Ceratiola ericoides                                               Photo Fiona Sunquist ©

Florida Rosemary is very similar in appearance to the aromatic herb used for cooking. It is found in sandhills, scrub, coastal dunes and on disturbed areas - where fallen trees, roads, or fires have cleared the ground. Florida Rosemary bushes often have a circle of white sand around them where nothing else grows. The plant is thought to release a growth-inhibiting chemical into the ground to prevent other rosemary plants from growing nearby. The chemical probably also keeps the plants own seeds from germinating until a fire kills the parent plant and surrounding vegetation.

This plant has its very own grasshopper, the rosemary grasshopper (Schistocecra ceratiola). This species of grasshopper is found only in association with Florida rosemary in central and southeastern Florida.

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