Weeds of Wednesday: Cheesytoes?

Wildflower or weed? Locale matters!

Cheesyrtoes (Stylosanthes hamata) is a tiny native plant that we saw growing along Highway A1A when Cindy Hersh (Class of 2016) led a wonderful walk for us at the Barrier Island Sanctuary and Education Center on 2/11/2024. A member of the pea family (Fabaceae), the little legume is native to South Florida, the Caribbean, Central America, and some, but not all, of South America.

Also known as pencilflower and Caribbean stylo, this low-growing annual (or biennial) plant blooms throughout the year with tiny yellow or orange flowers sometimes marked with red or black stripes.

This nitrogen-fixing plant is used as a green forage in its native range and in tropical Africa, where it also is used in the production of commercial leaf meal products for poultry and pig feed in China and India. Because of its use as a forage plant, cheeytoes has been introduced to other continents. In Australia, it is regarded as an environmental weed.

Cheesytoes (the name listed on the Florida Plant Atlas website) does not seem to get out of hand in our area, but folks from more northern Florida locales report that this plant has overwhelmed their yard and efforts to control it. Cheesytoes might make a good (temporary – it’s not a perennial) groundcover in our area but not everywhere in Florida. Location matters!