Landscape Uses:
	Buffer plantings. Spiny barriers.
Ecological Restoration Notes:
Availability:
	Native plant nurseries.
Description:
	Small to medium tree or large shrub with a cylindrical crown from many small, irregularly-shaped branches. Trunks generally short, to about 10 inches in diameter. The branches bear many sharp, hooked spines. Bark gray, rough. Leaves compound, aromatic, about 3-4 inches long.
Height:
	Typically 10-20 feet in height; to 26 feet in South Florida. As broad as tall or broader.
Growth Rate:
	Moderate.
Range:
	Monroe County Keys north to Volusia, Marion and Citrus counties; Bahamas, Greater Antilles, Texas, Mexico, Central America and South America.
Habitats:
	Hammocks.
Soils:
	Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements:
	Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance:
	Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
	Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance:
	High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements:
	Full sun.
Flower Color:
	Greenish-yellow.
Flower Characteristics:
	Inconspicuous. Fragrant. Dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants.
Flowering Season:
	All year; peak winter-summer.
Fruit:
	Orange-brown glandular punctate follicles opening to reveal small, shiny, black seeds.
Wildlife and Ecology:
	Provides significant food and moderate amounts of cover for wildlife. Larval host plant for giant swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) butterflies. Perhaps a secondary larval host for Schaus' swallowtail (Heraclides aristodemus) butterflies.
Comments:
	When crushed, the leaves have a lime-like aroma. The wood is much desired for making furniture.