“Flower Friday” is a weekly profile of a different Florida native wildflower.
Button rattlesnakemaster (Eryngium yuccifolium) is a peculiar perennial wildflower that occurs in flatwoods, sandhills, savannas and marshes throughout Florida. Its flowers bloom in late spring through fall. They are frequented by a variety of pollinators, but are of special value to native bees. The plant attracts many predatory and parasitoid insects that prey on garden pests. It also attracts bats. The common name rattlesnakemaster (also known as snakeroot) may have come from its use by Native Americans as an antidote for rattlesnake venom.
Feay’s palafox is a very unique wildflower, endemic only to Florida’s central and southern peninsula. Although it is a member of the Aster family, it bears few visual similarities. It is more woody than herbaceous; its blooms are without the petal-like ray florets; and its disk florets are tubular.
Also known as Golden creeper and Coughbush, Beach creeper (Ernodea littoralis) is an evergreen low-growing, mat-forming shrub found on dunes, beaches and coastal hammock edges throughout Central and South Florida. It produces flowers and fruits year-round. The nectar attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, while the berries provide food for birds and small wildlife.
Scorpionstail (Heliotropium angiospermum) is a shrub-like plant with unique white flowers that bloom year-round. Its nectar attracts a variety of butterflies including the Miami blue (Hemiargus thomasi) and Schaus’ swallowtail (Heraclides aristodemus). The plant occurs naturally in coastal hammocks and strands, and ruderal or disturbed areas.
Snowberry is a robust evergreen vinelike shrub that occurs naturally in pine rocklands, shell mounds and coastal strands and hammocks. Its fragrant flowers typically bloom spring through fall, but may bloom year-round. This plant is a larval host for the Miami blue butterfly and Snowberry clearwing moth. Its flowers provide nectar for a variety of insects, and its berries are consumed by birds and other wildlife.
Also known as Water hyssop, Herb-of-grace is a creeping, mat-forming perennial that occurs naturally in coastal hammocks and swales, salt marshes, freshwater marshes and swamps, and along river, stream and ditch edges. It typically blooms spring through fall, but may bloom year-round. It attracts a variety of small pollinators, and is a larval host plant for the White peacock butterfly.
