This is one of Florida's most showy and most under-appreciated wildflowers. Look for it along disturbed roadsides in mid-late winter and early spring. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Sharp thorn-like prickles cover most of the plant. Highly toxic. , Habitat, Ruderal areas. Common on dry roadsides. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Thorns Attracts pollinators including bees, flies, and beetles.  Documented bee species include  Apis mellifera (honeybee), Dialictus

They are included here because they are valuable to insects and because they are lovely and good to have in a native garden if you are lucky enough to , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Both species are hemi-parasitic (semi-parasitic) and difficult to grow without appropriate host plants. , Habitat, Open upland woods and disturbed edges. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Larval host for  black buckeye. Attracts insects.

This plant is believed to be extirpated in the wild in Florida.  According to most sources, it was known from a single area south of Miami near Biscay , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt spray without i , Habitat, Coastal areas. Dunes and limerock and said to like hollows near mangroves. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage Nectar attracts  butterflies.

Specimen plant, screen plant, understory tree/shrub. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Attracts pollinators. Birds and other wildlife consume fruit. , Habitat, Upland hardwood forests, bluffs, secondary woods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Larval host for the spring azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon). Both native and non-native viburnums (Viburnum spp.) attra

This plant can be used as a background planting that will create a light orange haze during the late fall and winter months. Andropogon virgnicus var. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Can be aggressive in disturbed lands. , Wildlife, Provides food and nesting material for many small birds and other small animals. , Habitat, Open seepage areas, flatwoods, marshes, ruderal areas. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage Larval host for zabulon skipper (Poanes zabulon).

Specimen plant. Hedge--makes a good barrier. , Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure to salt spray would be uncommon ( , Considertions, Leaves have very sharp tips. , Wildlife, Provides wildlife cover , Habitat, Wet flatwoods, sand dunes, disturbed sites. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage Provides food and cover for wildlife.Larval host plant for cofaqui giant skipper (Megathymus cofaqui

Some literature sources suggest that this species may have some salt tolerance as it apparently grows along the upper edges of some salt marshes, but , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Moist-wet sites. Wet flatwoods, roadside ditches in former flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers This plant is an insect magnet! It attracts insects including long-tongued bees, green metallic bees, bee flies, butterflies, and skipp

Moist wildflower garden or butterfly garden. Edges of water features. Will spread to form large patches. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Riverine swamps, cypress savannas. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Nectar plant for obscure skipper (Panoquina panoquinoides), salt marsh skipper (Panoquina panoquin), southern broken-dash (Wallengrenia

The herbarium specimen from Polk County almost certainly has a wrong location.  Lithia is in Hillsborough County and the most likely translation of a , Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges. High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt , Wildlife, Attracts hummingbirds. Birds and other small wildlife consume the seed (https://wildflower.org) , Habitat, Moist-wet areas, acid soils. Wet flatwoods, savannas, swamps, stream banks, bogs, other wet areas. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies and bees which have evolved to take advantage of narrow, tubular flowers.

Mass planting or specimen plant in moist areas. Best for informal gardens. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Wildlife, Birds and other wildlife consume fruit. , Habitat, Moist hammocks, flatwoods, stream banks. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies. Attracts many pollinators including bees. Larval host plant for clymene moth (Haploa clymene).

Not generally grown, little information on culture has been located. Wildflower in moist casual setting. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Moist flatwoods, savannas. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Bees have been documented using this species including Dialictus nymphalis and D. tegularis (Deyrup et al. 2002).

The blue fruits on this tree are actually fleshy cones. Often used as a screen by planting in one or two fairly dense rows. Also useful as a backgrou , Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges. High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt , Wildlife, Birds eat the fruit-like cones and use the foliage for cover. , Habitat, Calcareous soils, shell mounds, coastal hammocks, second growth on open rocky fields. Open. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance

Specimen plant. Slow growing. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Leaves have sharp spines. It's dioecious; so make sure you have at least one male plant in the vicinity to produce berries on the females. , Wildlife, Fruits principally eaten by birds. , Habitat, Scrub. , Did You Know?, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage, Thorns Pollinated by bees.  Documented bee species include Augochloropsis sumptuosa, Megachilepetulans and Xylocop

Closely related plants occur in the Caribbean and Central America. Yellow or orange flowering plants are not the Florida native. In recent years plant , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, This species is cold sensitive and will die back if it freezes. Usually resprouts from the base. There are recent observations of the plant in north F , Wildlife, Birds and small mammals eat the fruits and disperse seeds. Hummingbirds come for nectar , Habitat, Dry sites. Coastal forests, upland forests, hammocks. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host for the pluto sphinx moth Butterflies, noted for attracting zebrawing  Attracts long-tongued bee

It's called "white mangrove" because it exudes extra salt through special glands which makes the leaves appear white. The word "mangrove"  refers to a , Tolerance, Tolerant of frequent or regular inundation (usually areas with tidal inundation) High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and , Habitat, Mangrove swamps. Tends to be at higher elevations that red and black mangroves. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Hurricane wind resistance Attracts bees, wasps, flies and butterflies (Landry 2013).

Each stem has soft, fleshy green flanges running longitudinally down its length. When winter weather brings ice, the stems exude water that freezes in , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Moist forest edges. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts native bees. Nectar source for butterflies.

Used for shoreline protection. A major saltmarsh plant. Useful for erosion control. , Tolerance, Tolerant of frequent or regular inundation (usually areas with tidal inundation) High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and , Wildlife, Birds and other animals eat the seeds. , Habitat, Salt marsh, tidal flats, beaches. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage Larval food for Louisiana eyed silkmoth (Automeris louisiana)

Wildflower garden. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Habitat, Dry mesic to xeric pine flatwoods and dry open woods. Sandhills, secondary woods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attractive to native bees and other pollinators.

Wildflower garden. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Bluffs, swamps, floodplains, wet flatwoods, bogs, savannas. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts bees and butterflies.

This species is listed as Endangered in Florida. There was a reported sighting of it in Everglades National Park just before Hurricane Andrew (1992) b , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Found naturally on coastal berms and rockland hammocks. Suitable for planting in the subtropical Florida. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage

Back of garden screen , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Pine rockland, edges of hammocks , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies and bees.