Natives For Your Neighborhood is a labor of love and commitment. If you use this website, help us maintain and grow it with your tax-deductible donation.

Close

Please scroll to the bottom for more images.
Fragrant pricklyapples, Caribbean applecactus
Harrisia fragrans
Cactaceae
 

Copyright by: Keith A. Bradley

General Landscape Uses: Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also spiny buffer plantings.

Availability: Grown by enthusiasts.

Description: Medium to large succulent shrub with erect or arching stems covered with short spines.

Dimensions: About 6-12 feet in height. Usually taller than broad, but sometimes spreading and forming large open patches.

Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.

Range: Monroe and Miami-Dade counties; disjunct in St. Lucie, Indian River and Brevard counties, where apparently extirpated. Very rare in the middle Florida Keys.

Plant Map 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.

 Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.

Habitats: Coastal hammocks and thickets.

Soils: Moist, well-drained limestone or sandy soils, with humusy top layer.

Nutritional Requirements: Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.

Salt Water Tolerance: Moderate; tolerates brackish water or occasional inundation by salt water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.

Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.

Light Requirements: Light shade to full sun.

Flower Color: White.

Flower Characteristics: Showy, but open only at night.

Flowering Season: All year.

Fruit: Large, red berry. Edible.

Horticultural Notes: Easily grown from seed. It can also be grown from stem cuttings with the base planted about 2" in the ground.

Comments: Very spiny throughout. It is listed as endangered by the state of Florida. See also Florida Natural Areas Inventory's Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Florida page (Chafin 2000).


Copyright by: Keith A. Bradley

Copyright by: James Johnson, Everglades National Park, 2014

Copyright by: George D. Gann
in habitat, Everglades National Park, 1981

Copyright by: George D. Gann
in habitat, Key Largo, Florida, 2013

Copyright by: George D. Gann
in habitat, Key Largo, Florida, 2013

Copyright by: Roger L. Hammer

Copyright by: Keith A. Bradley

Copyright by: Keith A. Bradley

Copyright by: Keith A. Bradley

Copyright by: Roger L. Hammer

Copyright by: Roger L. Hammer


Other data on Harrisia fragrans available from:



 
Resources Links:
Find Native Plants!

Acknowledgements and past sponsors

Become a sponsor!

Major Sponsor:

Emergent Sponsors:

Canopy Sponsors:
 
Herbaceous Sponsors:

Jay Bird - @BotanizingBirdingButterflies

Florida Native Plant Nursery