Diverse backdune plants include dune sunflowers, blanket flower, spiderwort, seaside goldenrod, prickly pear, tropical sage, sea oxeye daisy, muhly grass, and beebalm.

Beach Sunflower, also known as Dune Sunflower, is an attractive southeast US native that grows on our coastal sand dunes but is also perfect for transition between landscaped backyards and the dunes.! It is a spreading perennial with small, sunflower-like flower heads that attract butterflies and bloom continuously in frost-free areas. In areas that freeze, plants die back to the ground and either re-sprout from the roots or reseed in the garden. This plant makes a wonderful, drought-tolerant groundcover that requires little care.

Mature Size: 2 to 4 feet tall and wide Growth Rate: Fast Plant Habit:

Spreading Plant Spacing: 18 to 24 inches

Characteristics & Uses: Foliage Color: Green Flower Color: Yellow Bloom Time: Spring – Fall (Year-round in frost-free areas)

Attracts Wildlife: Butterflies

Uses: Groundcover; Mass Planting; Edging

Loves full sun making it the most important stabilizer of sand on the foredunes. It is protected by Florida State Law, and it is illegal to collect the flower spike or seed heads in Florida, without a permit.

The roots hold the sand together down to the base of storm wave, making it the re bar of coastal foredunes. Picture right above shows sea oat roots holding together the damaged foredune on Amelia Island FL after Hurricane Matthew.

Blanketflower, also known as Indian blanket or firewheel, is a brightly colored wildflower, with showy, daisy-like blooms with dark pink to reddish center ray florets with yellow tips.

This palletvaries greatly howewer (although with great variation), and dark red to purplish disk florets. Its leaves are alternately arranged, narrow yet deeply lobed, and pubescent.

Blanketflower blooms in spring, summer and into fall in North Florida, and year-round in Central and South Florida. It occurs naturally in dry savannahs, coastal dunes and other dry, open areas. The blooms attract a variety of pollinators.

This aster is found in 27 Florida counties but favors the east coast.

Height/Habit 8 – 24 inches

Spread 14 - 30inches

Planting Instructions 3" deep and 12 - 18" apart Soil Requirements Well drained

Hardiness Zones 8-11

Spiderwort is an erect perennial wildflower with three pedaled bluish-purple flowers clustered on branched stems. Colors vary from blue, purple, pink or even white. Each flower has six dark bluish-purple stamens Leaves grass like, light green in color. They grow to 1 to 2 feet tall.

Spiderwort looks good and tastes good, well at least it is edible. Flowers fresh on a salad or can be candied for a sweet treat. Stems and leaves can be eaten raw. The leaves can be cooked and eaten, or the juice can work like aloe to take the sting out of insect bites.

Bee love spiderwort and are drawn to the ephemeral (open only one day) flowers. Four species of spiderwort are native to Florida but DSG only has access to the Bluejacket or Ohio spiderwort (T. ohiensis), the most common spiderwort found throughout North and Central Florida and Georgia.

Hardiness: 8-9 (occasionally 10)

Seaside goldenrod is a native, late-flowering perennial forb. It

may grow up to 6 ft tall at maturity, blooming August through October. The terminal flowering heads are dense, clustered spikes of bright yellow flowers that are larger than those of other goldenrod species.

In winter, the plant’s persistent whitened leaves, coarse stalks, and dried flower parts make it easily identifiable. Red leaves sprout in late February and early March, and soon become dark green. From late August to early October, its bright yellow flowers provide an attractive contrast to its lush, thick, green vegetation.

It is NOT related to ragweed which can create allergy concerns.

Seaside goldenrod is a short-day perennial (flowering coincides with shortened photoperiods). So that at some point as the days get shorter, flowering starts . The flowers are an important food/energy source for fall migrating monarch butterflies traveling the Atlantic coastal flyway.

