Description: Strikingly beautiful spikes of white, pea-shaped flowers borne on dark stems that rise above the bushy plants with elliptic leaves. Drought tolerant once established.

Life Span: Perennial

Light Exposure: Full sun to high pine shade

Bloom Color: White

Bloom Season: Late spring to early summer

Height (in bloom):  3 to 4 feet

Habitat: Dry to slightly dry - pine flatwoods, upland mixed forests

Germination Note: Seeds have hard, water impermeable seed coats that prevent germination. Lightly abrading the hard seed coats on sandpaper or a concrete surface (“scarification”) for a few seconds will allow the seeds to absorb water and germinate. To test whether the seed coats have been abraded enough, place a few of the abraded seeds in a shallow dish of water. Sufficiently scarified seeds will swell noticeably within an hour or two; swollen seeds must be sown immediately.  If most seeds do not swell, repeat the abrasion process and retest.  Scarified seeds should be sown within a week or two.