|
Native Wildflower Groundcovers for North Florida
Jeffrey G.
Norcini
Institute
of Food and Agricultural Sciences
North Florida Research and Education
Center, Quincy
|
Scientific /Common Name |
Plant Type |
Flower Season2 |
Flower Color |
Vegetative Height |
Height, in flower |
Native Habitat3 |
Comments |
|
Coreopsis
lanceolata
Lanceleaf Coreopsis |
Perennial;
evergreen |
Mid-spring, summer,
fall |
Yellow |
6 to 12 inches |
10 to 20 inches |
Sandhills;
disturbed areas;
edges of cypress swamps |
Reseeds; will spread
vegetatively |
|
Gaillardia
pulchella
Blanket Flower;
Firewheel |
Annual/ short-lived
per.; can be evergreen |
Late spring, summer,
fall |
Red and yellow;
red; yellow;
rose |
10 to 18 inches |
1 to 3 feet |
Disturbed areas;
sandy open sites |
Excellent for hot,
dry sites;
reseeds |
|
Helianthus
debilis
Beach Sunflower
|
Annual/
Perennial;
semi-evergreen |
Late spring, summer |
Yellow |
Up to 3 feet
|
Up to 3 feet
|
Disturbed areas;
beaches |
Not freeze tolerant |
|
Ipomoea
pes-caprae
Railroad Vine |
Perennial |
Summer |
Pinkish purple |
N/A |
Creeping vine |
Coastal beaches;
dunes |
Individual flowers
only last 1 day |
|
Lonicera sempervirens
Coral
Honeysuckle |
Perennial |
Late spring, summer |
Red |
N/A |
Creeping, climbing
vine |
Thickets; woodland
edges |
Use it to replace
Japanese honeysuckle |
|
Mimosa strigillosa
Powderpuff |
Perennial |
Late spring, early
summer |
Pink |
<1 inch |
1 to 3 inches |
Moist, disturbed
sites; streambanks; pinelands |
Not freeze tolerant |
|
Mitchella repens
Partridge Berry |
Perennial; evergreen |
Spring |
White |
<1 inch |
1 to 3 inches |
Moist, upland
forests; hammocks |
Very shade tolerant;
red berries |
|
Scientific Name |
Plant Type |
Flower Season2 |
Flower Color |
Vegetative
Height |
Height, in flower |
Native Habitat3 |
Comments |
|
Phyla
nodiflora
Matchweed; Capeweed |
Perennial;
deciduous to evergreen |
Spring, summer,
early fall |
Pink |
<4 inches |
<4 inches |
Damp, sandy soils;
dunes; sandy disturbed sites |
Drought tolerant
once established |
|
Pityopsis
graminifolia
Grassleaf Golden
Aster |
Perennial;
evergreen |
Late summer, fall |
Yellow |
6 to 12 inches |
1 ½ to 3 feet |
Sandhills;
flatwoods; scrubs |
Silvery grass-like
foliage; will spread vegetatively |
|
Salvia lyrata
Lyreleaf Sage;
Cancer
Weed |
Perennial |
Spring |
Purple |
2 to 4
inches 1st yr; 8
to
10 inches |
1 to 1 1/2 feet |
Disturbed areas;
marshes |
Sun or shade;
reseeds |
|
Senecio aureus
Golden Ragwort |
Perennial;
evergreen |
Spring |
Yellow |
4 to 8 inches |
2 to 3 feet
|
Moist areas;
woodlands |
Good for shady
area; will spread vegetatively |
|
Sisyrinchium
atlanticum
Blue-Eyed Grass |
Perennial;
evergreen |
Spring |
Blue |
6 to 10 inches |
1 to 1/1/2 feet
|
Moist areas;
flatwoods; grassy fields; marshes soilwoodlands |
Grass-like foliage;
clumps; true blue flowers
area; will spread vegetatively |
1
The species listed in this table are plants that are native to the U.S.
and occur in Florida; most of them are considered native to Florida.
Information shown in this table is based on personal observations
and on
information obtained from the references on the next page.
Species
information primarily refers to plants as they occur in their
natural
environment in Florida.
2
Native habitat - This information is provided as a guide to help determine
what
type of site on which to use these species.
3
Flowering season in North Florida.
4
Do not use in Pinellas to Sarasota Counties so as to avoid possible
genetic crossing with the threatened Gulf Coast species Helianthus
debilis subsp. vestitus.
REFERENCES
Clewell, A.F. 1985. Guide to the Vascular Plants of the Florida
Panhandle.
Florida State University Press, Tallahassee, FL.
Jones, S.B., Jr. and L.E. Foote. 1990. Gardening with Native Wild
Flowers.
Timber Press, Portland, OR.
Rickett, H.W. 1967. Wild Flowers of the United States,
Volume 2: The
Southeastern States. McGraw-Hill, New York, NY.
Taylor W.K. 1992. The Guide to Florida Wildflowers.
Taylor
Publishing Co., Dallas, TX.
Taylor W.K. 1998. Florida Wildflowers in Their Natural Communities.
University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
USDA, NRCS. 2001. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.1
(http://plants.usda.gov).
National Plant Data Center,
Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.
Wunderlin, R. P., and
B. F. Hansen. 2000.
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants (http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/).
[S.
M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development),
Florida Center for
Community Design and Research.]
Institute for Systematic Botany,
University of South Florida, Tampa.
IFAS Publications
(http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu)
Native Ground Covers
for South Florida - EH 402
Enviroscaping to
Conserve Energy: Ground Covers for North Florida - EH137/EES37
Enviroscaping to
Conserve Energy: Ground Covers for Central Florida - EH138/EES38
Enviroscaping to
Conserve Energy: Ground Covers for South Florida - EH139/EES39
Ground Covers for Florida Homes - EP016/ENH30 |
Ornamental
Grasses