This week’s featured plants are two native asters in the Smphyotrichum genus. Symphyotrichum dumosum (Rice Button Aster), is a mounding herbaceous plant native to eastern North America. In Florida, it is present in most of the state, but most noticeably absent from Hendry, Palm Beach, and Broward counties. The three counties just south of Lake…
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Just a little blurb about a tree that until today, I was not aware was in Richard Lyons Nursery’s inventory. When I was looking for a tree for a customer, I noticed clusters of red berries on a couple of small trees. Upon closer scrutiny, I discovered two Dahoon Holly trees (Ilex cassine) in 7…
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Two new groundcover plants to try at Richard Lyons Nursery. The first is a native in the Aster Family (Asteraceae), Florida Cinchweed (Pectis linearifolia). It has very delicate foliage and tiny yellow flowers. It is a fast grower and can tolerate partial shade. The second plant, Spanish Shawl (Heterocentron elegans) is related to Tibouchina, and…
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With the decline of citrus trees in back yards, the giant swallowtail butterfly (Papilio cresphontes) could be in jeopardy, as it relies on citrus trees to lay its eggs on. Fortunately, any member of the citrus family (Rutaceae) will suffice. One such member is the native wild lime tree (Zanthoxylum fagara). It looks more like…
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The life cycle of the Atala Butterfly (Eumaeus atala), also known as the Coontie Hairstreak. This butterfly is native to southeastern Florida and the Caribbean Islands. In the state of Florida it is still considered endangered due to loss of habitat and to some extent loss of its host plant, Zamia integrifolia (Coontie). First, in…
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