Rosemary frostweed (Crocanthemum rosemarinifolium) is one of six native species found in Florida. It occurs primarily in the central Panhandle, but there are documented occurrences in Escambia and Santa Rosa Counties in the far west and in Putnam County in the northeastern peninsula. Outside of Florida, it is documented in the Southeast Coastal Plain from east Texas to North Carolina. Throughout this region it occurs primarily in well-drained sunny locations - roadsides, sandhills and open dry woodlands.
This is a perennial herbaceous wildflower that dies back to the ground in winter and reemerges in early spring. It produces many decidedly upright stems that reach a mature height of about 1 foot. As this plant produces numerous below-ground stems, it tends to form distinct colonies. Short stellate hairs along the stem and on the foliage give it a silvery aspect. The lance-shaped linear leaves are alternate on the stem and about 1/4 inch wide. In a sense, they resemble the foliage on culinary rosemary, but these leaves have no culinary usage.
Flowering occurs in late spring and summer. The lemon-yellow blooms are produced near the tips of the stems, are composed of five petals, and combine to make a flower approximately 1/3 inch across. These showy blooms are visited by a wide variety of pollinators.
This genus is very rarely offered commercially and I have never seen this species for sale. Frostweeds make excellent ground covers for open sunny locations as they all sucker extensively, but are not overwhelming to adjacent plants in a mixed planting. Perhaps, someday...
The photos above were taken by my friend and excellent photographer, Floyd Griffith, and used by permission.
I saw this plant as ground cover at Cypress Point Park. Loved it.
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