For more info
University of Florida, IFAS Extension
davesgarden.com
eattheweeds.com
pfaf.org
This list is far from complete! We have focused on some of the more common/familiar species and easiest to find and grow. Please feel free to info us if you know of a plant that should be added to this list because it does really well in Florida or is otherwise important to know about! Note that the above lists can be searched for specific plant qualities, especially PFAF which is an incredible database resource and continually improves. Use that resource liberally! You can enter exact specifications for plants including USDA zone, sun or shade, fruit, medicinal, etc.
NITROGEN FIXERS All are perennials unless noted. Ongoing research is being done on species that are most suitable for the various zones in Florida. This section will continue to be updated.
Azolla (the only nitrogen fixing water plant)
Trees and Bushes
Zone 10
Acacia (many varieties, some are invasive - many sizes and characteristics)
*Albizia (some invasive)
Chipilin (crotolaria longirostrata) - Toxic to some livestock, edible leaves for humans (cooked) are highly nutritious - grown as annual further north
Erythrina (edulis - Chachafruto, edible pod)
Erythrina crista-galli
Gliricidea (excellent fodder, living fence)
Inga edulis - Ice Cream Bean (edible fruit)
*Leucaena (only one type, lanceolata, is not invasive in FL; use for windbreak, some fodder, food, fuel, seeds used to make jewelry and other items)
*Sesbania (some invasive)
Tamarindus indica - Edible Tamarind
Wild tamarind (native)
Zone 9
Acacia (many kinds)
*Albizia julibrisson - mimosa - sprouts from roots when coppiced
Albizia lebbeck - fodder, fast, drought tolerant
Cajanus cajan - Pigeon Pea
Ceratonia siliqui - Carob
Cytisus proliferus - Tagasaste - drought tolerant, fast growing, fodder, Australian
Eleangus (silverthorn is invasive, possibly goumi)
*Enterlobium cyclocarpum (elephant ear Acacia - fast growing drought tolerant, good fodder, gets huge, like a mature live oak, unless coppiced)
*Leucaena (only one type, lanceolata, is not invasive in FL; use for windbreak, fodder, food, fuel, seeds used to make jewelry and other items)
Lespedeza thunbergii - bush clover (better in zone 8)
Parkinsonia aculeata - Jeruselum thorn
Senna (various types)
Tipuana Tipu - drought tolerant, fast growing, fodder, gets very tall and wide
Zone 8
Acacia, many kinds
*Albizia
Alnus (Alder)
Ceratonia siliqui - Carob
Eleangus (some may be invasive - Goumi has edible fruit)
Lespedeza thunbergii - bush clover
*Leucaena (tends to die to the ground in winter so may not be invasive in Zone 8)
*Sesbania (some forms are invasive)
*Leucaena and some Sesbania, Albizia, Enterlobium are all somewhat or very invasive in Central/South Florida but incredibly useful trees. You can control invasiveness by chopping and dropping before the tree seeds, which is the best use of it in a permaculture system. They tend to be good fodder trees.
Beans
Summer annual: velvet bean, lablab bean, winged bean, long bean, jack bean (vining)
Winter annual: Bush beans, lima
Peas
Short term perennial:
pigeon pea (bush), butterfly pea vine
Summer annual: cowpea (black eye pea), iron clay pea vine
Winter annual: Snap pea, snow pea
Ground covers
Perennial peanut (Arachis glabrata) grows like turf; must be contained. If client wants grass, this is drought tolerant, pest resistant, has low fertility requirements, and reduced impact on the environment compared to other turfs grown in Florida.
Black medic
Sunshine mimosa - native (aka Sensitive Plant)
Misc
Sun hemp (tall annual cover crop)
Some sugar cane species (bacteria lives in stems, not on roots)
Native
Bush:
Coral bean bush (Erythrina herbacea)
Sweet acacia (small tree with thorns)
Partridge pea
Wax myrtle (Myrica cerifera)
Yellow necklacepod
Herb:
Pencil flower
Ground Cover:
Sunshine mimosa
A few temperate nitrogen fixers
Alder
Alfalfa
Black Locust
Goumi (great edible fruit)
Clovers
Vetch
http://homesteadandgardens.com/soil-blog/wp-content/uploads/nitrogen-fixing-plants-chart.pdf
Temperate
http://tcpermaculture.blogspot.com/2011/05/plants-nitrogen-fixers.html
https://pfaf.org/user/cmspage.aspx?pageid=346
MINERAL ACCUMULATORS
These are plants that make minerals and other nutrition needs available to other plants. Each of them has its own “specialty.” A few, like Dandelion, Stinging Nettles and Comfrey, offer many minerals to other plants. Notice that many of them are considered “weeds.” You will sometimes find mineral accumulators on disturbed or damaged soils. They can grow there because they are able to access nutrition not easily accessed by other plants.