Fall fruit loved by Gopher tortoises

This moderately fast-growing medium-sized bushy succulent accent or specimen shrub, with yellow spines, typically grows 3-6′ in full sun to light shade. The prickly pear is drought tolerant, once established, and can tolerate salty winds and an occasional soaking in salt water. The showy, yellow to yellowish-orange flowers grow all year but peak in the spring and summer. Butterflies relish the nectar. And it reduces CO2 in the atmosphere. God’s gift to the dunes, man, and beast, just don’t get bit by the prickly parts.

Some claim that humans eating the prickly pear cactus are spared some of the problems of Type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity and hangovers and perhaps the COVID 19. Or at least some tout its antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties.

But the Mayo Clinic warns that too much can lead to increased stool frequency and abdominal fullness. Too much of a good thing???

Known by many names — scarlet sage, tropical sage, red salvia, blood sage — this versatile perennial wildflower is a steadfast addition to any wildflower garden. The flower spike consists of bright red, tubular blooms that are about 1” long. Flowers are loosely arranged in whorls and extend 90 degrees out from square, upright stems. Leaves are deltoid– to oval- shaped and have toothed margins and relatively long petioles. They are oppositely arranged. Seeds are born in capsules.

Tropical sage is a flower that no pollinator can resist, but it is particularly attractive to bees, large butterflies and hummingbirds. It typically blooms in summer and fall, but can bloom year-round in many parts of the state. It occurs naturally in hammocks, woodlands and gray coastal dunes

Family: Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Native range: Nearly throughout Florida and Coastal Georgia Hardiness: 8-10
Soil: Well-drained, sandy to rich, moderately moist soils
Exposure: Full sun to minimal shade Growth habit: 2-4’+ tall

Sea ox-eye (Borrichia frutescens) is a common daisy-like plant, native to the U.S.coast from Maryland to Florida and west to Texas, as well as in parts of Mexico.

Like many other beach plants, sea ox-eye is remarkably tolerant of bright sun, high heat, sandy soils, and salt spray.

a ox-eye starts out as a modest herb only a few inches high, but it can eventually grow into a prominent shrub three or four feet tall.

Each showy ox-eye “flower” is actually a composite of dozens of tiny flowers packed into a tight cluster an inch or so across. As in asters, daisies, and other close relatives, there are two distinct types of florets: tubular “discs” in the center of the cluster and strap-like “rays” radiating out around them.

The flower heads give rise to hard, spiny, bur-like structures containing numerous single-seeded fruits.

Muhly grass has a clumping form, growing 3- to 4-feet-tall and about as wide. Delicate, purple flowers emerge in the fall well above the foliage and can literally cover the foliage. It is native to pine flatwoods, coastal upland and beach dunes, and sandhill communities.

USDA hardiness zones: 7 through 11 Planting month for zone 7-11: year round
Growth rate: moderate

Leaves are 18” to 36” long; semi-evergreen, green turning to copper during the showy fall season when its pink flowers also appear.

Plant grows in full sun in soils subject to extended flooding; acidic; alkaline; sand; loam; clay, including moderate salt content.

Drought tolerance: high
Soil salt tolerances: moderate

Muhly grass is a tough native grass useful in many different landscape sites. It has extreme tolerance to drought and flooding, making it suited for wetland sites as well as beachfront landscapes. Muhly grass makes a nice, fine-textured mass planting , particularly in large, sweeping drifts on a large landscape for a dramati effect. It is virtually maintenance free. Growth is best in sandy or rocky soil.

Spotted beebalm (also known as dotted horsemint) is a robust, aromatic wildflower that occurs naturally in meadows, coastal dunes, roadsides and dry disturbed areas. It typically blooms late spring through fall, attracting a huge variety of pollinating insects, including bees, wasps and butterflies. In winter, it dies back to the ground.

Family: Lamiaceae (Mint family)
Native range: Nearly throughout Florida

Soil: Dry to slightly moist, well-drained soil Exposure: Full sun to partial shade Growth habit: 2–4’ tall

Propagation: Seed, cutting

Garden tips: Spotted beebalm has a long bloom time and can be a nice addition to a home landscape. Enjoy the diversity of pollinators it attracts. If not maintained, it can quickly outcompete other wildflowers.

