General Landscape Uses:
Informal hedge or specimen in a natural setting.
Availability:
Available at native plant nurseries in northeast Florida.
Description: Multi-stemmed, clump-forming deciduous shrub 6-10 feet tall with dark green leaves 3-5 inches long. Deep red or red brown flowers with a fruity fragrance. Leaves, bark, flowers, and fruit are all fragrant. Spreads by underground stems.
Dimensions: Typically 6-10 feet in height. Usually taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Slow.
Range:
Eastern United States south to the Florida Panhandle and Alachua County.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Rich woods, edges of floodplains
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: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.
Light Requirements: Moderate shade to light shade.
Flower Color: Deep red to maroon.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Early spring.
Fruit: Brown capsule 3 inches long with red seeds.
Horticultural Notes: Suspected of causing symptoms similar to strychnine poisoning in livestock.
References: Nelson (
2003)
Comments: We have been adding data for this species for central and northern Florida and welcome any feedback or review. If you would like to contribute information or images, please contact George Gann via the IRC staff page.
