Creeping Little Bluestem
Schizachyrium stoloniferum
Creeping Little Bluestem is the dominant Schizachyrium species throughout most of Florida. It spreads by rhizomes and forms colonies. South Florida Little Bluestem, which is also called Rhizomatous Bluestem, Schizachyrium rhizomatum, is another species found in Dade County. It too spreads by rhizomes. The two species may overlap. Rhizomes are underground, spreading roots.
Both stay below two feet tall, yet may reach three feet when in flower and form attractive, long lived colonies. They are not salt tolerant, but are very drought tolerant once established. Soil should be moist and have some organic matter. Full sun to part shade is best.
These are plants of our pinelands and when used in landscaping provide a natural look. Mix with Slash pine, Saw Palmetto, various Andropogon species, Goldenrods, Pineland Petunia, Florida Lily, Lopsided Indiangrass, Gallberry, Florida Gamagrass, Swamp Fern, Muhlygrass and other pineland species.
Keep them away from shady trees and cut off excess dead leaves which can smother the plant. There is another species called Little Bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium. Click for more info. This is a beautiful grass found in The Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park and a few other places in Florida and other states. See above picture.
This was one of the components of the original mixed grass prairie. It has faintly bluish new growth and wine red flower stalks (Culms) that may rise up to seven feet tall. It is also a good forage grass and provides seeds for songbirds.
If you visit the above state park in September, you will see vast areas of this along with other flowering and seeding species or grasses and wildflowers.
This is one of the few places that you can get a glimpse of what much of Florida once looked like before the land was drained and planted with non native forage grasses.
Click for more info, and here, and here.
Ironweed
Vernonia gigantea
Ironweed or Giant Ironweed is found throughout much of the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada. It is a tall perennial reaching up to 10 feet, yet usually stays below four feet.
The elliptical leaves are up to 10 inches long and have serrations along the edges. Flowers are in clusters of deep purple that bloom in Florida from July to October. There are often some blooms throughout the year.
Giant Ironweed is found along moist woodland edges in full sun to partial shade. It can tolerate a little salt air if planted several hundred feet back of the dune.
This is an important flower for native bees, butterflies and other pollinators including hummingbirds. The seeds are wind dispersed. Several species of moth caterpillars, crickets, aphids and katydids have been seen feeding on the flower heads. These of course become bird food.
The growth is compact with short rhizomes branching off the main root mass. Seedlings come up everywhere in moderate numbers prefering moist or irrigated areas of the yard to germinate.
A woodland path can be lined with these purple flowers to create focal points that entice walkers to keep searching for more. They also make a great backdrop to flower beds.
Deer and other herbivores find this plant bitter and avoid it. It is not poisonous, but don’t eat it.
Try a mix with other woodland plants to create a natural feel to your landscape. Native ferns and grasses, Bear Claw, Frostweed, Seaside Goldenrod, Coontie, Native Plumbago, Red Salvia, Dicliptera, and Florida Pellitory Make good companions.
Florida Pellitory is the larval food for the red admiral butterfly and is edible steamed. It is tasty raw, yet the developing seeds and possibly some chemicals within its tiny leaf hairs may scratch the throat. Click here.
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Hottentot Fern
Thelypteris interrupta
Hottentot Fern has light green leaves that grow to four feet, yet are usually under three feet tall. It must grow in moist to wet soil and can be found naturally from Miami to Brevard County. It is not salt or drought tolerant.
The roots are pencil thin and branch out to form nice tight colonies. I have seen it along the Loxahatchee River and as shown in this picture, the southern edge of a cypress dome. It likes full sun to part shade.
This is a beautiful fern to mix with Marsh, Swamp, Maiden, Giant Leather and Goldenfoot Fern. When planted under a grove of wetland trees like Florida Elm, Dahoon Holly, Pond Cypress, Red Maple, Swamp Redbay and Buttonbush, this makes a wonderful ground cover with the feel of a secret spot in the woods.
You almost expect a deer to jump out of the planting. Or maybe an angry bear that you just woke from its nap. A landscape should have a bit of emotional content, even if it isn’t always pleasant.
I created a planting like this along the eastern side of a friends’ home and with a narrow path running through it, you can almost get lost.
Notice how it even holds its own with Wedelia which has the yellow flowers in this picture and is a bad weed that normally covers everything around it.
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Goldfoot Fern
Phlebodium aureum
Goldfoot Fern or Golden Polypody is found throughout Florida growing on Cabbage Palms and other plants. It can be found growing at the base of a plant if there is sufficient leaf litter to keep the soil moist.
The leaves are up to four feet long and two feet wide with many long lobes. It also grows in South America and the Caribbean and brings its weeping tropical look from there with it.
The golden colored stems grow through the boots of Cabbage Palms and are half an inch thick. The similar looking exotic Serpent Fern, Microsorum grossum, is offered in hanging baskets at the local box stores.
This is an invasive species with a dark pencil thin root and smaller, shinier leaves. I have found large patches of it covering the ground in natural areas. Get rid of it if you find it growing anywhere. Click for more info, and here.
