General Landscape Uses:
Not recommended for general landscape use. Native only to the lower Florida Keys, where it was probably extirpated and then reintroduced from cultivated plants.
Ecological Restoration Notes: Not recommended for habitat restoration projects. It is already over planted within its native range and escaping from cultivation elsewhere.
Availability:
Native plant nurseries.
Description: Large tree.
Dimensions: Typically 20-50 feet in height. Often as broad as tall.
Growth Rate: Moderate.
Range:
Monroe County Keys (Key West, Big Pine Key); the West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the
Exploring Florida website.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Hammocks.
Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with or without humusy top layer. This is a hemiepiphyte, often rooting on other plants and then sending down aerial roots.
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 significant injury.
Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
References: Hammer 2004
