Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also wildflower and butterfly gardens.
Availability:
Native plant nurseries.
Description:
Prostrate herbaceous wildflower.
Dimensions:
About 1 inch in height; to 3 inches when in flower. Spreading along the ground and forming large open mats.
Growth Rate:
Fast.
Range:
Southeastern United States, Missouri and Texas south to Miami-Dade, Hendry and Lee counties. Sporadic and mostly weedy in sandy disturbed sites in South Florida. Never vouchered for Broward, Palm Beach, Glades or Charlotte counties.
Habitats:
Open, usually disturbed, sites.
Soils:
Moist to dry, well-drained sandy 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:
Pink.
Flower Characteristics:
Showy.
Flowering Season:
Spring-summer.
Fruit:
Small brown pod (legume).
Wildlife and Ecology:
Larval host plant for little yellow (Eurema lisa) butterflies.
Gann, G.D., M.E. Abdo, J.W. Gann, G.D. Gann, Sr., S.W.
Woodmansee, K.A. Bradley, E. Verdon and K.N. Hines. 2005-2008. Natives For Your Neighborhood. http://www.regionalconservation.org.
The Institute for Regional Conservation, Miami.