Berlandiera pumila

Common Names

Soft Greeneyes

Summary

Soft Greeneyes (Berlandiera pumila) is a perennial herb in the Asteraceae native to the Panhandle and north Florida extending to Volusia and Marion counties, it forms several- to many-stemmed basal clumps with erect to suberect shoots and can reach about 90 cm in height, leaves are oblong to lanceolate with crenate margins and a velvety surface, alternately arranged with a green upper surface and a grayish, densely hairy lower surface, inflorescences are heads 35–55 mm across, radiate in form, with yellow ray florets surrounding a center of green disk florets, as the disk florets open they turn maroon and emit a subtle chocolate scent, stems are tomentose giving a grayish tint, and the fruits are cypselae enveloped by paleae, it grows in sandy soils in dunes and sandhills from the Panhandle to north Florida, tolerating dry to well-drained soil and thriving in full sun to partial shade, propagation is by seeds, and the plant is valued ornamentally for a long-lived, extended blooming period with flowers from April through October, showy blooms attract butterflies, bees, and wasps, it is not generally propagated for commercial sale and can be observed in north Florida uplands during summer

Lifecycle

Perennial

Height

3 feet

Sunlight Requirements

Ideally full sun to partial shade.

Soil Type

Dry to well-drained sandy soil

Soil Drainage

Dry to well-drained sandy soils

Bloom Color

Yellow

Bloom Time

Spring and Summer

Foliage Color

Green on the upper surface and grayish green on the lower surface

Fall Foliage Color

Unknown

Seasons of Interest

Spring and Summer

Propagation Methods

Seeds

Attracts Wildlife

Attracts bees, butterflies, and wasps