''Ernodea littoralis'', commonly called beech creeper or coughbush, is a species of flowering plant in the coffee family (

Rubiaceae Rubiaceae () is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the coffee, madder, or bedstraw family. It consists of terrestrial trees, shrubs, lianas, or herbs that are recognizable by simple, opposite leaves with Petiole ( ...

). It is native to the

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the United States, the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

region, and

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

south to

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

. 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.

References

littoralis Plants described in 1788 Taxa named by Olof Swartz {{Rubioideae-stub