The University of Florida (UF) provides numerous plant information PDFs through its IFAS Extension and the Florida-Friendly Landscaping program. Key publications include the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Guide to Plant Selection & Landscape Design and guides on low-maintenance and regionally specific plants, such as the one for south Florida. Other PDFs cover specific topics like vegetable production, tree fact sheets on planting and pruning, and invasive species information.
4 Issues in this Publication (Showing issues - 1)
Ackee Growing in the Florida Home Landscape
HS1128
Scientific Name: Blighia sapida
Common Names: ackee, akee, achee, vegetable brains
Family: Sapindaceae
Relatives: lychee, longan, rambutan
Origin: Indigenous to the Ivory Coast and Gold Coast of West tropical Africa.
Distribution: Trees may also be found in many Caribbean countries (Jamaica, Trinidad, Haiti, Bahamas), Central America (e.g., Costa Rica, Panama, Guatemala), South America (Brazil, Venezuela, Surinam, Colombia, Ecuador), as well as the United States, (Florida).
History: The species was brought to Jamaica in 1793 by Captain Bligh and is now naturalized throughout that country.
Low-Chill Apple Cultivars for North Florida and North Central Florida
HS764
Relatively few cultivars of apples (Malus domestica L.) have been reported to be grown successfully in Florida. Northern apple cultivars, such as ‘Golden Delicious’, ‘Red Delicious’, ‘Gala’, or ‘Fuji’, are not exposed to enough low temperatures during Florida’s mild winters. Apple cultivars have what is known as a chilling requirement. Chilling requirement is the amount of cold temperatures during the winter required for normal vegetative and reproductive growth in the spring. The chilling requirement may be determined by the cumulative number of hours less than or equal to 45°F during the winter. Each hour is referred to as a chill unit. There are relatively few apple cultivars with a low enough chilling requirement to be successfully grown in Florida.
This document is HS764, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date December 2000.
1. Revised May 2019 and November 2022. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication.
2. Peter C. Andersen, professor emeritus; Muhammad A. Shahid, assistant professor, Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS North Florida Research
and Education Center, Quincy, FL; and Kevin Folta, professor, Horticultural Sciences Department; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.
Arrowroot—Maranta arundinacea L.
Many of the plants in the arrowroot group are somewhat similar in appearance. They have underground rhizomes, or tubers, from which arise reed-like, erect stems. Flat, long, pointed leaves are attached in a sheath-like fashion up and down the upright stems in typical canna or ginger-like fashion.
1. This document is HS542, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date April 1994. Revised August 2015. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
2. James M. Stephens, professor emeritus, Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville FL 32611.
Abiu Growing in the Florida Home Landscape
HS1050
Scientific Name: Pouteria caimito
Common Names: abiu (English), caimito amarillo, caimo, madura verde, and luma (Spanish), abiu, abio, abieiro (Portuguese)
Family: Sapotaceae
Relatives of Abiu: mamey sapote, canistel, green sapote, sapodilla
Origin: Amazonian region of South America
Distribution: Abiu has been distributed throughout the tropics of Latin America and Southeast Asia.
1. This document is HS1050, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date January 2006. Revised November 2016. Reviewed December 2019. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication.
2. Jonathan H. Crane, professor, tropical fruit crop specialist, UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center; and Carlos F. Balerdi, professor, multicounty tropical fruit crops Extension agent (retired), UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.
