General Landscape Uses:
Specimen plant or screening hedge.
Ecological Restoration Notes: Excellent for upland restoration projects.
Availability:
Commonly available at native plant nurseries in central Florida. Available at
Indian Trails Native Nursery in Lake Worth (561-641-9488).
Description: Small aromatic evergreen tree or shrub with dark green leaves 2-4 inches long. Showy clusters of white flowers in the spring.
Dimensions: Typically 30-40 feet in height, taller than broad. Up to 70 feet in height in north Florida.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Southern United States south to Sarasota, De Soto, and St. Lucie counties. A population is also present in Broward county. 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.
Map of ZIP codes with habitat recommendations from the Monroe County Keys north to Martin and Charlotte counties.
Habitats: Hammocks, woodland edges.
Soils: Moist, well-drained 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: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish 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: Full sun.
Flower Color: White.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Spring.
Fruit: Shiny black drupe.
Wildlife and Ecology: Provides significant food and cover for wildlife. Attracts pollinators.
Horticultural Notes: Rapid growth may make it outgrow its space. Displays weedy tendencies.
References: Nelson (
2003), Taylor (
1998), Schaefe
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.
