Florida boxwood
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Schaefferia frutescens
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Celastraceae
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Landscape Uses:
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Accent shrub or small tree in the Florida Keys. Also buffer plantings. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
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Availability: |
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Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida. Available in Lake Worth at Amelia's SmartyPlants (561-540-6296).
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Description: |
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Small tree or large shrub with an erect trunk and a somewhat narrow crown. Trunks 8-10 inches in diameter, but usually much less. Bark pale brown, roughend by many narrow ridges. Leaves thin, bright yellow-green, about 2- 2 1/2 inches long. |
Height: |
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Typically 10-20 feet in height; to 27 feet in South Florida. Usually slightly taller than broad. |
Growth Rate: |
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Slow. |
Range: |
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Monroe County Keys and Miami-Dade County; West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. Very rare in the Monroe County Keys south of Upper Matecumbe Key and perhaps extirpated in the lower Keys. In Miami-Dade County, native only to the Florida Keys in and around Elliott Key in Biscayne National Park and on the mainland in Brickell Hammock, where collected once in 1906. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the Exploring Florida website. |
Habitats: |
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Rockland hammocks. |
Soils: |
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Moist, well-drained limestone soils, with humusy top layer. |
Nutritional Requirements: |
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Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive. |
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; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established. |
Light Requirements: |
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Light shade. |
Flower Color: |
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Greenish-white. |
Flower Characteristics: |
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Inconspicuous. Dioecious, with male and female flowers on different plants. |
Flowering Season: |
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All year; peak in spring. |
Fruit: |
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Red drupe. |
Wildlife and Ecology: |
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Horticultural Notes: |
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Can be grown from seed. |
Comments: |
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It is listed as endangered by the state of Florida. |
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George D. Gann In Habitat, Everglades National Park, Key Largo, Florida, 2013
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George D. Gann In habitat, Everglades National Park, Key Largo, Florida, 2013
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