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

Endemic to Florida. Wildflower garden,

Shade tree. Forest tree.

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

Each stem has soft, fleshy green flanges running longitudinally down its length. When winter weather brings ice, the stems exude water that freezes into fascinating shapes, hence its common name frostweed. Background plant in a wildflower garden. Also useful as a mass planting along a forest edge. This plant is best used in informal settings and does well if allowed to naturalize.

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.

This fern is listed as Threatened by the FDACS.  Where is it, however, it is highly robust. Borders, groundcover on wooded edges. This is a very tall fern, so best planted toward the back of a garden.

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.

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.

The plant is listed as Endangered by the FDACS.  Please acquire from reputable nurseries with appropriate permits for propagating and selling this species. Can be a specimen tree or use in a fairly bright understory. Its irregular branching pattern and large leaves make it best suited to fairly large yards.

Interesting red stems. Makes a good specimen plant in an informal garden. Weedy in appearance if in large numbers and stems tend to split when branches get too heavy or in high winds. Interesting red stems. Makes a good specimen plant in an informal garden. Weedy in appearance if in large numbers.