You may want to think twice before removing that dandelion or Spanish Needle from the garden. It could be providing much needed minerals to the soil. These plants are also highly nutritious – packed with vitamins and minerals and often proteins. Most of the “weeds” on this list are far more nutritious than salad greens. The jury is still out on how much these plants accumulate or how useful they are - study is still ongoing.
Arrowroot
Borage
Bracken
Buckwheat (phosphorous)
Carrot leaves
Chicory
Clovers
Comfrey
Dandelion
Kelp
Lambsquarters
Lemon Balm
Marigold
Mexican Sunflower (tithonia diversifolia - NPK, esp P)
Parsley
Pigweed
Plantain
Seaweed
Spanish Needle (bidens alba)
Stinging nettle
Watercress
Yarrow
PERENNIAL EDIBLES
Perennial Leafy Vegetables
Following is a list of perennial vegetables used for their leaves or leaf tips.
Temperate climate
Buckler - Leaved Sorrel - Rumex scutatus
Canna Lily - Canna sp.
Chicory - Cichorium sp.
Comfrey - Symphytum sp.(not usually eaten, medicinal)
Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale
Good King Henry - Chenopodium bonus-henricus
Ground Elder - Aegopodium podagraria
Herb Patience - Rumex patientia
Lovage - Levisticum officinale
Marsh Mallow - Althea officinalis
Musk Mallow - Malva moschata
Pink Purslane - Claytonia sibirica
Salad Burnet - Sanguisorba minor
Sea Beet - Beta vulgaris ssp. Maritima
Turkish Rocket - Bunias orientalis
Wild Rocket - Sisymbrium officinale
Winter Purslane, Miner’s Lettuce, Wild Lettuce - Claytonia perfoliata
Winter Savory - Satureja Montana
Subtropical - great for summer greens in Zones 9 & 10
Brazilian or Sisso Spinach - Alternanthera sisso
Chicory - Cichorium sp.
Callaloo – Amaranth gangiticus
Ceylon Spinach - Basella rubra
Cranberry Hibiscus –Hibiscus acetosella
Chaya - Cnidoscolus aconitifolius
Edible Hibiscus – Abelmoschus manihot
Katuk - Sauropis androgynus
Longevity Spinach - Gynura procumbens
Malabar Spinach –Basella alba
Moringa – Moringa oleifera
New Zealand Spinach – Tegragonai tetragonioides
Okinawan Spinach - Gynura crepioides
Roselle - Hibiscus sabdariffa
Sweet potato - Ipomoea batatas
Winged Bean - Psophocarpus tetragonolobus
Other tropical bean leaves - cow pea, etc
Perennial Root Vegetables
These vegetables generally have fleshy tubers that are edible, all are suitable for Florida.
American Groundnut - Apios Americana
Achira – Canna edulis
Cassava, manioc – Manihot esculenta
Chinese Artichokes - Stachys affinis
Elephant Garlic - Allium ampeloprasum
Galangal, Thai Ginger - Alpinia galangal
Garlic - Allium sativum (generally, N Florida)
Garlic Chives - Allium tuberosum
Gingers - Zingiber officinale and others
Sunchoke, Jeruselum artichoke - Helianthus tuberosus (struggles in C and S Florida)
Sweet potato – Ipomoea batatas
Taro - Colocasia esculenta
Three-cornered Leek - Allium triquetrum
Turmeric - Indian Saffron, Curcuma domestica
Walking onion – Allium cepa proliferum (N Florida mainly)
Yacon - Smallanthus sonchifolius
Yam - Dioscorea bulbifera (Asian variety, non toxic, cousin of extremely invasive air potato)
Yam - Dioscorea alata
Perennial Stem and Flower Vegetables (temperate climate)
Following are perennial vegetables used for their stems and flowers (temperate).
Asparagus - Asparagus officinalis
Cardoons - Cynara cardunculus
Earth Pea - Lathyrus tuberosa
Globe Artichokes - Cynara cardunculus
Golden Shallots - Allium cepa var. aggregatum
Horseradish - Amoracia sp.
