Weekly plant profile of Florida Favorites.
Meet vanillaleaf, the odiferous Carphephorus! Perhaps the most telling of common names, vanillaleaf refers to the vanilla-like scent that the plant’s wilting leaves emit when crushed. Vanillaleaf (Carpephorus odoratissimus) is a perennial that produces many small purple flowers in terminal, flat-topped inflorescences. It blooms late summer into fall in mesic to hydric pine flatwoods, moist sandhills and bogs, and is attractive to pollinators.
Say hello to summer farewell, a perennial herbaceous wildflower native to sandhills, dry flatwoods and scrub habitat. As the common name implies, summer farewell (Dalea pinnata) blooms in late summer and early fall. Its many white flowers attract butterflies, bees, and other pollinators. Its seeds provide food for birds and small wildlife. Summer farewell makes an excellent addition to a dry, sunny wildflower garden. It is dormant in the winter, but its spring leaves, summer and fall flowers, and fall seed pods provide plenty of color throughout the rest of the year.
Even cat people love dogtongue wild buckwheat! This herbaceous perennial produces a plethora of white to pinkish flowers in late summer and fall. You’ll find it blooming in sandhills, scrub and pinelands in the Panhandle and north and central peninsula. It attracts a variety of pollinators, including the thread-waisted wasp (Eremnophila aureonotata) and tiphiid wasp (Myzinum sp.).
No one knows who Barbara is, but we can surely admire her buttons! A member of the aster family, Grassleaf Barbara’s buttons (Marshallia graminifolia) is a fragrant wildflower with showy, solitary blooms that have a tassled, button-like appearance. Each flower has many whitish-pink to pale lavender disk florets arranged in a concentric circle — and no ray florets. It blooms summer through fall and like most Asters, attracts a plethora of pollinators.
Nothing clouds the beauty of the brilliant blue skyflower! This herbaceous perennial wildflower goes largely unnoticed — that is, until its bright blue blooms appear. The flowers tend to open in the morning and fade toward the end of the day, so it’s best to look for them early in the day. You’ll find them blooming in wet roadside ditches in the Eastern Panhandle, and in other wet areas throughout the peninsula.
Catesby’s lily is pure elegance, dotting wet flatwoods, prairies and savannas with brilliant summer and fall color. It is occurs throughout most of Florida, but is a state-listed threatened species. Catesby’s lily attracts a variety of butterflies, including swallowtails, which are its primary pollinators.
What’s in a name? Well, if it’s sandbog deathcamas, everything is in the name! Sandbog deathcamas (Zigadenus glaberrimus) is a poisonous wildflower native to wet flatwoods and prairies in the Panhandle. Its many star-shaped flowers are cream-colored with greenish-gold glands at the base of their petals. It blooms summer through fall (it’s blooming now!) and attracts bees, butterflies and other pollinators.
Don’t forget pineland heliotrope (Euploca polyphylla) if you’re looking for year-round blooms! This member of the forget-me-not family is a Florida endemic and is adaptable to a variety of conditions. Its small white or yellow flowers attract many pollinators.
Swamp milkweed is an erect, herbaceous perennial wildflower with showy pink flowers. It occurs naturally in floodplain swamps, hydric hammocks, wet pine flatwoods and marshes. It typically blooms in summer and attracts many pollinators. It is a larval host plant for monarch, queen and soldier butterfly caterpillars.
Comfortroot, also known as pineland hibiscus, is a large perennial wildflower with showy cream-colored blooms. It occurs naturally in wet to mesic pinelands, and along the edges of savannas, bogs and roadside ditches. It typically blooms late spring through fall and attracts pollinators, specifically bees. The common name comfortroot may allude to the belief that the plant’s mucilaginous roots has soothing properties.
Spotted water hemlock is a robust herbaceous perennial with a bad reputation of being one of the most toxic plants known to man. It occurs naturally in freshwater swamps, marshes and floodplains, and along riverbanks and roadside ditches. It blooms spring through fall, attracting many species of bees, wasps and butterflies. It is a larval host plant for the black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes).
Hairy leaf cup (Smallanthus uvedalia) occurs naturally in upland hardwood forests, slope forests, upland mixed woodlands, and moist shaded hammocks. It typically blooms in summer and attracts a variety of bees and other pollinators.
Also known as morning buttercup, pitted stripeseed (Piriqueta cistoides) is a cheerful perennial wildflower. It emerges in early spring in open, sandy areas of pine flatwoods and sandhills. It typically blooms in late summer, although it can bloom year-round in southern climes. It attracts small bees and butterflies.
Baldwin’s eryngo (Eryngium baldwinii) is a deciduous perennial (sometimes biennial) wildflower with a prostrate, vine-like growth habit. You’ll rarely notice it as you drive along the highway, but it can form a large sprawling groundcover, providing a hazy, light blue understory to other wildflowers. It occurs naturally in wet hammocks and in disturbed areas such as moist roadsides. It typically blooms in summer, although it has been known to bloom as early as spring and into the fall. It attracts small bees and butterflies.
Like all milkweeds, whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) is a larval host plant for the monarch butterfly and is attractive to a variety of pollinators. It flowers late spring through late summer/early fall. .