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).

This is a rare plant. Please acquire from a reputable nursery. It is close kin to an invasive exotic (S. frutescens)from Australia -- be sure you are , 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 , Wildlife, Fruits attract birds. , Habitat, Coastal sites. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Bees are believed to be the primary pollinators.  Also attracts wasps, moths, and ants.

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).

Rarely grown but of good potential for a dry native wildflower garden. Wildflower garden. When not flowering, the plant is a low-growing rosette of l , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Sandhill, scrubby sandhill, disturbed sandhill, xeric roadsides in areas of sandhill soils. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts bees and other pollinators.  Does not attract many butterflies.

It's quite hardy and tolerant of difficult environments. The herbarium specimen from Wakulla County is from a natural area.  It is a 2012 specimen and , 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 , Wildlife, Good wildlife shelter.  Birds eat the fruits. , Habitat, Hammocks, pinelands, sloughs, seasonally flooded marshes in pine rocklands. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage

Listed as Endangered in Florida. Specimen tree prized for its dark green foliage. , 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, Brittle wood. , Wildlife, Provides food and cover for birds and other wildlife. , Habitat, Dry sites, Coastal berm, pine rocklands, rockland hammock, upland edges of mangrove swamps and buttonwood hammocks. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage

Natural range is restricted to coastal areas. Native borders, foundation plant, especially in salty environments. Can be trimmed. , Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and salt spray without injury. , Considertions, Suckers heavily forming large patches. , Wildlife, Birds and small mammals use the seeds. , Habitat, Salt marsh, tidal flats. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Nectar plant for great southern white (Ascia monuste), gulf fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), large orange sulphur (Phoebis agarithe), so

This species is listed as Endangered by the State of Florida.  Please acquire only from reputable sources with proper permits. Grow as a sprawling vi , 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, Provides food for birds. , Habitat, Coastal hammocks esp. on dunes. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts a variety of insect pollinators including the Nessus sphinx (Amphion floridensis), Tantalus sphinx (Aellopus tantalus) and Ter

Dry wildflower garden.  Abundant flowers are produced near the ends of the stems. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Seeds eaten by birds. , Habitat, Scrub, scrubby ruderal areas, sandhill, river levees. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits Attracts bees and butterflies (Hawthorn Hill).  Documented bee visitors include  Colletes mandibularis, C. thysanellae, C

Called pignut because pigs eat the nuts. Excellent specimen or shade tree in areas where its roots will not be disturbed. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Does not tolerate root disturbance. The author has lost multiple trees due to a fungal root pathogen that was apparently able to enter the tree when r , Wildlife, A favorite food of squirrels. , Habitat, Xeric hammock, mixed upland forest, pine-oak-hickory woods. , Did You Know?, Fall color, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host for many moths including; luna moth (Actias luna), hickory leafroller moth (Ar

Fragrant. Understory tree in moist areas. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Fruit eaten by birds and other animals. , Habitat, Bluffs, ravines, in understory of well-drained hardwood forests. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers Attracts bees and other pollinators. Attracts butterflies.

It is listed as endangered by the state of Florida and as critically imperiled in South Florida by The Institute for Regional Conservation. Specimen , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Tropical rockland hammock, coastal rock barren, beach dune, coastal strand. Lower Keys only. , Did You Know?, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage

Retain in the landscape for coastal protection where present. Used for dune restoration. , Tolerance, Tolerant of frequent or regular inundation (usually areas with tidal inundation) High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salty wind and , Wildlife, Provides some cover for wildlife and maybe some foods. , Habitat, Salt marsh, dunes. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance

Hedge plant. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, In unburned natural wetlands, this plant sometimes form almost impenetrable thickets along the edge. , Wildlife, Birds and other wildlife consume the fruit. , Habitat, Swampy sites, wet pine flatwoods, sloughs and edges of cypress swamps, seepage swamps and bogs, savannas, other wet depressional areas. , Did You Know?, Fall color, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage Attracts bees (https://wildflower.org).

Requires a reliable cold period to persist. In most of Florida it can be treated as an annual in gardens. Listed as Endangered by the State of Florida , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, The further south you go, the more short-lived this species gets.  Except in extreme north Florida, treat as an annual or at least don't assume that i , Wildlife, Small birds and small mammals consume the seed. , Habitat, Upland glades, openings in upland mixed forests on calcareous soils. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts many pollinators, especially bees.

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.

Red/orange fall color is excellent. Leaves have three separate shapes: ovoid, tri-lobed, or mitten-shaped (left or right). Mature trees tend to have f , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Like other members of this family, sassafras trees are threatened by the spread of the redbay ambrosia beetle and the laural wilt fungus it carries. M , Wildlife, Birds consume fruit. , Habitat, Dry sites. Dry mesic forests. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Fall color, Interesting foliage Larval food for spicebush butterfly(Papilio troilus), tiger swallow-tail(papilio glaucus), palamede

It is listed as Endangered by the state of Florida. Understory tree. Use as screen or specimen plant. , Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Wildlife, Fruits eaten by birds and small mammals. Hummingbirds visit the flowers. , Habitat, Rockland hammock in coastal areas. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Nectar plant for Schaus' swallowtail (Heraclides aristodemius) and other butterflies.

Both the common and scientific genus names refer to the lizard-like shape of the drooping flower head. This is a wetland plant. It can form dense pat , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Eaten by wood ducks and other foraging birds. , Habitat, Shallow water of streams, swamps, wet forests, ditches. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Nectar plant for hairstreaks and other insects esp. bees and flies, but apparently mostly wind p

The entire state excepting the keys falls within the range of this plant which extends from North Carolina to Texas.   Herbarium specimens document oc , Tolerance, Unknown Unknown , Habitat, Wet flatwoods, savannas, acidic swamps , Did You Know?, Showy flowers

Based on the BONAP range map, this species is a "near endemic" -- it occurs only in the panhandle and a 3 counties in southern Alabama. At this time, , Tolerance, Unknown Unknown , Wildlife, Small birds eat the seed. , Habitat, Wet flatwoods, bogs, savannahs, prairies , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Nectar plant for many butterfly species but also visited by other native insect pollinators.