Grow as an emergent along pond or lake edges or in aquatic gardens. , Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Birds and other wildlife eat the fruit. , Habitat, Marshes, wetter portions of wet prairies, swamps, roadside ditches with marsh-like character. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Flowers attract pollinators.

Three subspecies occur in Florida.  The subspecies ranges somewhat overlap.  Subspecies cruiseana is listed as Endangered by the State of Florida. In , 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 , Considertions, Becomes less than attractive after flowering. , Wildlife, Primarily wind dispersed, but small birds consume seed. , Habitat, Scrub, sandhills. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Butterflies and bees including green metallic, sweat, leafcutter, bumble and mining bees (Florida Wildflower Foundation).

Groundcover or border plant in shady areas. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, It reseeds easily and can expand aggressively. , Wildlife, Birds and other wildlife consume seed. , Habitat, Dry-moist sites. Bluffs, floodplains, wet hammocks. , Did You Know?, Showy fruits Larval host for pepper and salt skipper (Amblyscirtes hegon), common roadside skipper (Amblyscirtes vialis), and Bell's roadside skipper

Plant in moist to wet areas where it can be grown in large clumps. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Toxic. , Habitat, Open seepage areas, marshes, marshy areas along streams. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Larval host to the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), queen butterfly (Danaus gilippus) and soldier butterfly, (Danaus eresimus). At

Small specimen tree. Can also work as an understory tree. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Birds and small mammals consume the fruit. , Habitat, Slope forest, upland hardwood forest. Bluffs, creek forests. , Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Larval host for cecropia silkmoth (Hyalophora cecropia) and spring azure butterfly (Celastrina ladon).

The common name refers to the pliable twigs. Use as a border plant, foundation plant, or understory shrub in a shady, moist setting. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Can cause serious skin irritation and is somewhat toxic to ingest. A rare shrub, so may not adapt well into home landscapes. , Habitat, Mesic slope forests, ravines and bluffs. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage Insects visit the flowers, but likely the plant does not rely upon them.  Visits apparently opportunistic.  (Williams, 2004).

Multistemmed shrub that can form small thickets. Plant as a screen, hedge, or background plant. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, Can become aggressive in some habitats. , Habitat, Moist hammocks, dry hammocks, dry hardwood forests , Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy flowers Larval host for southern dogface (Zerene cesonia), gray hairstreak (Strymon melinus), and silver-spotted Skipper (Epargyreu

There are two color morphs: green and silver. Silver is associated with the east coast, but may occur anywhere within the range.  It is typically larg , 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, Be sure to plan for enough room for this spreading plant. , Wildlife, Palmetto berries are important bear food. More than 100 bird species, 27 mammals, 25 amphibians, 61 reptiles, and countless insects use it as food and , Habitat, Mesic flatwoods, wet flatwoods, dry flatwoods, scrubby flatwoods, scrub, hardwood hammock. Generally absent from cleared sites even after abandonment , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host plant for monk skipper (Asbolis capucinus) and palmetto skipper (Eu

Naturalistic woodland landscapes. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Dies back in the winter. Depending upon the species, it may seed prolifically. , Habitat, Dry to mesic upland hardwood forests, bluff microsites, upper fringes of wiregrass seep slopes. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage

The tuber of this plant is edible and very crisp; it adds texture to salads.  The tuber has a segmented appearance reminiscent of a rattlesnake tail. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Quite aggressive in the landscape and difficult to get rid of because of its deep tubers. , Habitat, Moist-wet disturbed sites. Flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts bees and butterflies.

Moist wildflower garden. Wetland garden. Plant in full sun and give it plenty of room and plant behind shorter plants. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Clonal--it aggressively sends out suckers. If grown in shady areas, it tends to fall over. , Habitat, Swamps, brackish and freshwater marshes. Wet flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies, bees and other pollinators

This plant is listed as Endangered in Florida where the southern limit of its range barely makes it into the state. Moist site garden though will tol , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Floodplains, moist deep woods, thickets. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Attracts bees.

This species is almost always coastal occupying only a strip along the coastline and not entire counties. Wildflower garden or tall-growing groundcov , Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt spray without injury. , Considertions, Becomes weedy-looking after flowering. , Habitat, Depression and basin marshes, wet prairies, pine rocklands, edges of mangrove swamps, disturbed areas such as berms and dikes near the coast, edges of , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Nectar plant for cassius blue (Leptotes cassius), Dorantes longtail (Urbanus dorantes), eufala skipper (Lerodea eufala), field skipper

Endemic to Florida. Wildflower garden, , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Low sites. Cutthroat seeps, hydric to wet-mesic pine flatwoods, savannas, seep slopes. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts many butterflies, bees and other pollinators. (Hawthorn Hill Wildflowers).

Occurs along inland edges of salt marshes where it must tolerate at least periodic inundation by seawater.  Locations likely do not have high exposure , Tolerance, Tolerant of occasional/brief inundation such as can occur in storm surges. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts insects, especially bees.

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.

Plant at the back of an informal wildflower or butterfly garden--it gets tall. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Moist upland hardwood forests, mixed hardwood-pine forests. Secondary woods. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts many insects including bees and butterflies.

Climbs by twining petioles. Grow on a trellis or fence. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, To remain attractive and not become a mass of past growth, cut it back occasionally. Thin out old stems. , Wildlife, Attracts  hummingbords. , Habitat, Riverine swamps, wet hammocks. This species can be seen near the boardwalks at Flint Creek and Sargeant Parks in Hillsborough County. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage Larval host for mournful thyris (Thyris sepulchralis). Attracts bees and butterfli

Specimen plant, thicket, or natural background plantings. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Attracts hummingbirds. , Habitat, Upland hardwood forests, flatwoods, by swamps, bluffs, slope forests, secondary woods. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers Attracts pollinators, especially bumble bees.

Leaves are very small and arranged in circles around the stem at each node giving it a banded appearance. This is a fern ally and reproduces by spores , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, This plant will spread. , Wildlife, Provides good cover at the edges of waterways or ponds. , Habitat, Sandy soils in river floodplains, lake edges, ditches, sloughs. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage

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, Mesic to wet flatwoods, seep slopes, bogs, savannas, ditches, cutthroat seeps, bogs, boggy swamps. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts butterflies and bees.