ASHS 2025 Conference

Arachis glabrata is a drought resistant, low maintenance, pest resistant, nitrogen fixer, ornamental ground cover used in tropical and subtropical climates. Although popular in landscapes in the State of Florida for its attractive leaf color, low maintenance needs, orange flowers, and low mowing requirements, there is only one A. glabrata ornamental cultivar available in the market: ‘EcoTurf’. ‘EcoTurf’ is dual purpose cultivar (ornamental/hay) due to its low height (15-20 cm), compared to the many hay cultivars available. The University of Florida/IFAS Ornamental Perennial Peanut Breeding Program has been developing, trialing, and selecting lines with unique or improved ornamental characteristic, all developed by single rhizome descent at the UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center. ‘Sunshine’ is a profuse bloomer with flowers almost double the size than ‘EcoTurf’, bright orange flowers, and waxy leaves. ‘Lemondrop’ is the only A. glabrata cultivar with yellow flowers, compact and dense foliage, and waxy leaves. ‘Chico’ has glaucous, dark-green leaves, and a dense and compact foliage. And ‘Sundrop’ with yellow-orange flowers, a long flowering period, and dark-green, glaucous, dense and compact foliage. All these new cultivars have a lower grower habit (10-15 cm) than the current industry standard ‘EcoTurf’. These new cultivars of Ornamental Rhizoma Perennial Peanut bring a new pallet of leaf types, flower size, flower color, and growth habit to the ornamental market, with great potential to be used in landscapes across the southeastern US.