Sabatia calycina (Coastal Rose Gentian)

Description

1″ Tall Multi-stemmed Native Perennial is covered with white or pink Blooms from March to November, earlier and later in Florida. It thrives in sunny or shady moist soil. It is native in VA, NC, SC, GA, FL, AL, MS, LA, and TX. It is also native to Cuba and the Dominican Republic.

Wildlife Value from www.illinois wildflowerThe flowers are cross-pollinated by long-tongued bees and possibly other diurnal insects with long mouthparts (e.g., butterflies and skippers). Charles Robertson (1929) observed a little carpenter bee, Ceratina dupla, and a large leaf-cutting bee, Megachile brevis, visiting the flowers for nectar or pollen. The caterpillars of the moth, Agyrostrotis anilis (Short-Lined Chocolate), feed on Sabatia spp. (Rose Pinks). Common Rose Pink is a bitter-tasting plant, but it is unclear to what extent this may deter its consumption by mammalian herbivores.

To the best of my knowledge, we are the only nursery that grows this nativbe plant.