Rhubarb - Rhuem rhabarbarum
Sea Kale - Crambe maritima
Tropical Perennial vegetables and greens include:
Arrowhead - Sagittaria sagittifolia
Arugula Rocket - Diplotaxis erucoides
Hot Pepper - Capsicum chinense
Waterchestnuts - Eleocharis dulcis
INSECTARY PLANTS
Pest Predator Pollinators
Daisy family
Cabbage family (broccoli, kale, etc)
Carrot family (cilantro, dill, carrot, Queen Anne Lace)
Pea family
Many perennial flowers and native wildflowers
Other pollinators (attract bees, etc):
African basil
Basils
Bee balm
Borage
Broccoli
Buckwheat (good biomass crop)
Butterfly plant
Calendula
Celosia
Citrus
Clovers (nitro fixing)
Coreopsis
Cosmos
Cowpea (nitro fixing)
Daikon
Daisy
Dandelion
Dill
Fennel
Goldenrod
Lavender
Mexican sunflower (tithonia)
Mustard
Nasturtium
Rudbeckia (coneflower)
Salvia
Spanish Needle (bidens)
Squash
Sunflower (also attracts some types of pests as a trap plant – keep it away from crops)
Sweet potato
Yarrow
Zinnias
Native wildflowers
Attracts beneficial nematodes, which eat harmful nematodes
Marigold
Chrysanthemum
Castor Bean
Pest Repellants - These plants repel pests with their odor or other methods:
Marigolds, especially Tagetes (Mexican) (repel nematodes – chop them at end of season and mix into soil)
Basil
Bergamot
Catnip
Citronella Geranium
Other scented geraniums
Chives
Cilantro
Dill
Garlic
Hyssop
Lavender
Mustard (discourages nematodes)
Nasturtium
Neem
Onion
Pyrethrum
Rhubarb
Rosemary
Sage
Salvia
Sunn Hemp (discourages harmful nematodes, use as cover crop)
Thyme
WEED INHIBITING PLANTS
Buckwheat
Dune Sunflowers
Nasturtium
Oats
Oxalis (shade)
Pumpkins
Perennial peanut
Pine Needles (mulch)
Rye
Sunn Hemp
Sweet potato
Weed and grass barrier (place around trees, at edges)
Arrowroot (near water)
Comfrey
Day Lilies
Lemongrass/Citronella
Spiderwort
SUMMER HERBS for FLORIDA
Herbs that will take heat – in part shade or full sun unless otherwise noted. I tend to give them all part shade unless they need full sun only. And I use deciduous trees like mulberry, or trees I cut back in winter like moringa, to give them more sun in winter.
Aloe - part shade
Anise Hyssop
Ashwagandha
Basil
Butterfly Weed
Cardamon - part shade
Chicory
Chive - part shade
Citronella
Comfrey – part shade
Cuban Oregano
Culantro
Elderberry
Epazote (good to eat with beans)
Galangal - part shade
Garlic Chive
Ginger – part shade
Gotu Kola
Grapefruit Sage – part shade
Horseradish
Juniper
Lemongrass
Lemon Verbena
Mexican Tarragon (Mex Marigold)
Mint (cut back when it gets scraggly) - part shade
Oregano and tropical oreganos
Passion Flower
Pepper
Periwinkle
Pineapple Sage
Rose (Florida varieties)
Rosemary
Stevia
Turmeric - part shade
Yarrow
SUMMER ANNUALS for FLORIDA
Amaranth
Boniato (white sweet potato)
Callaloo
Cassava
Chayote
Cowpeas
Cranberry Hibiscus
Eggplant
Ethiopian kale
Everglades Tomato
Ginger
Hot peppers
Jicama
Lablab bean
Long bean
Lima beans
Melons
Molokhia – Corchorus olitorius
Okra
Roselle
Seminole pumpkin
Sorrel
Sweet potato
Tropical spinach (malabar, okinawa, New Zealand, many are perennial)
Tropical squashes
Winged beans (perennial)
Yard long beans
WINTER ANNUALS for FLORIDA
Arugula
Brassicas - kale, broccoli, cabbage, etc
Cilantro
Dill
Garlic
Lettuce
Onion family
Peppers (protect from frosts)
Potatoes
Bush beans
Peas
Spinach
Strawberries (protect from frosts)
Tomatoes (protect from frosts)
ANNUAL ROOTS
boniato
cardamom
cassava
chuffa
earth pea (Lathyrus tuberosus, native, nitrogen fixing, tuber, 3ft shrub)
galangal
ginger
ground nut (apios americana native, nitrogen fixing, tuber, ground cover)
sweet potato (ipomoea)
turmeric
yam (dioscorea)
FRUIT TREES and BUSHES for SUBTROPICS
All fruit trees have both heat and cold tolerance. Some need chill hours (hours under 45F) to fruit, like apples and peaches. Others can’t take cold temperatures below a certain point. Cultivars are specific “brands” of a type of tree (like a peach), that have different qualities. In Florida, you need peach cultivars that can handle the fungus that thrives in our heat and humidity, and can also handle a lower number of chill hours (Georgia peaches can’t handle either of these). So you need peaches bred for Florida. Some bananas and avocados will handle cold better than others. Know which ones. It’s all readily available via Extension service or google.
