Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description:
Medium to large shrub or rarely a small tree with wide-spreading branches. Trunks usually very short. Bark gray. Leaves shiny, light green above, about 1 inch long.
Dimensions:
Typically about 3-6 feet in height, but sometimes more. Almost always broader than tall.
Growth Rate:
Moderate.
Range:
Monroe County Keys and Miami-Dade County; West Indies. In the Monroe County Keys, disjunct from Miami-Dade County to Big Pine Key and nearby islands; apparently never collected on the island of Key West.
Habitats:
Pine rocklands and rockland hammocks.
Soils:
Moist, well-drained limestone soils, 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:
White to pink.
Flower Characteristics:
Semi-showy.
Flowering Season:
All year.
Fruit:
Round black berry.
Horticultural Notes:
Can be grown from de-pulped seed.
Comments:
It is listed as threatened by the state of Florida.
Gann, G.D., M.E. Abdo, J.W. Gann, G.D. Gann, Sr., S.W.
Woodmansee, K.A. Bradley, E. Grahl and K.N. Hines. 2005-2013. Natives For Your Neighborhood. http://www.regionalconservation.org.
The Institute for Regional Conservation. Delray Beach, Florida USA.