General Landscape Uses:
Accent or specimen flowering shrub or small tree.
Ecological Restoration Notes: In South Florida, naturalizing from cultivated plants well outside of its limited native range. Not recommended for general landscape use.
Availability:
Grown by one or two native plant nurseries in South Florida.
Description: Large shrub or small tree.
Dimensions: Typically, 8-12 feet in height; rarely to about 20 feet in South Florida. As broad as tall or broader.
Growth Rate: Moderate to fast.
Range:
South Florida, Bahamas, and Cuba; in South Florida, native only to Key Largo in the Florida Keys. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the
Exploring Florida website.
Map of select IRC data from peninsular Florida.
Habitats: Rockland hammock.
Soils: Moist, well-drained limestone 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: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.
Light Requirements: Full sun.
Flower Color: Yellow.
Flower Characteristics: Showy.
Flowering Season: Spring-summer.
Fruit: Brownish pod (legume).
Wildlife and Ecology: Provides some food and cover for wildlife. Attracts pollinators.
Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from seed.
References: Ward & Ing (
1997), Hammer (
2004).
Comments: Listed as Endangered by the State of Florida and as critically imperiled in South Florida by IRC.
