FNPS Plant Database

Scaevola plumieri

beachberry, inkberry, gullfeed
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: Shirley Denton, Suncoast Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

beachberry, inkberry, gullfeed

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Scaevola plumieri

Family:

Goodeniaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

Shrub

Size:

4–6 ft tall by 4–8 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white

Fruit Color:

black

Phenology:

Evergreen

Noted For:

Showy Flowers, Interesting Foliage

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

If present in the landscape, retain. Use as a shrub in coastal areas where it can make a nice screen, form a hedge, or be a foundation plant. Also appropriate for dune stabilization.

Considerations:

Availability:

Native Nurseries

Propagation:

Seed and layering.

Light:

Full Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

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

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Not wet but not extremely dry -to- Very long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salt

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand

Soil pH:

Calcareous (high pH)

Suitable to Grow In:

10A,10B,11

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

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Vouchered In:

Distribution
Vouchered
Not vouchered
Selected
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No county distribution is available for this plant yet.
Starting…
Map coded by Melissa Fernandez-de Cespedes (Paynes Prairie Chapter)

Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Birds

Bees are believed to be the primary pollinators. Also attracts wasps, moths, and ants.

Fruits attract birds.

Native Habitats:

Coastal sites

Natural Range in Florida:

Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

This is a rare plant. Please acquire from a reputable nursery. It is close kin to an invasive exotic (S. Frutescens)from Australia -- be sure you are planting the native.
FNPS Plant Print

Citations:

Gann, G.D, C.J. Abbott, C.G. Stocking, K.N. Hines, and collaborators. (2001+). Inkberry, Beachberry, Gullfeed [in] Natives For Your Neighborhood. ( https://www.regionalconservation.org/beta/nfyn/plantdetail.asp?tx=Scaeplum ). Accessed 2026. The Institute for Regional Conservation. Delray Beach, FL.


Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell. (1999). Native Florida Plants. Gulf Publishing Company. Houston, TX.


Raju, Aluri Jacob Solomon, Kunuku Venkata Ramana & Banisetti Dileepu Kumar. (2019). Pollination ecology of the coastal pantropical hermaphroditic shrub Scaevola taccada (Goodeniaceae). Phytologia Balcanica 25(2): 191–202, Sofia, 2019. ( ). Accessed 2026.


Wunderlin, R. P, B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

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