General Landscape Uses:
Specimen or shade tree.
Availability:
Commonly available at native plant nurseries in northeast Florida. Available at native plant nurseries in central Florida.
Description: Medium sized tree 30-90 feet tall with multiple stems. Triangular leaves 1-4 inches long. Papery, gray to reddish brown bark when young, darker and scaly in older trees.
Dimensions: Typically 30-90 feet in height. Taller than broad.
Growth Rate: Fast.
Range:
Eastern United States south to Nassau, Alachua, and Levy 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: Wet sites along rivers and floodplains.
Soils: Wet to moist, moderately well-drained to poorly-drained organic or sandy soils.
Nutritional Requirements: High; requires rich organic soils for optimal growth.
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: Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.
Flower Characteristics: Inconspicuous flowers on conspicuous catkins 2-3 inches long.
Flowering Season: Spring.
Fruit: Tiny, winged seeds.
Wildlife and Ecology: Provides food for wildlife.
References: Mellichamp (
2014), 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.
