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

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

Availability: Grown by enthusiasts.

Description: Small to medium herbaceous wildflower.

Dimensions: 1-4 feet in height. Taller than broad.

Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.

Range: Southern United States south to the Monroe County Keys; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. Rare in the Monroe County Keys and perhaps absent in the middle Keys.

 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: Marshes and swamps.

Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to periodically inundated sandy, limestone, or organic soils, with or without humusy top layer.

Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.

Salt Water Tolerance: Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water.

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

Drought Tolerance: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.

Light Requirements: Full sun.

Flower Color: Pink.

Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy flowering heads.

Flowering Season: All year; peak summer-fall.

Fruit: Inconspicuous brownish achene. All year.

Wildlife and Ecology: Nectar plant for Florida duskywing (Ephyriades brunneus), hammock skipper (Polygonus leo), long-tailed skipper (Urbanus proteus), mangrove skipper (Phocides pigmalion), monk skipper (Asbolis capucinus) and other butterflies.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.

References: Hammer 2004

Comments: This is an excellent butterfly attractant. The leaves and flowers are extremely fragrant. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's Flower Friday page. See a 2019 post on the Treasure Coast Natives blog on dominant mudflat species including sweetscent.