The basal leaves are usually tingled with purple and have deep lobes toward the base, which is reminiscent of the shape of a lyre. Wildflower garden. Roadside plantings. Can be mixed in with grasses or other low groundcovers. If kept mowed, it will reward you in the spring by creating a sea of blue.

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 SIEnet database, the only occurrences in Florida that were convincingly in natural systems (as opposed to highly disturbed areas) were on shell mounds, dunes, and similar coastal areas.  Hence, the range map provided highlights the counties along the west coast that have these. Noted as invasive  and weedy on many herbarium specimen labels.  Where not native, we should think of it as invasive.

While occurring naturally in wetlands, this plant makes a good shrub in reasonably moist uplands. Use as a background plant in moist, shady areas. Charming when planted along a stream. Blooms are showy, longlasting. Has a tendency to produce suckers, so best planted where it can be contained.

Understory tree. Can be trimmed to keep sized as a shrub. Accent shrub or can be trained as a hedge.

Makes a good border plant that becomes a pink haze in the fall.

There is a natural dwarf form that is associated with xeric uplands.  I makes a nice, low-growing shrub in casual gardens. Good as a background or hedge plant that also attracts wildlife. Rain gardens or bioswales.