A tidy Florida native wild coffee that stays about 3–4 feet tall and wide, sized for small spaces and part shade. Showy white flowers and fruit appear nearly year-round. The flowers feed bees and other pollinators, and birds eat the fruit. Woks well as a low hedge or under taller trees.
A graceful Florida native tree that grows 10–15 feet tall, with weeping branches. White flowers from summer to fall draw bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, followed by bright orange fruit that birds love. A fine specimen tree, hedge or screen in sun or part sun.
A Caribbean relative of our native firebush, grown for its bell-shaped yellow-orange flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. It grows into a large shrub or small tree and takes pruning well.
A slow-growing, salt-tough Florida native palm that reaches 15–30 feet, with fan leaves 2–3 feet across. It handles salt spray and hurricane winds and makes a fine accent or specimen. Fragrant white flowers and white fruit feed bees and birds, and it hosts the monk skipper butterfly. State-listed as Endangered.
A tough Florida native tree that grows 20–30 feet tall, with shiny leaves and bright red fruit from summer through fall that birds eat. It handles long dry spells, salty wind and hard sites like road edges, in full sun or part sun.
A slow-growing, salt-tolerant Florida native shrub. Grows 4–10 feet tall and displays fragrant ivory flowers in spring and summer. White-crowned pigeons and other birds eat the yellow-orange fruit. Excellent hurricane wind resistance makes it a strong coastal specimen. State-listed as Threatened. Seeds may be poisonous if ingested.
A Florida native shrub, growing 4–8 feet tall. Features glossy leaves, cute white flowers, and red-to-black fruit year-round. It likes full sun and limestone or sandy soil, and tolerates salty wind. A good buffer or informal hedge near the coast. State-listed as Threatened.
A tough Florida native beach shrub, 6–10 feet tall, built for dunes and seaside yards. It shrugs off salt spray, salty soil and drought, resists hurricane winds and helps hold sand in place. Yellow flowers bloom year-round for bees and butterflies, and it hosts two scrub-hairstreak butterflies.
An elegant native holly, 20–30 feet tall, for sun, part sun or shade. Bees pollinate its spring flowers, and birds eat the black fruit in fall (on female trees). A fine specimen or understory tree. State-listed as Threatened.
A West Indian tree whose oil is used to make bay rum. It has deep green foliage and peeling bark handsome enough to grow it for the trunk alone. It grows in sun or shade in coastal-central and South Florida, and looks best unpruned, so give it room.
A Florida native tree, 20–30 feet tall, with an interesting mottled bark. Birds and mammals eat its red fruit, and it's a larval host for the Florida white butterfly. Best in full sun and soil with some organic matter. State-listed as Threatened.
A Keys native shrub up to about 8 feet, great as a screen or informal hedge in dry, sunny spots. Its flowers feed many butterflies, and it's a larval host for the cassius blue, large orange sulphur and rare Miami blue butterflies. Pods split to show beautiful red-and-black seeds that birds eat. State-listed as Threatened.
A handsome Florida native tree, 10–25 feet tall, with glossy evergreen leaves and reddish new growth. Its narrow, columnar shape is a good fit for tight s paces. It grows in sun or part sun, on limestone or sandy soil, tolerates salty wind, and provides birds cover.
A slow-growing Florida native from South Florida's pine rocklands and hammocks, reaching 8–12 feet tall and wide. Fragrant white-green flowers draw pollinators, and its fine foliage suits a specimen, border or low screen. Best in part sun, and it tolerates salty wind.
An adaptable Florida native shrub with a narrow, upright form, 8–15 feet tall, that grows in sun or shade. It's a dependable hedge or screen, even along parking lots, and tolerates salty wind. Birds eat its small black fruit and shelter in its branches.
Photo Credits: Brandon Corder, iNaturalist
A Florida native shrub, 3–10 feet tall, with glossy leaves and white flowers year-round. Its white berries hide indigo-colored pulp. It's a nectar plant for Schaus' swallowtail, hosts the tantalus sphinx, and gives birds fruit and cover. It takes shearing, and small spines may form at the leaf bases.
Wingleaf soapberry is a Florida native shade tree, 30–40 feet tall in South Florida, that tolerates drought and salty wind. Bees visit its spring flowers. Its fruit contains saponins that lather like soap. The seeds are considered poisonous.
A Florida native shrub, 6–12 feet tall, with a loose, trailing habit. Showy, fragrant white-to-pink flowers open at night in spring and summer. It hosts Florida white and great southern white butterflies, and birds eat the fruit.
A narrow-crowned native shade tree, 30–40 feet tall, sized for tight spaces between houses or along drives. Its flowers feed butterflies such as Schaus' swallowtail, and female trees bear purple fruit for birds and wildlife. Hurricane-wind resistant.
Photo credits: Josiah Londerée, iNaturalist
The signature tree of South Florida's pine rocklands. This tall, fire-adapted native pine resists hurricane winds and handles salty wind and long dry spells. Squirrels and birds eat its seeds, and old trees support red-cockaded woodpeckers.
A fast-growing, salt-tolerant native shrub with shiny, stiff leaves and showy fruit in yellow, red or green. It handles drought and hurricane winds, and suits coastal hedges. Usually 15 feet or less.
A Caribbean relative of Florida's native lignum vitae, grown for its blue flowers and slow, sculptural form. Not native to Florida. Lignum vitae sanctum also available.
