General Landscape Uses:
Specimen plant, or placed in a grouping.
Availability:
Available at native plant nurseries in northeast and central Florida.
Description: Small deciduous tree 30-60 feet tall, taking on a pyramid form and sometimes forming dense thickets. Leaves 2-5 inches long varying from unlobed to 2-5 lobed, turning red-orange-yellow-purple in the fall.
Dimensions: Typically 30-60 feet in height, taller than broad. Up to 110 feet in height in the Florida Panhandle.
Growth Rate: Moderately fast.
Range:
Eastern and central United States south to Hillsborough and Orange 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, woodlands.
Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy soils with acid pH, with or without humusy top layer.
Nutritional Requirements: Moderate to low; it prefers soils with organic content, but will still grow reasonably well in nutrient poor soils.
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 to high; plants growing in extremely dry soils may die during extended periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
Flower Color: Yellow.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Early spring before leaves.
Fruit: Dark blue drupe on a red stalk.
Wildlife and Ecology: Fruit eaten by birds and other wildlife. Larval host for spicebush swallowtail (Pterourus troilus) butterfly.
References: Mellichamp (
2014), Huegel 2010
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.
