Edible. Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Grown by enthusiasts. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, High climbing woody vine. , Wildlife, Animals eat the berries. , Habitat, Moist forests and pinelands. Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer. , Did You Know?, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage

Slow growing; hard, strong wood. This tree has an erect form with a single trunk and a spreading crown. Specimen tree. Understory tree in mesic woods , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, None. , Wildlife, Birds, bats and small mammals use as habitat. Seeds predominatly eaten by squirrels and other rodents. , Habitat, Moist to moderately dry hammocks of north to north-central Florida. , Did You Know?, Fall color Attracts  bees but may also be self-fertile.

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).

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.

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.

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

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.

Specimen plant. Roadsides, parking lot edges, and medians. Smaller forms can make good foundation screens. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, Both suckers and seedlings will appear. , Wildlife, Birds eat the fruits. , Habitat, Tropical rockland hammock, coastal hammock. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Interesting bark, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Hurricane wind resistance Attracts bees and butterflies.

Hedge plant. Screen plant. , 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, Thorns. , Wildlife, Fruit are eaten by birds and mammals. It provides nesting sites and cover. . , Habitat, Coastal hammocks, salt flats. , Did You Know?, Aroma, fragrance, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns, Hurricane wind resistance Appreciated by a variety of insects as a nectar source.

Endemic to the sand ridges of  central and northern peninsular Florida. Forms a thicket with many sprouts from  underground stems. , 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, Small mammals use the acorns.  Provides significant food and cover for wildlife. The acorns are utilized by squirrels. An important food source for th , Habitat, Scrub, scrubby flatwoods, scrubby sandhill. , Did You Know?, Hurricane wind resistance Larval host  for Horace's duskywing (Erynnis horatius), red-banded hairstreak (Calycopis cecrops) and white-M hairstreak (P

Understory tree. Can be trimmed to keep sized as a shrub. Accent shrub or can be trained as a hedge. , 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, Slow growing. , Wildlife, Birds eat the fruit. , Habitat, Tropical rockland hammock (borders), coastal berm. , Did You Know?, Showy fruits Insect pollinated.

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.

Shoreline stabilizer or plant as cover in a pond. Can tolerate wide water level fluctuations. Frequently used in marsh restoration and wetland creatio , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Considertions, Has deep, aggressive rhizomes and is difficult to control in a garden setting once established but highly valuable if used for stabilization or marsh , Wildlife, Provides cover for small fish and aquatic invertebrates. Seeds eaten by some birds and small animals. , Habitat, Basin marsh (maidencane marsh), ponds, streams, sloughs, swamps, wet disturbed sites, sandhill. This species may become domininant in wetlands with , Did You Know?, Larval host for clouded skipper (Lerema accius) and Delaware skipper (Anatrytone logan) butterflies.

Pasco County occurrence is a 2004 specimen from Anclote Key Preserve and is a potential indicator of northward migration due to global warming. Hedge , Tolerance, Tolerant of inundation with brackish water Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Wildlife, Wildlife and birds consume the fruits though they areless useful for small birds due to itheir large size. Provides dense cover. , Habitat, Coastal swamps, beaches, cypress dones, Everglades tree islands, edges of ditches and canals. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Showy fruits, Interesting foliage, Hurricane wind resistance Attracts various pollinators, especially bees.

Endemic to Florida. Occasionally grown as a curiosity. , 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 small birds. , Habitat, Savannas near and in the Apalachicola National Forest. , Did You Know?, Attracts bumble bees, butterflies

This is a Florida endemic associated with dunes and scrub, both ancient and modern. Small specimen or border plant. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Wildlife, Fruit is eaten by birds and other animals. , Habitat, Scrub, high pine with reduced fire frequencies, scrubby flatwoods. , Did You Know?, Interesting foliage Flowers attract pollinators. Documented bee visitors include Agapostelnon splendens, Azcgochlorella aurata, Augochloropsis anonym

Foliage is showy, silvery gray green. Takes on a weed appearance at flowering time. This is an Endangered Florida endemic -- do not harvest plants fro , 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 listed as Endangered by the USFWS and the State of Florida.  Please plant responsibly. , Wildlife, Primarily wind dispersed, but small birds consume seed. , Habitat, Scrub. In openings and open ecotones. Disturbance is required for persistence of this species. This species can be seen at the Balm-Boyette and Gol , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage Butterflies and bees including green metallic, sweat, leafcutter, bumble and mining bees (Florida Wildflower Found

Not readily available from nurseries but said to be easy to grow. Palafoxia feayi is a related species, also beautiful, but harder to row and even les , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray , Habitat, Dry or scrubby flatwoods and , coastal hammocks. Common after fire. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers Attracts bees, butterflies and moths.  Said to attract scarab beetles.

According to Kew Gardens, it is from Central America and probably Cuba and Florida.   After going through the photos and labels for specimens in the S , Tolerance, Unknown Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, Noted for being weedy. , Habitat, Disturbed. Old orange groves, pasture, roadsides. May occur naturally along the west FL coast including shell mounds and dunes . All records for in , Did You Know?, Showy flowers

Natural landscapes including meadows and butterfly gardens. , Tolerance, Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water. Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray. , Considertions, Purple thistle is a thorny plant - be very careful when handling. , Wildlife, The seeds are rich in oil, an important food source for seed-eating birds. , Habitat, Coastal plain, edges of salt marshes, pinewoods, prairies and disturbed areas. , Did You Know?, Showy flowers, Interesting foliage, Thorns Larval host to little metalmark (Calephelis virginiensis) and painted lady (Vanessa cardui) butterflies. N