Melanthera nivea

Snow Squarestem, Salt & Pepper

Asteraceae (Compositae)

Plant Specifics

Form:	Flower
Size:	2-5 ft tall by 2-4 ft wide
Life Span:	Long-lived perennial
Flower Color:	White
Fruit Color:	NA
Phenology:	Winter dormant
Noted for:	Showy flowers

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:	Use in a butterfly garden or informal wildflower garden.
Considerations:	Can get rangy and may need pruning. Reseeds, so plant it where that's not a problem.
Propagation:	Seed.
Availability:	Native nurseries, Seed
Light:	Full Sun,  Part Shade
Moisture Tolerance:	always floodedextremely dry
	(Somewhat moist, no flooding ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods)
Moisture Tolerance:	Somewhat moist, no flooding ----- to ----- Somewhat long very dry periods
Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:	Not salt tolerant of inundation by salty or brackish water.
Salt Spray/ Salty Soil Tolerance:	Some tolerance to salty wind but not direct salt spray.
Soil or other substrate:	Loam, Lime rock, Sand
Soil pH:	Adaptable (usually acidic)

Ecology

Wildlife:
Insects:	Heavily used by butterflies, skippers, bees, and wasps for nectar.  This plant is an insect magnet.
Native Habitats:	Edges of upland hardwood forests, hydric hammocks, maritime hammocks, pine flatwoods, pine-oak-hickory woods, calcareous hammocks, coastal hammocks, open areas.

Distribution and Planting Zones

Comments

General Comments:

Although it has square stems and opposite leaves like members of the mint family (Lamiaceae), this is a member of the daisy family, but it has no ray florets that look like petals. All the florets in the flower head are fertile.