It’s well worth it to research cultivars of the fruit trees you want to ensure they are appropriate for your area. Home Depot often sells stuff that won’t grow in the region they’re selling it in, for instance. We’re not giving you a comprehensive list here, but it is helpful in narrowing down your options.
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/mg248 (scroll down for lists of cultivars suitable for Florida)
Cool winters (24F minimum - some can go much colder)
Apples (suitable cultivars only)
Asian Pear
Australian raspberry
Avocados, cold hardy only (Mexican varieties)
Bananas (cold tolerant only - will die back and come back)
Blackberry
Blueberries
Carob
Citrus - Meyer lemon, some tangerines, some orange, red lime, kumquat, calamondin
Feijoa/Pineapple guava
Fig
Ginkgo Biloba
Jelly Palm
Jujube
Kei Apple
Kiwi
Loquat
Mulberry
Muscadine Grapes
Pawpaw
Peach (suitable cultivars only)
Pear (suitable cultivars only)
Persimmon
Plum (Suitable cultivars only)
Pomegranate (suitable cultivars only)
Sherbet berry
Cool winters (27 F minimum - some can handle colder, if protected when young)
Allspice
Avocado
Bananas (most of them)
Barbados Cherry
Carambola/Starfruit
Cherimoya
Citrus
Curry Leaf
Grapefruit
Grumichama
Guava
Jaboticaba
Lychee
Longan
Macadamia Nut
Papaya
Passion Fruit
Pineapple
Pitaya/dragon fruit (hylocereus undatus)
Sapodilla
Strawberry Guava
Strawberry tree/Jamaican cherry
Surinam Cherry
Sweet Lemon
White Sapote
http://citrusindustry.net/2017/03/02/finger-lime-new-crop-citrus-growers/
Mild winters (30 F minimum)
Banana
Black Sapote (chocolate pudding fruit)
Canistal (eggfruit)
Cinnamon (struggles under 45F)
Coffee (struggles under 45F)
Dragonfruit
Ice Cream Bean
Jackfruit
Key lime
Malabar Chestnut
Mango
Miracle Fruit
Monstera Deliciosa
Mysore raspberry
Papaya, Babaco
Papaya, Tropical
Pineapple
Pitahaya (selenicereus megalanthus)
Pitomba (eugenia luschnathiana
Rose Apple
Sapotes (mamay, chocolate, white, etc)
Star Apple
Sugar Apple
Tree tomato
NUTS
This is an area that could use a lot more research in Florida. The main nuts grown are Macadamia in C and S Florida, and Pecan and Chestnut in N Florida - Pecan can fruit in Central but not as well as further north. Andy Firk has dived deeply into this topic and is researching the following nuts -
Chinese Chestnuts,
Nogal Nuts
Mockernuts
Chokoloskee Island Physic Nuts
Bunya Nuts (Andy’s favorite)
Parana Pines
Chinquapins
Coconuts (more disease resistant, such as Dwarf Fijians)
Encino Borino
named Jelly Palms
Vegetable Ivory Palms
Cocoplums with exceptional edible kernels, select
Live Oaks for bread-making
Tropical Walnuts
Yeheb Nuts
Terminalia Tropical Almonds
Peach Palms
Ramon
Pachiras
VINES
Butterfly pea
Chayote
Grape
Gourds
Haitian Basket Vine
Iron Clay Pea
Kiwi
Lufa
Passionfruit
Pole beans
Seminole pumpkin
Yam (dioscorea alata)
NATIVE EDIBLES (Florida - just a sampling of our favorites)
Acorns
American groundnut
American Persimmon
Beautyberry
Betony
Blackberry
Dewberry
Elderberry
Everglades tomato
Gopher apple
Mockernut
Mulberry (red)
Mushrooms - chanterelles, chicken of the woods, honey mushrooms, etc
Oxalis (wood sorrel)
Plum, Chickasaw, Hog, Cocoplum
Purslane
Smilax (wild asparagus - spring shoots, cook them)
Spanish Needle
Spiderwort
Yaupon (tea)
FLORIDA DROUGHT TOLERANT PLANTS
African basil
Aloe
American persimmon
Beautyberry
Citrus (to some degree)
Fig
Jujube
Lemongrass/citronella
Loquat
Mulberry
Muscadine grape
Olive
Prickly pear
Simpson stopper (edible native berry)
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/mg248
WET LOVING EDIBLES
These all take varying quantities of moisture - some will rot if standing in water too long, others can take several days of it)
American persimmon
Arrowroot (likes to stay wet)
Bamboo
Banana
Barbados cherry
Canna Lily
Cocoplum
Elderberry
Ice cream bean
Jaboticaba
Jamaican cherry
Loquat
Mayhaw
Mulberry
Pawpaw (northern variety)
Pickerelweed (in water)
Pond apple
Sapodilla
Sea grape
Shampoo ginger
Starfruit
Sugarcane
Tamarind
Taro
Wax Myrtle
Some blueberries
SHADE TOLERANT EDIBLES
These plants will take varying amounts of shade - from dappled to full shade. Most plants can take more shade in Florida than in cooler climates. We’ve had tomatoes fruit well in shade, which extends their season (and the season of most northern veggies).
