Used extensively in Indian cultures. Fruits are very high in Vitamin C. Casual settings, wetland edge or screen plant. Rain gardens and bioswales. Lo , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Many would consider this plant weedy: it does self seed and spread via rhizomes. It's wood is weak; stems break easily. Use where these characteristic , Wildlife, Fruits popular with birds. , Habitat, Disturbed wetland edges, wet roadsides, etc. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage Flowers attract many pollinators.

Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Difficult to establish because of long tap root. , Wildlife, Small mammals and birds harvest the fruit. , Habitat, Flatwoods, ruderal (pastures), scrubby flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Larval host for zebra swallowtail (Eurytides marcellus) and pawpaw sphinx (Dolba hyloeus). Pollinated by flies and beetles.

In a managed garden, gamagrass can be trimmed back at the end of winter. Hedge, foundation planting, individual large grass clump, background screen , Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, Can die back and become messy during cold winters, but new growth covers it in the spring. , Wildlife, Even when trimmed occasionally, Gama Grass will provide cover for small mammals, birds, and reptiles. Deer eat the seeds. , Habitat, Wet bogs, roadsides, ditches, wet hammocks, river banks, low thickets, pine woods, open swamps, open habitats, flatwoods, sandhill, scrub. Also culti , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Larval host for three-spotted skipper (Cymaenes tripunctus), clouded skipper (Lerema accius) and Byssusskipper (Problema

Called cinnamon fern because of the color of its fertile fronds. In Florida it sends up its fertile fronds in the spring and fall; farther north in it , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, This species typically grows on seepage edges of swamps and in the upper reaches of baygalls (bay swamps). It is not found in long-term standing wate , Did You Know?, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage

Fruits are showy from mid-distance until spring. Salt tolerance is unknown but given known locations for the plant, we assume it is likely to be low. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Sandhill, open areas in xeric hammock, scrub, scrubby-sandhill, scrubby flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Attracts butterflies and moths, bees, and other insects.  Documented bees include Colletes mandibularis, Agaposternon spl

Endemic to western peninsular Florida from Tampa south to Charlotte County. Wildflower garden. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Sometimes the flower stalks are too tall and heavy to stand. Can be cut back mid-summer to reduce height. In a large garden, the twisted fallen stalks , Habitat, Flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies and bees.

Climbs by twining. Train on a fence or arbor, allow to climb trees. Can be used as a groundcover but does not bloom well with that use. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Attracts hummingbirds.  Birds attracted to the fruits include warblers, grosbeaks, cardinals, mockinbirds, titmice, chickadees, and thrashers. , Habitat, Mesic to xeric hardwood forests and upland mixed forests, secondary woods, bluffs, floodplains, flatwoods, ruderal. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Flowers attract bees and butterflies.  Bees include Habropoda laboriosa, Bornbus griseocollis, B

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

This tree is subject to Dutch elm disease. Dutch elm disease has not been detected in Florida (IFAS 2008). In most of eastern North America, this tree , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, While Dutch elm disease has not been detected in Florida (IFAS, 2018), the planting practices that result in massive losses of street trees north of F , Wildlife, Seeds used by birds in spring when little else is available. Used for nesting. , Habitat, Floodplain forest, wet mesic forests, hardwood swamps. , Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage Larval host for: Eastern Comma (Polygonia comma), Question Mark (Polygonia interrogationis), Painted Lady (Vanessa ca

This is one of the few Florida oaks that looks like an oak to most people from the eastern US north of Florida. Tends to be smaller toward the souther , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Difficult to transplant once it has formed its tap root. , Wildlife, Used by woodpeckers and wild turkey Valued by squirrels and other mammals including white tailed deer Used by birds for resting and nesting , Habitat, Sandhill, scrub, scrubby sandhill. Increases in sandhill where long leaf pines were removed and where burns are restricted to winter. , Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host plant forHorace's duskywing (Erynnis horatius), red-banded hairstreak (Calycop

Wetland garden including bog gardens. Natural wetland settings. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Cypress swamps, cutthroat seep. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Reported to attract butterflies and other pollinators (Earthtones Native Plants).

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.

Younger specimens have a conical shape, but older trees tend to flatten out at the top. In some areas, the strangler fig (Ficus aurea)has strangled ma , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Can produce knees, even if grown in uplands. , Wildlife, Attracts seed-eating birds. Valuable as roosting and nesting areas for colonial wading birds. , Habitat, Riverine swamps, large swamps around lakes. Inundated areas associated with some form of flowing water. Floodplains, sloughs, strands. May be assoc , Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host for baldcypress sphinx (Isoparce cupressi) moth.

There is a natural dwarf form that is associated with xeric uplands.  I makes a nice, low-growing shrub in casual gardens. Good as a background or he , Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges. Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure t , Considertions, It is flammable, so plant away from buildings in fire-prone areas. It fixes nitrogen with its roots like a legume, so it tolerates poor soils. , Wildlife, Good wildlife cover. Seeds eaten by birds. , Habitat, Wet-dry sites. Upland mixed forest, floodplains, wetland edges, cutthroat seeps, old fields, scrub, fencerows , Did You Know?, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host for banded hairstreak (Satyrium calanus) and red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops)butterflies.

Blooms mid- summer into fall. Wildflower garden, border plant, rain gardens, containers. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Wildlife, Small birds eat the seed. Deer tend to avoid this. , Habitat, Flatwoods, open pine/oak forests, ruderal areas. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts bumble bees, butterflies Larval host for the silvery checkerspot, found only in extreme north Florida.

Makes a nice ground cover in semi-shady to shady areas. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Hammocks, secondary woods and hedge rows. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage

Retain if present. This and other members of the genus are hemiparasites and not easy to grow unless you happen to also have appropriate hosts present , Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Habitat, Moist flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Larval host and nectar source for the Common Buckeye (Junonia coenia). Attracts native bees.

Litsea aestivalis is listed as Endangered by the State of Florida.  Since that listing, the laurel wilt disease has come to Florida, and is known to k , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Fruits eaten by birds and mammals. , Habitat, Near the edges of forested wetlands and some seasonal ponds wtih open centers. , Did You Know?, Attracts flies and small bees.  A likely host for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly.

The showy part of the flower is the white, pink or rose bracts that become petal-like. This species is listed as Threatened by the State of Florida. P , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Edges of bayheads, swamps; bogs; steepheads; wet flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Attracts bees and butterflies.

The Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilus planipennis)is a very destructive wood-boring beetle native to Asia. It was discovered in North America in July 2002, a , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Moderate. Tolerant of salty wind and may get some salt spray. Exposure to salt spray wo , Considertions, Fairly weak and often irregular in shape. , Wildlife, Rodents and birds such as cardinals consume seed. , Habitat, Moist-dry sites. Floodplains and swamps. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage Larval host for eastern tiger swallowtail (Papilio glaucus), mourning cloak (Nymphalis antiopa), orange sulphur (Colias eurytheme