The Giant Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio cresphontes) is the largest butterfly occurring in the United States, with a wingspan that can reach 6″. The larvae are sometimes called ‘Orange Dogs’ due to their host plants being members of the Citrus (Rutaceae) family. They also feed on noncommercial members of this family, including a Florida native, Wild Lime…
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Richard Lyons’ Nursery has a large selection of Florida Native Plants for the landscape. Here are just a few to choose from:
Despite its name, the ming fern is a flowering plant and not a fern at all. It produces white flowers in the spring to early summer. It is in the same genus as the edible cultivated perennial vegetable, Asparagus officinalis. Ming Ferns do well in full sun as well as shaded locations. A native to…
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The Fukien Tea Plant is named for the Fukien or Fujien Province of S. China where it is native. Its botanical name which most people are familiar with is Carmona microphylla. However, recently it has been renamed Ehretia buxifolia. It is a member of the Boraginaceae family, or Borage Family. In the Philippines, the leaves…
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This is an interesting article from the University of Florida about the relationship between the Atala butterfly and its host plant, Florida Coontie http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg347. At the nursery we have a population of the Atala Butterflies, and the adults can be seen landing on the Sweet Almond flowers (Aloysia virgata) and Florida Fiddlewood flowers (Citharexylum spinosum) for nectar,…
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