Bahama ladder brake hybridizes with the non-native and invasive China brake (P. vittata) forming Delchamps' ladder brake (P. x delchampsii). Bahama ladder break is threatened with extinction due to this hybridization. Because of this, we do not recommend planting Bahama ladder break -- if we plant it and there is any China brake around, we exacerbate the problem. When you find this plant in nature, please enjoy it there. Listed as threatened by the state of Florida. Grows in clumps. Unusual in that it thrives in high light, but needs moist soil.

Informal settings where it can be a low hedge plant or specimen. Plant forms small clusters by suckering, so give it room.

Water gardens and pond edges.  Moist wildflower gardens.

Wildflower garden. Mass plantings.

Retain if present. Can be used as part of a screen in a dry site setting.

Rarely grown in Florida. In wet places, it can be planted as a specimen plant for winter interest. When it loses its leaves in the fall, just the berries left on the stems create a striking display.

A profuse bloomer. Use for natural landscapes and wildlife habitat areas. Does well under a high pine canopy.

Many of us think of this is a weed that we allow to grow for its value to insects. Casual settings, especially toward the rear of wildflower gardens

Moist wildflower garden, especially acidic gardens oriented toward sphagnum, pitcher plants, and similar bog species.

Its peeling bark and rounded lobes set it apart from most other oaks. Shade tree best suited to settings where its large size can be appreciated. Grown in open settings, it can have a wide spread. Grown in a forested setting it will have a narrower crown.

Background shrub.

Blooms all year. Recruits readily in the garden from seed. Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also butterfly gardens.

Rarely grown.  This tree occurs predominantly in the coastal plain (withoutliers) from eastern Alabama north to southern New Jersey. Shade tree for moist sites. Forest tree.

Endemic to Florida. Wildflower garden,

This is listed as an ENDANGERED by the State of Florida An excellent accent shrub or small tree with open, spreading crown. Attractive fine textured, thin leaves and long, hanging spikes of flowers. Dioecious with male and female flowers on separate plants.

Compound leaf has "wings" of tissue along the leaf-stem (rachis). This is one of the few shrubs that produces brilliant red fall color in much of Florida.

Small to medium tree often with somewhat scruffy form. Retain in a natural setting if present.

Endemic to western peninsular Florida from Tampa south to Charlotte County. Wildflower garden.

Small specimen tree or large shrub. Background edge and screen plantings.

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.  While this is a common garden plant in the north, its range barely reaches Florida, and it is rare and exists only in a highly specific habitate in the wild. Works well in almost any garden with mixed wildflower species. North of Florida, this species is sometimes planted as single-species mass plantings.

Moist wildflower meadows.