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Major Sponsors:

The Elizabeth Ordway
Dunn Foundation



Limber caper, Bayleaf capertree
Capparis flexuosa
Capparaceae


General Landscape Uses:

Accent flowering shrub or scandent woody vine. Also useful in buffer plantings.

Ecological Restoration Notes:

An occasional element of coastal thickets and hammock margins.
Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description:
Clambering shrub or high climbing woody vine, rarely a small tree. Bark smooth and grayish. Leaves 2-4 inches long, sometimes longer, with orange leaf stems.
Dimensions:
Typically 10-20 feet in height or more. Scrambling and often broader than tall.
Growth Rate:
Moderate.
Range:
Monroe County Keys north along the coasts to Volusia and Collier counties; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America.
Habitats:
Coastal 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:
High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without injury.
Drought Tolerance:
High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements:
Full sun.
Flower Color:
Pink to white.
Flower Characteristics:
Showy, the long stamens to about 1 1/2 inches long. Fragrant, opening in the evening.
Flowering Season:
Spring-summer; peak in summer.
Fruit:
Green capsule, to 6" long, splitting open to expose white seeds imbedded in scarlet pulp.
Wildlife and Ecology:
Provides food for birds. Larval host plant for Florida white (Appias drusilla) butterflies; occasional larval host for great southern white (Ascia monuste) butterflies.
Horticultural Notes:
Can be grown from seed in a community pot in light shade to full sun. Transplant after first true leaves form.
Comments:
The flowers are more conspicuous than on Jamaica caper (C. cynophallophora).


 


Don & Joyce Gann
Roger L. Hammer
Shirley Denton
Shirley Denton
Shirley Denton