fleabane

Fleabane flowers are one of my favorite Florida native wildflowers. They spread randomly throughout my yard, and not only do the butterflies love them, but my kids also do too. I have lots of memories of my boys with big smiles and a bouquet of these in their hands.

I try to leave them as long as possible before we mow so they can reseed and come back next spring (same as with toadflax & Bidens alba).

Fleabane attracts a huge diversity of insects. I’ve seen sweat bees, honey bees, caterpillars, beetles, and butterflies hanging out on the plants.

Edible

The leaves of fleabane are edible and the plant is used to make teas, tinctures, lotions, and powders.