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

This is a wetland plant, but it will do well once established in a moist garden setting. Moist wildflower gardens. Easily grown along streams.

Wildflower garden.

Moist wildflower garden.

Although drought-tolerant, this shrub/small tree may benefit from a few deep, thorough soakings during extremely dry periods. When young, it tends to be multi-trunked, so if a tree form is desired, pruning is required. Very briefly deciduous. Although the range extends further north, it is best used in landscaping where temperatures do not drop below 20 degrees F. Good for barrier shrub and as wildlife thicket, also nice as specimen.

The silvery undersides of the leaves are striking. Erroneously listed as a host for palamedes swallowtail butterflies. Palamedes swallowtails only feed on native members of the genus Persea. Specimen plant in moist areas. Rain gardens and bioswales. Wetland tree. In wetlands, it forms clonal thickets making it useful for wetland restoration.

Water gardens and pond edges.  Moist wildflower gardens.

This is a small clonal oak that can be used in a thicket as a screen.

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.

While generally a swamp plant, this tree can grow in uplands.  Stems root readily and most of the stems stuck in a moist substrate will survive without any further care. Is often used in stream bank restoration. Casual lanscapes, moist areas, rain gardens or bioswales. This tree can be attractive most of the year due to its fairly fine leaves. It is at its best for a brief period in early spring when it blooms (yellow) and then sets masses of white fruit at a time when little else is blooming. Will tolerate root disturbance and flooding.

Small wildflower in moist areas.

It is difficult to know the native range of this plant in Florida as it has been widely planted on roadsides across much of the state at least since the 1700s. Cultivated flower beds, roadside wildflower plantings, wildflower garden. Typically grown as an annual though some plants may persist for several years.

Groundcover or border plant in shady areas.

This species and other members of the Lauraceae are being attacked by a serious, fatal disease. Do not plant this plant unless you are absolutely sure that it is not infected! If you have this plant in your landscape, retain it to supply larval food for the spicebush swallowtail and other butterflies.

Ground cover in  wet to moist areas.

Retain if present in natural setting. Can be grown in a wildflower garden.

Wildflower garden. Mass plantings.

Predominantly a Florida plant, but it has also been recorded in Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Texas. The species name "tomentosa" refers to the dense, matted (tomentose) hairs on the leaves. Aphids are often a "problem" with milkweed plants -- they are a natural preditor on Asclepias, but we don't like them. Wildflower garden, dry wildflower meadow

Sawgrass is a sedge, not a grass. It was this plant that Marjory Stoneman Douglas referred to in her seminal work: "The Everglades: River of Grass." A second species (C. mariscoides) occurs in a limited area in north Florida.  Its uses and culture are similar. Typically used in wetland restoration. Also useful for planting in brackish settings where an emergent aquatic is desired. Spreads rapidly to cover large areas.

Often grows with ink berry and palmettos. Beautiful early spring-blooming shrub. Grow at edge of wooded areas or as a specimen.

If a single plant of similar stature and flowers is desired, consider flatwoods plum, Prunus umbellatus. Based on BONAP and ISB maps, the range of this species covers much of the southern and south central US with some outliers to the north and west. In Florida, it has been documented in many counties in the northern half of the state, and this author is aware of it being in others.  It appears to be appropriate to consider this species native throughout this part of the state. Plant as a screen where its suckers are welcome (woodland edges, casual but large garden settings)