Aloe
Arugula
Asian greens (bok choi, tatsoi, komatsuna - 2 hours sun)
Bamboo (some, like black, do better than others, check on it)
Banana (4 hours sun)
Betony, Florida
Blackberries
Brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, chard, collards, kale, turnips, etc - winter crops - may survive summer in FL if given sufficient shade)
Bush peas
Calabasas, Cuban pumpkin (4 hours)
Cassava (full sun in AM, part shade later)
Celery
Chard
Chaya
Chickweed
Chives
Cilantro
Citronella
Citrus
Collards
cranberry hibiscus
Endive
Feijoa (Pineapple guava)
Ginger family (turmeric, ginger, galangal)
Gotu kola
Horseradish
Jaboticaba
Katuk
Leeks
Lemon balm
Lemon guava
Lettuce (2 hours sun)
Malabar spinach
Monstera deliciosa
Mints
Mushrooms
Okinawa spinach
Olive (several hours of sun)
Oxalis (wild sorrel)
Papaya
Parsley
Passion fruit (grows well on pine trees, drops fruit)
Pawpaw
Peas
Pecans (early)
Peppers
Persimmon
Pineapple
Prickly pear cactus
Pumpkin
Purslane
Radishes
Rosemary
Spinach
Starfruit (carambola)
Strawberry and lemon guava
Strawberry tree
Tomato (part shade will extend season into hotter months)
Walking onion
Yacon
Yams (dioscera, not sweet potato)
CHICKEN FOOD
All fruits
Alliums (onion family - in small amounts only - can be toxic in larger amounts)
Amaranth - in moderation (can contain nitrates if lots of fertilizer in soil)
Barley grass
Beans, cow peas, pigeon peas, and leaves (beans and peas must be cooked or sprouted)
Dandelions
Fodder beets
Grains and seeds (teff, quinoa, chia, sesame, oats, rye, millet, corn, etc)
Kenaf
Lettuce, all brassicas, most greens
Moringa
Mulberry (great to plant an everbearing tree or two near or in the coop where fruit can just fall in)
Potato/boniato/sweet potato (cooked, mashed)
Rice, cooked
Spanish needle
Sunflower seed
Sweet potato vine
Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant (when ripe, and not the leaves)
Water hyacinth, water lettuce, etc
Wheatgrass
Protein: black soldier fly larvae; logs or wood chips in their pen will attract bugs & worms; fish waste
Egg shells, crushed and baked (this is needed to provide enough calcium for them to lay daily)
Kitchen scraps, including meat
Do not feed chickens (these have various levels of toxins in them)
Avocado skins and pits
Beans, dried
Bitter Gourd
Candy or chocolate (jury is still out on this, but why would you want to?)
Cassava (leaves or raw root - can be used in small amounts, be mindful of the cyanide in them - cooked is fine)
Cassia
Citrus, especially peels (most chickens don’t like these, jury is out on how much of a problem it is)
Clover (it’s fine in moderation but not as a main dish)
Dairy
Elderberry
Lambsquarter, pigweed (may contain nitrates)
Lima bean
Pitted fruit seeds (contain toxins, includes apples, cherries, peaches, apricots, etc - a few won’t hurt but never in volume)
Potato, raw root or leaves
Processed foods
Rice, raw/dry
Salt or too much salty food
Sorghum leaves
Spoiled food (they are susceptible to toxins in it, like we are)
Sugar, agave, honey
Taro
Trefoil
Uncooked rice or beans
Many flowers and native species are poisonous to chickens so be aware