General Landscape Uses:
Street tree, specimen tree.
Availability:
Commonly available at native plant nurseries in northeast and central Florida.
Description: Small deciduous tree 15 to 40 feet. Low branching with oval leaves 3-6 inches long. Showy white bracts with small central yellow flowers are abundant in the spring.
Dimensions: Typically 15-40 feet in height. Often broader or as broad as tall.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Eastern North America south to Duval, Orange, Polk, and Manatee counties. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the
Exploring Florida website.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Map of suggested ZIP codes from South Florida north to southern Brevard, Osceola, Polk, and Pasco counties.
Habitats: Hammocks and upland woods
Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy soils, with humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Low to moderate; it can grow in nutrient poor soils or soils with some organic content.
Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate flooding by salt or brackish water.
Salt Wind Tolerance: Low; salt wind may burn the leaves.
Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color: Yellow with white bracts often mistaken for flowers.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Spring.
Fruit: Bright red, egg shaped fruits in clusters.
Wildlife and Ecology: Attracts pollinators. Fruit attracts birds. Larval host plant for the Spring Azure (Celastrina ladon) butterfly.
References: Mazzotti (
2008), 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. See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation's
Flower Friday page.
