Coughbush

Description

Ernodea littoralis, commonly called beech creeper or coughbush, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family (Rubiaceae). It is native to the Florida in the United States, the Caribbean region, and Central America south to Honduras. It is found in sunny, open areas with sandy soil, in habitats such as in pinelands and dunes. It is tolerant of high salt conditions, and of human disturbance. It is a vine-like ground cover, 1 to 3 feet in height, with small, light green, succulent leaves on long, curving, bright red branches, and pinkish white, tubular flowers succeeded by golden berries. Ernodea is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. All species are small shrubs endemic to the Caribbean region, with most species restricted to the Bahamian Archipelago. Carl Linnaeus grouped in the same genus (Geranium), the three similar genera Erodium, Geranium, and Pelargonium. The distinction between them was made by Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle based on the number of stamens or anthers: five for Erodium, seven for Pelargonium, and ten for Geranium. However, the three genera have the same characteristics in regard to their fruit, which resemble long bird beaks. That characteristic is the basis for the names: Geranium evokes the crane (Greek geranos), Pelargonium the stork (pelargos), and Erodium the heron (erodios). In cultivation, erodiums are usually seen in rockeries or alpine gardens. The hybrid cultivar E. × variabile 'Roseum' (E. corsicum × E. reichardii), a compact, spreading perennial with rose-pink flowers in summer, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. Erodium species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the pasture day moth.