| Rough velvetseed
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| Guettarda scabra
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| Rubiaceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Accent shrub or small tree. Buffer plantings. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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| Availability: |
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Rarely grown by native plant nurseries. |
| Description: |
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Small tree or medium shrub with erect branches and an open, irregular crown. Leaves leathery, very rough above, about 2-4 inches long or sometimes longer. |
| Height: |
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Typically 5-15 feet in height or sometimes taller, especially in the Florida Keys. Taller than broad. |
| Growth Rate: |
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Moderate. |
| Range: |
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Monore County Keys north along the east coast to Martin County; West Indies. Very rare or perhaps absent in the middle Monroe County Keys. Also very rare and sporadic north of the Miami River; perhaps never present or extirpated in Broward County; possibly extirpated in Palm Beach County; known from one location in Martin County. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the Exploring Florida website. Little mapped this north only to Broward County. |
| Habitats: |
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Pine rocklands and hammocks. |
| Soils: |
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Moist, well-drained limestone (occasionally sandy) soils, with or without humusy top layer. |
| Nutritional Requirements: |
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Moderate to low; it prefers soils with organic content, but will still grow reasonably well in nutrient poor soils. |
| Salt Water Tolerance: |
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Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. |
| Salt Wind Tolerance: |
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Low; salt wind may burn the leaves. |
| Drought Tolerance: |
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Moderate to high; plants growing in extremely dry soils may die during extended periods of drought. |
| Light Requirements: |
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Full sun. |
| Flower Color: |
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White. |
| Flower Characteristics: |
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Semi-showy. |
| Flowering Season: |
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All year; peak winter-spring. |
| Fruit: |
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Rounded red berry. |
| Wildlife and Ecology: |
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| Horticultural Notes: |
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Difficult to grow from seed. |
| Comments: |
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Of sporadic occurrence north of the Miami River. |
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George D. Gann In habitat, Everglades National Park, Florida
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