1913 by John Kunkel Small for hammocks in the lower Keys.  We consider this native and extant from the upper Keys to the lower Keys.

Syonyms: C. bullata, misapplied; Varronia globosa.

Other data on Varronia bullata subsp. humilis available from :

Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants

Varronia bullata subsp. humilis has been reported from the following 11 conservation areas in the FLORIDA KEYS :
Occurrence Native Status
Biscayne National Park, Florida Keys Section Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Blue Heron Hammock, Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Indian Key Historic State Park Reported
Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park Present Native
Lignumvitae Key Botanical State Park, Klopp Tract Present Native
Little Hamaca Park Present Native
Long Key State Park Present Native
National Key Deer Refuge Possibly Extirpated Possibly Extirpated
Snake Creek Hammocks, Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Sugarloaf Hammocks, Florida Keys Wildlife and Environmental Area Present Native
Windley Key Fossil Reef Geological State Park Present Native




Varronia bullata subsp. humilis has been reported for the following 4 habitats in THE FLORIDA KEYS :
Coastal Berm
Disturbed Upland
Keys Cactus Barren
Rockland Hammock


All Images:

Varronia bullata
Copyright by: Roger L. Hammer
Varronia bullata
Copyright by: George D. Gann
Varronia bullata
Copyright by: Keith A. Bradley
Varronia bullata
Copyright by: Keith A. Bradley
Varronia bullata
Copyright by: CJ McCartney, 2021. Cassius blue (Leptotes cassius theonus) mating.