General Landscape Uses: Not recommended for general landscape use. Native only to the lower Florida Keys, where it was probably extirpated and then reintroduced from cultivated plants.

Ecological Restoration Notes: Not recommended for habitat restoration projects. It is already over planted within its native range and escaping from cultivation elsewhere.

Description: Large tree.

Dimensions: Typically 20-50 feet in height. Often as broad as tall.

Growth Rate: Moderate.

Range: Monroe County Keys (Key West, Big Pine Key); the West Indies, Mexico, Central America and South America. For a digitized image of Elbert Little’s Florida range map, visit the Exploring Florida website.

Habitats: Hammocks.

Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with or without humusy top layer. This is a hemiepiphyte, often rooting on other plants and then sending down aerial roots.

Salt Water Tolerance: Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water.

Salt Wind Tolerance: High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury.

Drought Tolerance: High; does not require any supplemental water once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.

References: Hammer 2004