Also, Hand Fern, Ophioglossum palmatum, looks similar to the above two yet is much smaller with thick fleshy leaves. It is found in only a few locations in Florida, usually on Cabbage Palm boots near fresh water swamps. Click for more info.
Once established, Goldenfoot Fern can withstand long periods of drought. Plant it within the boots of your Cabbage Palms, if it isn’t already growing there, on the ground, within large piled bolders or a wall built with open areas between the stones. Place rotted leaves with the roots and lots of mulch for a ground planting.
This plant adds beauty to the landscape and hiding places for beneficial wildlife. It can be mixed with native Boston Fern and other ferns and grasses. Since it grows fairly slowly, it makes a nice ground cover at the base of the house.
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Giant Leather Fern
Acrostichum danaeifolium
Giant Leather Fern is one of our largest native ferns. It is often three feet tall, yet in rich wet soils it can reach 15 feet.
It is found in fresh or brackish marshes from North Central Florida south. Look among mangroves or cypress trees where large colonies can be found. It will often line the edges of canals, rivers and even man made lakes.
The similar, yet more rare Mangrove Fern, A. aureum, is found in coastal areas of Dade County. The spores cover the lower surface of only the upper leaflets compared to all of the leaflets of the Giant Leather Fern.
The soil for Giant Leather Fern must be rich and moist. A pot can be placed in shallow standing water like this small man made pond. When planted along a lake edge, several weeks of flooding are tolerated when many other plants would drown.
If planted upland with added organic matter and irrigation, this fern can replace tropicals like philodendron. It will sucker and form a large colony, yet pups can be cut off and moved to new locations.
For a wet area of the yard, plant a group of Cypress Trees, Pond Apple, Sweetbay Magnolia, Dahoon Holly, Red Maple, Buttonbush and a colony of these lush ferns. Swamp and Marsh Fern, Prairie Iris, American Crinum and Florida Lily and Golden Canna add a nice touch of color.
Take the back roads near Belle Glade and you will see canal banks covered with this fern.
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Fog Fruit
Phyla nodiflora
Fog Fruit, Frogfruit, Turkey Tangle Fogfruit, Turkey Tangle Frogfruit, Creeping Charlie, Capeweed and other local names are used for this plant. I think most people go by Fog Fruit.
This is found throughout Florida and the southeastern states. It is commonly found in moist soils around ponds or low backyard areas and is usually treated as a weed.
Why fight it? This is great mixed with other low “weeds” like Sunshine Mimosa, Pencilflower, Corky Passionvine, Water Hyssop and Browne’s Savory.
Why not have a lawn that provides food for butterflies and other creatures instead of the usual monoculture? Fog Fruit is the larval food for the common buckeye, phaon crescent and white peacock.
A path covered with Fog Fruit may have dozens of white peacock butterflies hovering around it. Watch your step for caterpillars.
Although we associate this plant with moist soil, I have found it growing in dry sand just back from the ocean dune.
Along the west side of A1A at Juno Beach, this plant is growing on non irrigated soil with a 45 degree slope coming off the roadway. I wonder if this isn’t a separate variety since it has larger leaves too?
Many butterflies and other insects nectar on the flowers and it is used as a tea and medicine in other countries. Click for more info. I don’t see information concerning the seeds being used by birds although it is mentioned that insects attracted to the flowers attract many insect eating birds.
The white to lavender flowers, low growth and ability to handle foot traffic make this a great plant to replace lawn in sunny, dry to wet soils. Just make sure that your neighbor knows that he or she already has some in their yard and that you didn’t supply the source of “weed” seeds.
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Dune Sunflower
Helianthus debilis subsp. debilis
Dune Sunflower, Beach Daisy, Beach Sunflower, Beach Dune Daisy…or whatever you want to call it, is one of the fastest growing groundcovers.
Our local East Coast variety is found on the beach and in coastal scrub habitat from Dade County to Georgia. It has two inch wide yellow flowers with a dark center that attracts butterflies, bees and other pollinators.
The seeds are eaten by a variety of songbirds and will persist in the soil for up to five years. When the original plant looks old and ratty, just mow it down or pull it up and keep the soil weeded and mulch free until the new crop germinates and takes over.
Most seedlings germinate in February to June. They like the cooler evenings, a little organic matter and watering twice a week until fully germinated. After they have reached three inches they are on their own.
I think they look best covering the dry swale in front of a home. They don’t block your view of oncoming traffic and are brake screeching, whiplash causingly beautiful when in bloom. Keep them off the sidewalk and other walkways.
Salt spray is no problem, although long periods of salt water soaking is. Full sun and dry soil are best although some organic matter helps. If they are over fertilized, the growth will be soft and spittle bugs, varnish bugs and other insects and diseases may ruin it.
Some weeding is usually needed. Plan on pulling it up in February and either replacing with purchased plants or just wait for and nurture the seedlings. It is OK to mix this with other wildflowers.
Make sure that they are either far enough away not to be smothered by the six foot diameter circles that each Dune Sunflower grows into or use plants that fight back.
I like to mix it with Gaillardia, Beach Verbena, Seaside Goldenrod, Red Salvia, Railroad Vine, Partridge Pea, Beach Creeper, Sea Lavender, Bay Cedar, Beach Elder, Blue Porterweed and various beach grasses planted several feet away. Actually, any beach plant can be added to the mix.
