Landscape Uses:
	Accent or specimen shrub or small tree along the coast. Buffer plantings.
Ecological Restoration Notes:
Availability:
	Widely cultivated. Available in Boynton Beach at Sustainscape, Inc., and in Key West at Key West Botanical Garden, in Sanibel at Captiva Conservation Foundation.
Description:
	Medium to large shrub or rarely a small tree with a dense rounded crown. Bark pale. Leaves large, shiny, 2-6 inches long.
Height:
	Typically 5-15 feet in height; to 25 feet in South Florida. Usually about as broad as tall, especially when growing in full sun.
Growth Rate:
	Slow to moderate.
Range:
	Monroe County Keys north to Broward and Lee counties; Bermuda, Bahamas and Cuba. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the Exploring Florida website.
Habitats:
	Coastal hammocks and thickets.
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:
	Secondary line; tolerates significant salt wind without injury, but usually is somewhat protected.
Drought Tolerance:
	Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements:
	Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color:
	White.
Flower Characteristics:
	Semi-showy, star-shaped. Dioecious, with male and female flowers on different plants.
Flowering Season:
	All year; peak spring-summer.
Fruit:
	Berry, green to gold at maturity, turning dark brown or almost black. Edible but not tasty.
Wildlife and Ecology:
	Larval host plant for tantalus sphinx (Aellopus tantalus) moths. Nectar plant for mangrove skipper (Phocides pigmalion) and other butterflies.
Horticultural Notes:
	Can be grown from seed.
Comments:
	Although the flowers can be very attractive, the fruits can be downright ugly.