General Landscape Uses: A versatile and attractive shrub or small tree. It can be used as an accent, as a clipped shrub, and in naturalistic landscapes. It also makes a great addition to mixed buffer plantings. Learn more about gardening with Spanish stopper for birds and other wildlife in Attracting Birds to South Florida Gardens.

Ecological Restoration Notes: A relatively common element of coastal hammock margins and thickets.

Description: Small tree or large columnar shrub usually with a dense rounded crown from several slim, erect trunks and small erect branches. Bark light reddish-brown, thin, smooth when young, then divided into small, thick scales forming concentric rings around the trunk of older trees. Leaves abundant and persistant, leathery, 3/4 to 1 1/2 inches long.

Dimensions: Typically 8-15 feet in height. Taller than broad.

Growth Rate: Moderate to slow.

Range: Monroe County Keys north mostly along the coast to Brevard and Manatee counties; West Indies, Mexico and Central America. For a digitized image of Elbert Little’s Florida range map, visit the Exploring Florida website. Little’s map exagerates the range of this species in the interior.

Habitats: Hammocks and hammock edges; coastal thickets.

Soils: Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer.

Nutritional Requirements: Moderate to high; grows best with some organic content and may languish in nutrient poor soils.

Salt Water Tolerance: Moderately low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water, but tolerates short term inunation by salt water from storm surge with minimal damage.

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

Drought Tolerance: Moderate; generally requires moist soils, but tolerant of short periods of drought once established.

Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade.

Flower Color: White.

Flower Characteristics: Semi-showy.

Flowering Season: All year; peak in summer.

Fruit: Black or brown berry.

Wildlife and Ecology: Provides food and cover for wildlife. Attracts bee pollinators and fruit-eating birds.

Horticultural Notes: Can be grown from de-pulped seed. Place in light shade. Germination usually occurs within 1 month.

References: Schaefer & Tanner 1997

Comments: See also the Florida Wildflower Foundation’s Flower Friday page.