|                    Rough velvetseed
                      |  
              
                |                    Guettarda scabra  
                      |  
              
                |                    Rubiaceae 
                      |  
  
              
                 Landscape Uses:
  | 
               
              
                 | 
                 Accent shrub or small tree.  Buffer plantings. | 
               
                Ecological Restoration Notes:  | 
               
              
                 | 
                  | 
               
              
                | Availability: | 
               
              
                 | 
                 Rarely grown by native plant nurseries. | 
               
              
                | Description: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Small tree or medium shrub with erect branches and an open, irregular crown.  Leaves leathery, very rough above, about 2-4 inches long or sometimes longer. | 
               
              
                | Height: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Typically 5-15 feet in height or sometimes taller, especially in the Florida Keys.  Taller than broad. | 
               
              
                | Growth Rate: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Moderate. | 
               
              
                | Range: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Monore County Keys north along the east coast to Martin County; West Indies.  Very rare or perhaps absent in the middle Monroe County Keys.  Also very rare and sporadic north of the Miami River; perhaps never present or extirpated in Broward County; possibly extirpated in Palm Beach County; known from one location in Martin County. For a digitized image of Elbert Little's Florida range map, visit the  Exploring Florida website. Little mapped this north only to Broward County. | 
               
              
                | Habitats: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Pine rocklands and hammocks. | 
               
              
                | Soils: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Moist, well-drained limestone (occasionally sandy) soils, with or without humusy top layer. | 
               
              
                | Nutritional Requirements: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Moderate to low; it prefers soils with organic content, but will still grow reasonably well in nutrient poor soils. | 
               
              
                | 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: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Moderate to high; plants growing in extremely dry soils may die during extended periods of drought. | 
               
              
                | Light Requirements: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Full sun. | 
               
              
                | Flower Color: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 White. | 
               
              
                | Flower Characteristics: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Semi-showy. | 
               
              
                | Flowering Season: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 All year; peak winter-spring. | 
               
              
                | Fruit: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Rounded red berry. | 
               
              
                | Wildlife and Ecology: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                  | 
               
                     
                | Horticultural Notes: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Difficult to grow from seed. | 
               
              
                | Comments: | 
               
              
                |   | 
                 Of sporadic occurrence north of the Miami River. | 
               
              |  
            | 
          
            
            
      
        
           
            
            
            
              
                 | 
               
              
                
                    George D. Gann In habitat, Everglades National Park, Florida
                   | 
               
             
            
            
            
            
            
            
              | 
         
       
         | 
         
 
   |