Inkberry
Scaevola plumieri
General Landscape Uses: Accent shrub in open coastal areas.
Availability: Native plant nurseries.
Description: Small shrub with succulent leaves and trailing stems. Leaves thick, dark green.
Dimensions: About 2-5 feet in height. Usually broader than tall.
Growth Rate: Slow.
Range: Monroe County Keys north to Brevard, Hillsborough and Pinellas counties; West Indies, Mexico, South America, Galapagos and Old World tropics. Rare in the Monroe County Keys; now migrating to the north along the coasts.
Habitats: Beach dunes, coastal strand and coastal grasslands.
Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, without humus.
Nutritional Requirements: Low; it grows in nutrient poor soils.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Frontline; grows in direct salt wind but away from constant salt spray.
Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: White to pinkish white.
Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy. One-sided, appearing like a flower cut in half.
Flowering Season: All year; peak in summer.
Fruit: Black ovoid drupe. All year.
Wildlife and Ecology: Provides significant food and moderate amounts of cover for wildlife.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed and division (rooted stems).
Comments: It is listed as threatened by the state of Florida.