M.E. DEPALMA PARK


Nectar Plants

 The Park and Plantings -The Dedication Ceremony - About Butterflies - Butterfly Nectar and Larval Plants - Home

 

Some Nectar Plants you may wish to include in your garden:

Ageratum – For Monarchs, Queens and Blues
Blue Porterweed (Stachytarpheta spp.)– A favorite of many.
Butterfly Bush (Buddelia davidii) – For all butterflies including the larger Swallowtails and Fritillaries
Cosmos  – Monarchs
Citrus – Swallowtails
Dune Sunflower (Helianthus debilis) – A good ground cover and nectar plant.
Firebush (Hamelia patens) – Zebras and Sulphurs adore it!
Geiger (Cordia spp.) – Smaller butterflies and hummingbirds love it.
Golden Dewdrop (Duranta erecti) – A food source for birds too.
Heliotrope – A very fragrant attractor.
Hibiscus – For hummingbirds and butterflies
Lantana – Another all around butterfly favorite
Liatris – Spikes of dark purple attract many species
Mexican Flame (Senecio confusus)- Put it on a wall or trellis
Peregrina also called Jatropha (Jatropha hastata) – A small tree with red blossoms and lots of butterflies
Pentas – Especially the red, magenta and white
Pink Porterweed – Zebras and Sulphurs
Scarlet Milkweed – Monarchs and Queens
Scarlet Sage (Salvia coccinea)– Butterflies and hummingbirds
Wild Coffee (Psychotria undata) – Zebras
Zinnia – Black Swallowtails

And the bedding plants: aster, bachelor button, daisy, impatiens, marigold, petunia and verbena.

Larval Plants

Larval Plants and the butterflies whose caterpillars feed on them

Images appear of butterflies that have been seen laying eggs in the park

 
LARVAL PLANT  BUTTERFLY
Coontie  (Zamia Pumila)
Atala Butterfly  Atala
In 1965, the Florida Atala butterfly was declared an endangered species. Many scientists believed the creature to be extinct. But when landscapers began planting coontie, the butterflies made a remarkable comeback. A colony of Atala caterpillars can eat every leaf of the female coontie and being an obligate organism, it cannot survive without the plant. For butterfly gardeners, the
coontie plant is a unique and welcome addition to other larval host plants.
Cassia Sulphur
Dill, Fennel and Parsley Black Swallowtail 
Ficus (Strangler and Short-leaf fig) Ruddy Daggerwing
Gumbo Limbo Dingy Purplewing
Mallows Tropical Checkered Skipper, Painted Lady 
Mustard (peppergrass) capers Great Southern White 
Nettles, False Nettle Red Admiral
Passion Vine

Zebra Longwing, Gulf- Fritillary and Julia Longwing

(all three lay eggs on this vine)
Pawpaw  Zebra Swallowtail
Pipevine (Aristolochia) Polydamas and Pipevine Swallowtail
Red Mangrove Mangrove Skipper 
Ruellia Malachite, White Peacock 
Scarlet Milkweed Monarch, Queen 
Wild Petunia Buckeye, White Peacock, Malachite
Wild Lime Giant Swallowtail, Shaus Swallowtail 
Wild Tamarind Large Orange Sulphur 
Willow  Viceroy, Eastern Tiger Swallowtail 
 The Park and Plantings -The Dedication Ceremony - About Butterflies - Butterfly Nectar and Larval Plants - Home

From: "A Garden Diary: A Guide to Gardening in South Florida"
 Authors: Robert Haehle and M.E. DePalma
Reprinted with the permission of the publisher

Plant it ...and they will come!

 

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