If you want to seed a new area, just collect the seed heads soon after the petals have dropped and they are full and starting to yellow. Dry these on paper, rub the seeds out and sprinkle on the new site. Rake the soil lightly to mix in the seeds and plants will come up over a five year period.
There are two other subspecies of Helianthus debilis that occur on the west coast of Florida. The first is Helianthus debilis, subsp. vestitus Click for more info. and click here. This is rare and looks a lot like the eastern subspecies debilis.
The final subspecies to be aware of is Cucumberleaf Sunflower, Helianthus debilis subsp. cucumerifolius, which also grows on the west coast of Florida. This gets up to six feet tall and when it hybridizes with our east coast subspecies it makes a real mess of things.
Rather than being low, the hybrids are of different heights and the planting becomes rank and unattractive. I did this by accident and it took five or more years of pulling all seedlings from my property before I was confident that it was elliminated. Click for more info.
Click for more info, and here.
White Crownbeard
Verbesina virginica
The six foot tall, winged stalks and up to 10 inch long, deeply lobed leaves give White Crownbeard a bit of a rank appearance. It is during the late summer when heads of butterfly attracting white flowers appear that the value of this plant is realized.
Bees, butterflies and other pollinators visit the flowers. If you allow this plant to go to seed, even though the seed is small, it provides food for painted buntings and other seed eating birds.
After the seeds have all fallen, cut the plants back to the ground. New growth will be dense and attractive. Drought tolerance and the ability to out compete most weeds makes this an interesting background plant.
This is also called Frostweed and is found throughout Florida along canals or the edge of salt marshes in dense colonies. Due to the abundance of seedlings and root suckers that sprout around the plant, this is not recommended for small gardens.
Mass along a lake edge with Elderberry, Salt Bush, or Wax Myrtle. Place within an open area of forest or along a roadway. It can be used as a backdrop along the northern border of a garden. Frostweed may get large numbers of black aphids on the new growth. These are food for predatory insects and do no harm to the plant.
Up north Frostweed exudes sap at the base during a frost which then freezes into the shape of petals or curls. This is why they call it Frostweed. This, of course does not happen in South Florida.
If you have a planting of Coontie and Atala butterflies (which lay their eggs on it) then you may see dozens of these beautiful butterflies visiting the flowers of Crownbeard. These are the butterflies in the picture above.
For more info, click here.
Crimson Dicliptera
Dicliptera assurgens
Crimson Dicliptera is also called Sixangle Foldwing. This member of the shrimp plant family is found abundantly in the Keys and occasionally in hammocks from South Florida to Central Florida.
Crimson Dicliptera is tolerant of some salt air and water and short periods of drought. It will tolerate full sun, yet does best in shade. Most plants will die in the winter, yet many seedlings will sprout in the spring. It may be necessary to remove some now and then.
If you live near the upper Keys or in the Miami area, the Cuban crescent butterfly may come and lay her eggs on this plant.
This is a good wildlife attractor. Hummingbirds visit the flowers and painted buntings and other seed eating birds will feed on the developing seeds.
For a shady area under a forest canopy try this with Snowberry, Beautyberry, Native Plumbago, shade tolerant ferns, Basket Grass, Coastal Foxtail, Marlberry, Wild Coffee and Red Salvia.
I have found it growing naturally along the Port Myaca Trail on the east side of Lake Ockeechobee in Martin County. The above named plants were found with it under towering Bald Cypress, Hackberry, Mastic and Live Oak.
For more information, click here.
Corky Passionvine
Passiflora suberosa
Corky passionvine is found in South Florida, Texas and the West Indies. This is an easy plant to grow on a fence or even as an ivy-like ground cover.
The flowers are small and the edible fruit is pea sized and black. After several years the stem becomes thick and corky. This is a salt tolerant plant that can be used as a ground cover on the back side of the dune where it mixes well with sunshine mimosa and other beach wildflowers.
The dark green leaves are food for the caterpillars of the zebra longwing, gulf fritillary, and Julia butterflies. Put some in a hanging basket and place where you can easily watch the process from egg laying to emerging adults. A great way to turn your kids onto nature.
Corky Passionvine can tolerate some shade and grows well when planted with Firebush. Plant the two together outside of your screened patio and enjoy sitting and watching the caterpillars eat the leaves of the passionvine and the adult butterflies and hummingbirds sip nectar from the Firebush flowers.
I like to limb up the Firebush so that the Corky Passionvine can occupy the lower level. You may need to cut the passionvine back if it starts to cover the top of your Firebush.
When you first plant Corky Passionvine you may want to remove some of the butterfly eggs and caterpillars. If there are more than five caterpillars on one plant, they may eat it down to the ground and kill it.
Since it is often eaten back to several feet, it is safe to mix with other vines like Coral Honeysuckle, Balloonvine, Carolina Jessamine and Rubbervine.
When planted on a chain link fence, it will grow up the top of the fence where it fills out. Below that, it is mainly stems with few leaves.
For more information, click here.