A small-to-medium Florida native tree, 20–30 feet tall, sized for small landscapes. Fragrant white spring flowers feed the Florida duskywing, red-banded hairstreak and other butterflies, and birds eat the fruit.
A fast-growing native shade tree, 40–60 feet tall, with lacy foliage and white spring flowers. It's a wildlife powerhouse, hosting large orange sulphur, mimosa yellow, amethyst hairstreak and cassius blue butterflies. It also draws warblers, vireos and gnatcatchers.
A Florida native evergreen, 30–50 feet tall, with attractive foliage and purple summer fruit that birds eat and spread. It resists hurricanes by shedding small branches in high winds. Its shallow roots can lift paving, so plant it away from walks and driveways.
A Florida native small tree, 10–20 feet tall, from South Florida's rockland hammocks. It's a true honey plant: yellow-green flowers all year buzz with bees, wasps and butterflies, followed by orange-red fruit. Makes good screens, edges and backgrounds.
A rare native shrub or small tree of Florida and the Caribbean. Its compound leaves are fragrant when crushed, and woodworkers prize its wood for its color. State-listed as Endangered.
One of South Florida's most popular natives, can be grown as a shrub or tree, with attractive bark. Fragrant white flowers peak in spring and early summer, drawing bees and butterflies, and birds that eat its orange berries. Hurricane-wind resistant, it works as a hedge, screen or small specimen tree.
One of South Florida's most beautiful native trees. Its leaves are glossy green above and silky brown below, and they shimmer in a breeze. It grows slowly to 15–30 feet and resists hurricane winds. Birds and mammals eat its purple-black fruit.
A salt-tough coastal shrub, 3–6 feet tall, that handles salt spray, salty soil and long dry spells. Its fall flowers attract butterflies. FNPS believes it is now gone from the wild in Florida; its last known site was near Biscayne Bay. Planting it helps keep it in our landscapes.
The silver form of our native buttonwood, with leaves coated in fine silvery hairs. It grows as a shrub or small tree and shears well into a hedge. It handles salt spray, salty soil and hurricane winds, and it hosts the martial scrub-hairstreak and tantalus sphinx.
One of Florida's most valuable wildlife plants. This clumping native palm grows 3–8 feet tall, tolerates drought and salty wind, and slowly spreads by underground stems, so give it room. Its spring flowers feed many bees and butterflies, and its berries feed birds, bears and other wildlife. It hosts monk and palmetto skipper butterflies.
A Caribbean tree with small leaves and short spines along its branches. It is grown as an ornamental specimen or accent tree.
One of South Florida's prettiest native flowering shrubs, 5–15 feet tall. Blooms change color on the same plant, in white, pink and red, from late winter into summer. Butterflies nectar on it, it hosts the Florida duskywing, and birds eat the orange fruit. State-listed as Threatened.
A coastal Florida native shrub, 6–12 feet tall, with spikes of bright yellow flowers almost year-round. The flowers feed bees, butterflies and hummingbirds. Very salt-tolerant and easy to grow, even in poor sandy soil. It's named for its beaded seed pods.
A rare native shrub found in Florida only in the Lower Keys. It grows 5–10 feet tall and wide, with shiny leaves, white flowers and translucent, pearl-like white fruit. Best in part sun. State-listed as Endangered.
A glossy-leaved Florida native understory tree, 20–30 feet tall, whose crushed leaves smell like citrus. White spring flowers make it a good honey plant, and wildlife eat its blue-black fruit. Use it as a specimen, screen or barrier. Its name comes from the straight stems early Floridians used as fishing spears.
A dense, glossy-leaved Florida native shrub, 10–20 feet tall, from coastal hammocks. White flowers appear March through September, then birds eat the red-to-black fruit. It makes an excellent screen or hedge and can be pruned to a single trunk. State-listed as Threatened.
Florida's classic coastal tree, with big round leaves and hanging clusters of edible fruit used for jams and jellies. It's fast-growing, highly tolerant of salt spray and drought, and grows as a sprawling shrub or a 10–50-foot tree. The flowers feed bees and butterflies, and birds eat the fruit (on female plants).
West Indian mahogany is a native South Florida shade tree, 30–70 feet tall, and the original source of commercial mahogany. A classic street, yard or park tree for full sun. Its spring flowers draw small butterflies, moths and bees. State-listed as Threatened.
A rare Florida native shrub or small tree, 15–20 feet tall, from rockland hammocks and coastal berms. New growth is accentuated by a reddish color. Showy white flowers are followed by red-to-blue fruit that birds eat. Use it as a hedge, specimen or small street tree. State-listed as Endangered.
Our native wild banyan, 30–40 feet tall, with red-to-purple figs that birds eat and fewer aerial roots than strangler fig. It's a larval host for the ruddy daggerwing butterfly. A big specimen tree, so give it room.
A classic Florida native hedge, 10–15 feet tall, for sun or part sun. White flowers bloom year-round for bees and moths, followed by red-to-black fruit. It's wind-resistant and hosts the tantalus sphinx. Its musky scent is part of its character, and some people can't smell it at all.
A tough native shrub or small tree, 12–15 feet tall, for sun or part sun and dry sandy or limestone soil. Small white summer flowers attract pollinators, and fall fruit and dense cover make it a bird favorite. It tolerates moderate salt and hurricane winds, and works as a hedge or specimen.