|                    Limber caper, Bayleaf capertree
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                |                    Cynophalla flexuosa  
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                |                    Capparaceae 
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                 Landscape Uses:
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                 Accent flowering shrub or scandent woody vine.  Also useful in buffer plantings. | 
               
                Ecological Restoration Notes:  | 
               
              
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                 An occasional element of coastal thickets and hammock margins. | 
               
              
                | Availability: | 
               
              
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                 Available at native plant nurseries in central and South Florida. Available in Key West at Key West Botanical Garden | 
               
              
                | Description: | 
               
              
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                 Clambering shrub or high climbing woody vine, rarely a small tree.  Bark smooth and grayish.  Leaves 2-4 inches long, sometimes longer, with orange leaf stems. | 
               
              
                | Height: | 
               
              
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                 Typically 10-20 feet in height or more.  Scrambling and often broader than tall. | 
               
              
                | Growth Rate: | 
               
              
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                 Moderate. | 
               
              
                | Range: | 
               
              
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                 Monroe County Keys north along the coasts to Volusia and Collier counties; 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: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Coastal hammocks. | 
               
              
                | Soils: | 
               
              
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                 Moist, well-drained sandy or limestone soils, with humusy top layer. | 
               
              
                | Nutritional Requirements: | 
               
              
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                 Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive. | 
               
              
                | Salt Water Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 Low; does not tolerate long-term flooding by salt or brackish water. | 
               
              
                | Salt Wind Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury. | 
               
              
                | Drought Tolerance: | 
               
              
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                 High; does not require any supplemental water once established. | 
               
              
                | Light Requirements: | 
               
              
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                 Full sun. | 
               
              
                | Flower Color: | 
               
              
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                 Pink to white. | 
               
              
                | Flower Characteristics: | 
               
              
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                 Showy, the long stamens to about 1 1/2 inches long.  Fragrant, opening in the evening. | 
               
              
                | Flowering Season: | 
               
              
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                 Spring-summer; peak in summer. | 
               
              
                | Fruit: | 
               
              
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                 Green capsule, to 6" long, splitting open to expose white seeds imbedded in scarlet pulp. | 
               
              
                | Wildlife and Ecology: | 
               
              
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                 Provides food for birds. Larval host plant for Florida white (Appias drusilla) butterflies; occasional larval host for great southern white (Ascia monuste) butterflies. | 
               
                     
                | Horticultural Notes: | 
               
              
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                 Can be grown from seed in a community pot in light shade to full sun.  Transplant after first true leaves form. | 
               
              
                | Comments: | 
               
              
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                 The flowers are more conspicuous than on Jamaica caper (C. cynophallophora). | 
               
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                    George D. Gann in habitat, Dominican Republic, 2011
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