FNPS Plant Database

Coreopsis leavenworthii

Leavenworth's tickseed
  • Photo by: Mark Hutchinson, Hernando Chapter, FNPS
  • Photo by: m
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

Leavenworth's tickseed

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Coreopsis leavenworthii

Family:

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Plant Specifics

Form:

flower

Size:

1.5 to 3.0 ft tall by .5 to 1.5 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

yellow

Fruit Color:

NA

Phenology:

Annual. Flowers all year.

Noted For:

Showy Flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Cultivated flower beds, wildflower gardens, meadows, and butterfly gardens.

Considerations:

Self-seeds and so could become weedy.

Availability:

Big Box Stores, Quality Nurseries, Native Nurseries, FNPS Plant Sales, Seed, Friends

Propagation:

Seeds and dividing the basal rosettes. Seeds are available through the Florida Wildflowers Growers Cooperative.

Light:

Full Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Somewhat moist, no flooding -to- Not wet but not extremely dry

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

Low/no tolerance of salty wind or direct salt spray

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Clay, Loam

Soil pH:

5.6 to 7.7

Suitable to Grow In:

8A,8B,9A,9B,10A,10B,11

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.



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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies

Attracts small butterflies.





Source of nectar and pollen for honeybees, native bees, and wasps.

Native Habitats:

Moist to wet flatwoods, marl prairies, sandhill, scrub, and disturbed areas. Common on moist, open roadsides.

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

The Seminole tribe used this plant to make an infusion of used for heat prostration.

General Comments:

Coreopsis is the State wildflower.

Citations:

Hammer, Roger. 2015.  Attracting hummingbirds and butterflies in tropical Florida.  University Presses of Florida.



Huegel, Craig, N.  2012.  Native wildflowers and other ground covers for Florida landscapes. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Nelson, Gil.  2003.  Florida's Best Landscape Plants. Association of Florida Native Nurseries.



Osorio, Rufino. 2001. A gardener's guide to Florida's native Plants.  University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.



Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. 2021. Atlas of Florida Plants ( http://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ).  Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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