Natives For Your Neighborhood
Conservation of rare plants, animals, and ecosystems

General Landscape Uses: Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also butterfly gardens.

Ecological Restoration Notes: Common in pine rocklands in southerm Miami-Dade County; rare elsewhere.

Availability: Grown by enthusiasts and occasionally by native plant nurseries. Available in Miami at Pro Native Consulting (786-488-3101).

Description: Small shrub. Leaves dark green above and silvery or coppery below.

Dimensions: Typically 1-3 feet in height. Often as broad as tall.

Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.

Range: Monroe County Keys north along the east coast to St. Lucie County, where presumed exirpated in the wild; West Indies. In the Monroe County Keys, apparently disjunct from Miami-Dade County to the pine rocklands of Big Pine Key and Little Pine Key.

 Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.

 Map of suggested ZIP codes from South Florida north to southern Brevard, Osceola, Polk, and Pasco counties.

 Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.

Habitats: Pine rocklands, scrub and coastal thickets.

Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, without humus.

Nutritional Requirements: Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils.

Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.

Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun.

Flower Color: White.

Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy.

Flowering Season: All year.

Fruit: Inconspicuous capsule with yellowish pubescence.

Wildlife and Ecology: Sole larval host plant for Bartram's scrub-hairstreak (Strymon acis) and Florida leafwing (Anaea troglodyta floridalis) butterflies in South Florida. Nectar plant for baracoa skipper (Polites baracoa), Bartram's scrub-hairstreak, cassius blue (Leptotes cassius), Florida duskywing (Ephyriades brunneus) and other butterflies.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed or cuttings. Soak seeds in water overnight andd sprinkle into a community pot, scattering a thin layer of soil over the seeds. Place in full sun. For excellent and detailed information on pineland croton propagation, see Fairchild Tropical Garden's Connect To Protect fact sheet.

References: Miami-Dade County Landscape Manual (2005).

Comments: Recruits readily in the garden from seed, but is not weedy.