Early inhabitants of Florida, including native people and later pioneers, used dogfennel to create outdoor smudge fires against mosquitoes and sand flies by laying gathered green aromatic branches across glowing coals so a smoky haze hung in the air and discouraged biting insects. They also made use of other native plants and materials: wax myrtle leaves were boiled so the wax could be skimmed, cooled, and formed into candles around a string wick; slivers of resin-rich lighter wood from the heart of pine helped ignite fires; sea grape leaves served as disposable plates; edible greens came from plants such as dandelion, sea mustard, and pokeberry; dried Spanish moss stuffed cushions and mattresses; saw palmetto fronds, stacked like shingles, formed roof shelter from sun or rain; palm fibers were twisted into twine; and turpentine from slash pine was widely used in salves and remains an ingredient for topical use today.