The common partridge pea is found throughout Florida in a wide variety of

open habitats including coastal dunes. It also occurs throughout the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. It prefers well-drained soils, and iIt is salt tolerant.

Plants emerge from the seed bank mostly in early spring and mature rapidly. Partridge pea is a rather low-growing species - rarely standing more than two feet tall at maturity. The leaves and stems are glabrous (without hairs) and the leaflets are not sensitive to touch, though they tend to close up in the evening and reopen the next day. Each leaf is composed of a great many oval leaflets.

Flowering generally occurs in summer and fall. The bright yellow flowers are composed of five unequally sized petals and often have a red mark at their base.

The flowers are mostly bee pollinated and seem to be especially of interest to bumblebees. As the common name suggests, the ripened seeds are a favorite food source for ground-feeding birds such as doves and quail.

Partridge pea is a favorite plant among butterfly gardeners as it serves as a larval host plant for at least three species of sulfur butterflies as well the ceraunus blue.

As an annual, however, it must be allowed to reseed if it is to persist. This is rarely a problem. Partridge pea is a nitrogen fixing plant.

Standing cypress is a brilliant, biennial dune wildflower. It has a dense, elongated, terminal spike of long, bright red, tubular flowers. Its leaves are fern- or needle-like, and alternately arranged. Stems are pubescent. Seeds are born in a capsule. Standing cypress begins as a basal rosette of fern-like foliage. In its second year, it will send up an erect, leafy stem that looks a bit like dog fennel until it blooms into a spectacular spray of scarlet. Because of this two-year cycle, standing cypress should be planted two years in a row.

Standing cypress blooms summer through fall and occurs naturally in sandhills, coastal strands, and beach dunes. It is attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies as well as other pollinators.

It is not however related to the cypress tree (Taxodium sp.) It might, however, refer to the plant’s leaves, which vaguely resemble cypress needles. Other common names are Spanish larkspur, Texas plume and skyrocket.

Native range: North and central peninsula; Escambia, Jackson and Leon Counties, known on dunes of Amelia Island.

Hardiness: 8-9b Soil: Well-drained, sandy soils
Exposure: Full sun to minimal shade !
Growth habit: 3’+ tall

It is a moderate self-seeder.

Silverleaf croton, gulf croton, or beach tea is a short-lived perennial shrub that is an important member of plants on the foredune zone of both the Atlantic coast of Florida and Georgia and the Gulf coast of Florida.

This plant can reach a height of 6 feet. Its leaves are elliptic in shape, ½- to 2 ½-inches long. The leaf margins are smooth, but they may appear undulating.

Most surfaces of the plant including the undersides of the leaves of plant are covered with dense clusters of star-shaped hairs that have a red dot in the middle of them. The flowers appear in early summer through fall as clusters of light-green flowers appear in the early summer through fall in northern counties and year-round in southern counties. Seeds are dark gray with mottles and are a choice food of birds.

This Florida native is known to flower year-round. It occurs naturally in sandhills, scrub, pine and scrubby flatwoods, and the coastal dunes of NE Florida and Coastal Georgia. It attracts many butterflies and other pollinators.

It’s easy to see how tread-softly gets its common name, and its scientific name is just as telling. The genus Cnidoscolus is derived from the Greek cnid, meaning “nettle” and scolus, meaning “thorn.” The species epithet comes from the Latin stimul, meaning “to goad, prod or urge,” as in a “stimulus.”

Native range: nearly throughout Florida and hardiness: Zones 8-11 in neighboring states Soil: Sandy, well-drained soils
Exposure: Full sun to minimal shade
Growth habit: 1+’ tall, up to 1’ wide

It’s interesting foliage, potential for year-round blooms and relatively low maintenance requirements makes tread-softly a nice addition to a dune. However, a severe allergic reaction may occur in some people if their skin comes in contact with the plant’s hairs.

Use caution with this plant and give it the wide berth it deserves. Look but don’t touch!